Benoît Malon
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Benoît Malon | |
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Père-Lachaise Cemetery | |
Nationality | French |
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
With the fall of
When the
Around this time, Malon began a romantic relationship with Léodile Champseix (better known under her literary pseudonym
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 (POF) of Jules Guesde. In 1882, the party split between 'orthodox' Marxists around Guesde and reformist 'possibilists' led by Paul Brousse. Malon sided with Brousse and helped organise the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (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
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.