Benoît Malon (23 June 1841 – 13 September 1893), was a French Socialist, writer, communard, and political leader.

Biography

Malon came from a poor peasant family. An opportunity to escape the life of a rural labourer presented itself when Benoît was admitted to a seminary school in Lyon. However, instead of becoming a priest, Malon became interested in radical politics through the writings of P.-J. Proudhon. In 1863 he left the seminary and moved to Paris, where he worked in a factory as a dyer. He became a friend of Zéphyrin Camélinat. Camélinat was a friend of Proudhon and a collaborator of

Charles Longuet Charles Félix César Longuet (14 February 1839, Caen – 5 August 1903, Paris) was a journalist and prominent figure in the French working-class movement, including the 1871 Paris Commune, as well as a Proudhonist member of the General Council ...

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

' son-in-law. Through Camélinat and Longuet, Malon became involved in the French section of the

First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

, which he joined in 1865. In the factional struggles within the International, Malon sided with the 'anti-authoritarian' followers of Proudhon and

Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary s ...

, against the Marxists. Malon was active in organising factory workers and led several strikes. In 1868 and 1870, Malon was among the defendants in the sedition trials of the French Section of the International. He was sentenced to prison both times. With the fall of

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephe ...

in 1870, Malon was freed from prison and helped organise relief for the poor during the Prussian siege of Paris. He joined the 'Republican Central Committee', which united Proudhonists with followers of

Auguste Blanqui Louis Auguste Blanqui (; 8 February 1805 – 1 January 1881) was a French socialist and political activist, notable for his revolutionary theory of Blanquism. Biography Early life, political activity and first imprisonment (1805–1848) Bl ...

. In 1871 Malon was elected to the National Assembly of the new Third Republic, but he resigned in protest against the peace treaty, which ceded Alsace-Lorraine to Prussia. When the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...

rose against the Thiers government at Versailles, Malon was elected to the Council of the Commune. He also served on the Committee on Labour and Trade. Malon opposed the

Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = P ...

faction in the Commune, associated with

Félix Pyat Félix Pyat (4 October 1810 – 3 August 1889) was a French socialist journalist, playwright, politician and a leading figure of the Paris Commune. Biography He was born in Vierzon (Cher), the son of a Legitimist lawyer. Called to the bar in Pari ...

. Malon voted against the creation of a new Committee of Public Safety. He was horrified by the 'bloody week' when several hostages were shot. After the suppression of the Commune he escaped to Lugano, Switzerland, where he joined the

Jura Federation The Jura Federation represented the anarchist, Bakuninist faction of the First International during the anti-statist split from the organization. Jura, a Swiss area, was known for its watchmaker artisans in La Chaux-de-Fonds, who shared anti-s ...

, dominated by Bakuninists. Around this time, Malon began a romantic relationship with Léodile Champseix (better known under her literary pseudonym

André Léo André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

), an author and feminist. They entered a 'free marriage' in 1872. A general amnesty in 1880 enabled Malon to return to France, where he resumed work as a journalist and became involved in the new

French Workers' Party The French Workers' Party (french: Parti Ouvrier Français, POF) was the French socialist party created in 1880 by Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue, Karl Marx's son-in-law (famous for having written '' The Right to Be Lazy'', which criticized work ...

(POF) of

Jules Guesde Jules Bazile, known as Jules Guesde (; 11 November 1845 – 28 July 1922) was a French socialist journalist and politician. Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by Karl Marx. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter ...

. In 1882, the party split between 'orthodox' Marxists around Guesde and reformist 'possibilists' led by

Paul Brousse Paul Brousse (; 23 January 18441 April 1912) was a French socialist, leader of the '' possibilistes'' group. He was active in the Jura Federation, a section of the International Working Men's Association (IWMA), from the northwestern part of Swit ...

. Malon sided with Brousse and helped organise the

Federation of the Socialist Workers of France The Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (french: Fédération des travailleurs socialistes de France, FTSF) was France's first socialist party, being founded in 1879. The party was characterised as possibilist because it promoted gradu ...

(FTSF). In 1885, Malon founded the journal '' Revue Socialiste''. Despite his affiliation with the Possibilists, Malon considered himself an independent socialist and called for the re-unification of the socialist movement (which he did not live to see). The ''Revue Socialiste'' opened its pages to all tendencies of French socialism. In 1889, he became editor of the newspaper '' Egalité''. He also published several books, including a work on 'social economy' (1883), a five-volume history of socialism and a work outlining his theory of 'integral socialism' (1891). When Malon died in 1893, his funeral at the Père-Lachaise cemetery was attended by a crowd of over 10,000 mourners. In 1913, a monument to Malon was established, and

Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; oc, Joan Jaurés ), was a French Socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became one of the first social dem ...

gave the dedication speech. In 1905, the various factions of French socialism united in the French Section of the Workers' International ( SFIO).

References

* Vincent, K. Steven, ''Between Marxism and Anarchism: Benoit Malon and French Reformist Socialism''. Berkeley, 1992. * Noël, Bernard, ''Dictionnaire de la Commune''. Paris, 1978. * Vuilleumier, Marc. "Benoît Malon, Herzen et les premiers socialistes russes." Revue des études slaves (2012): 139–161.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malon, Benoit 1841 births 1893 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Federation of the Socialist Workers of France politicians French socialists Members of the International Workingmen's Association Members of the National Assembly (1871) Mutualists People from Loire (department) Politicians from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (France) politicians Communards