Paul Brousse (; 23 January 18441 April 1912) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

, leader of the '' possibilistes'' group. He was active in 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 ...

, a section of the

International Working Men's Association 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 ...

(IWMA), from the northwestern part of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. He helped edit the '' Bulletin de la Fédération Jurassienne'', along with

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activist ...

. He was in contact with Gustave Brocher between 1877 and 1880, who became anarchist under Brousse's influence. Paul Brousse edited two newspapers, one in French and another in German. He helped

James Guillaume James Guillaume (February 16, 1844, London – November 20, 1916, Paris) was a leading member of the Jura federation, the anarchist wing of the First International. Later, Guillaume would take an active role in the founding of the Anarchist St. ...

publish its bulletin. Paul Brousse studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

and travelled to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in his youth. He then joined the IWMA and participated to the Geneva Congress in September 1873, seeing anarchism as the only possible social organization. On 18 March 1877 he took part in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

in a demonstration in remembrance of the 1871

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 ...

, which ended in riots with the police. Paul Brousse was subsequently condemned to one month of prison. In 1877 he published (initially anonymously) the revolutionary song '' Le drapeau rouge'' (known in English as ''

The Standard of Revolt The Standard of Revolt (original French title: Le drapeau rouge, ''The Red Flag'') is a French socialist and anarchist revolutionary song written in 1877 by Paul Brousse to the melody of the Swiss patriotic song ''Les bords de la libre Sarine'' ...

''). On 15 April 1879 he was again sentenced to two months of prison, then expelled from Switzerland for having published an article in ''L'Avant-Garde'' which legitimized the

propaganda of the deed Propaganda of the deed (or propaganda by the deed, from the French ) is specific political direct action meant to be exemplary to others and serve as a catalyst for revolution. It is primarily associated with acts of violence perpetrated by pro ...

attempts of

Giovanni Passannante Giovanni Passannante (; February 19, 1849 – February 14, 1910) was an Italian anarchist who attempted to assassinate king Umberto I of Italy, the first attempt against Savoy monarchy since its origins. Originally condemned to death, his sentenc ...

Juan Oliva Moncasi ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanis ...

, Max Hödel and

Karl Nobiling Karl Eduard Nobiling (10 April 1848 – 10 September 1878) was a German attempted assassin, who in 1878 made an attempt on the life of Emperor Wilhelm I. Nobiling was born in Kolno near Birnbaum (Międzychód) in the Prussian Province of Posen, ...

. Paul Brousse returned to France in 1880 and progressively became more reformist. He began to take part in the

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) and then, after a scission, to 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), which became known as the " possibilists". He voted at the 1896 international congress in London along with

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 ...

for the expulsion of the " anti-authoritarian socialists", as were known the anarchists. The possibilists then joined

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 ...

French Socialist Party The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views. The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major po ...

in 1902, which fused with others movements in 1905 to create the

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was foun ...

(SFIO).

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brousse, Paul 1844 births 1912 deaths Politicians from Montpellier French anarchists French Workers' Party politicians Federation of the Socialist Workers of France politicians French Socialist Party (1902) politicians French Section of the Workers' International politicians Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the International Workingmen's Association Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Jura Federation

Further reading

External links