Edmond Potonié (1829–1902), commonly known as Edmond Potonié-Pierre, was a French

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

Pacifist activism

During the 1850s, Potonié-Pierre was inspired by

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radicals (UK), Radical and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, manufacturing, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti–Corn Law L ...

's Anti-Corn Law League and aimed to do similar in France. He learnt German and Italian while travelling around Europe, and developed the

liberal economics Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, ...

of his father to make it more socialistic and cooperative. During the 1860s, he associated with notable thinkers like

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...

Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch, also Hermann Schulze, (29 August 1808 – 29 April 1883) was a German politician and economist. He was responsible for the organizing of the world's first credit unions. He was also co-founder of the German Progre ...

Frédéric Passy Frédéric Passy (20 May 182212 June 1912) was a French economist and pacifist who was a founding member of several peace societies and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He was also an author and politician, sitting in the Chamber of Deputies fro ...

, and

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow ( ; ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder o ...

. After receiving financial support from

Henry Richard Henry Richard (3 April 1812 – 20 August 1888) was a Congregational minister and Wales, Welsh Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament between 1868–1888. Richard was an advocate of peace and international arbitration, ...

, Potonié-Pierre founded the (Public Good League). The attacked monopolies and high levels of taxation while advocating individual freedom and organised world peace. Despite earlier support, Potonié-Pierre disagreed with Passy over his (International and Permanent League of Peace) due to Passy's legalistic approach towards peace and Potonié-Pierre's approach of

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. In 1868, the papers detailing his international contacts were seized by the French police, and their status remains unknown.

Family

Potonié-Pierre's father was an entrepreneur, a friend of the author

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

. Potonié-Pierre was the partner of

Eugénie Potonié-Pierre Eugénie Potonié-Pierre (5 November 1844 – 12 June 1898 Paris) was a French feminist who founded the Federation of French Feminist Societies in 1892. She joined the Society for the Amelioration of Women's Condition with Léon Richer and Ma ...

( Pierre), the French feminist. They refused to marry, but lived together and took each other's names. They worked together to free exiled

communards The Communards () were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. After the suppression of the Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards we ...

, bring women the vote, campaign against poverty, and cut military expenses.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potonie-Pierre, Edmond 1829 births 1902 deaths French pacifists French socialists