The Groupe X-Crise (or ''X-Crise'') was a
French technocratic
Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...
movement created in 1931 as a consequence of the
1929 Wall Street stock market crash and the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. Formed by former students of the
École Polytechnique
(, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande Ă©cole'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris.
The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...
(nicknamed "X"), it advocated ''
planisme'', or economic planning, as opposed to the then dominant ideology of
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
which they held to have failed. Their ideas would not be put into practice until the
Vichy era, when many technocrats seized the opportunity to reconstruct France, and the disputed document
Pacte Synarchique apparently named this group as the plotters to install the Vichy regime. However, many members of the group joined the
Resistance and opposed the Vichy regime, ultimately participating in the post-war administration.
Members
''X-Crise'' was founded by
GĂ©rard Bardet and
André Loizillon, and its members included
Raymond Abellio,
Louis Vallon
Louis Vallon (12 August 1901 – 1 March 1981) was a French politician. Initially a member of the SFIO and the French Socialist Party before World War II, he later became a left-wing Gaullist, a founding member of the Rally of the French People ( ...
,
Jean Coutrot,
Jules Moch and
Alfred Sauvy
Alfred Sauvy (31 October 1898 – 30 October 1990) was a demographer, anthropologist and historian of the French economy. Sauvy coined the term Third World ("Tiers Monde") in reference to countries that were unaligned with either the Western ...
, who as head of the
INED demographic institute after World War II coined the term "
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...
".
See also
*
Non-conformists of the 1930s
Bibliography
* Richard F. Kuisel (Spring 1970)
"The Legend of the Vichy Synarchy."''
French Historical Studies
''French Historical Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering French history. It publishes articles in English and French. The journal is published by Duke University Press on behalf of the Society for French Historical Stu ...
'', vol. 6, no. 3. pp. 365–398. .
* X-Crise (Centre polytechnicien d'études économiques), ''De la récurrence des crises économiques. Son cinquantenaire (1931–1981)''.
Economica
''Economica'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of generalist economics published on behalf of the London School of Economics by Wiley-Blackwell. Established in 1921, it is currently edited by Nava Ashraf, Oriana Bandiera, Tim Besley, Franc ...
(1982).
Contemporary French history
Interwar France
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