The Attitude of the French Conservatism of the Late 19th — Early 20th Century towards Social Policy: The Case of Count Albert de Mun and Marquis de La Tour du Pin

The article analyses the attitude of French conservative thinkers of the late 19th — early 20th century towards social policy, drawing on the intellectual heritage of two conservative authors, namely Adrien Albert Marie, Comte de Mun and Henriette-Lucy, Marquise de La Tour du Pin. The article provides the intellectual and political context in which the two thinkers developed their views regarding social policy. The analysis draws on comparative and historical methods to trace both, the intellectual milieu influencing the two conservative thinkers and their own ascendancy on other intellectuals of the time. The article also relies on a series of legal documents and traces the development of social institutions in order to estimate the influence that Comte de Mun and Marquise de La Tour du Pin had upon laws and practices. The research finally identifies the most important ideas of the two authors in the context of social policy: reliance on the Catholic church and Christian norms in social issues, corporative organisation of the society, responsibility of the upper class. Based on this set of ideas, indeed, both authors suggested the introduction of retirement schemes, sickness and unemployment benefits and medical insurance.

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