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

Abstract

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.

References

1. Blum, C. O. Critics of the Enlightenment: Readings in the French Counter-revolutionary Tradition. Wilmington: ISI Books, 2004. 
2. Coquet, É. Albert de Mun et la séparation de l'Église et de l'État (1904–1907). Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 2019. 
3. De La Tour du Pin, R. Aphorismes de politique sociale. 3ème éd. Paris: Gabriel Beauchesne, 1930. 
4. De La Tour du Pin, R. Vers un ordre social chrétien: jalons de route, 1882–1907. 3ème éd. Paris: Nouvelle Libraire Nationale, 1917.
5. De Mun, A. Combats d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, 2ère série: Lendemains de séparation. Paris: P. Lethielleux, 1910.
6. De Mun, A. Ma vocation Sociale: Souvenirs de la fondation de l’Oevre des cercles Catholiques d’Ouvriers, 1871–1875. Paris: P. Lethielleux, 1908.
7. Elbow, M. H. French Corporative Theory, 1789–1948: A Chapter in the History of Ideas. New York: Columbia University Press, 1953.
8. Giraud, V. Un grand Français. Paris: Bloud et Gay, 1918.
9. Guillermain, R. La Doctrine sociale de La Tour du Pin. Paris: Cercle La Tour du Pin, 1937.
10. Kravchenko, N. N. “Gr. Al'bert de-Men, kak pobornik idei mezhdunarodno-pravovoi zashchity rabochikh,” Pravo, No. 43, 1914, pp. 2924–2927.
11. Levillain, P. Albert de Mun. Catholicisme français et catholicisme romain du Syllabus au ralliement. Rome: Ecole française de Rome, 1983.
12. Lynch, M. The Organized Social Apostolate of Albert de Mun. Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1952.
13. Martin, B. F. Count Albert de Mun: Paladin of the Third Republic. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1978.
14. Molette, C. Albert de Mun, 1872–1890: exigence doctrinale et préoccupations sociales chez un laïc catholique, d'après des documents inédits. Paris: Beauchesne, 1970.
15. Moon, P. T. The Labor Problem and the Social Catholic Movement in France: A Study in the History of Social Politic. New York: Macmillan, 1921.
16. Murat, A. La Tour du Pin en son temps. Versailles: Via Romana, 2008. Passmore, K. The Right in France from the Third Republic to Vichy. Oxford: Oxford university press, 2013. 
17. Piou, J. Le comte Albert de Mun: Sa vie publique. Paris: Edition Spes, 1925.
18. Rater-Garcette, C. La professionnalisation du Travail social: Action sociale, syndicalisme, formation, 1880–1920. Paris: L’Harmattan, 1996.
19. Rollet, H. Albert de Mun et le parti catholique. Paris: Éditions contemporaines, Boivin & Cie, 1947.
20. Sangnier, M. Albert de Mun. Paris: F. Alcan, 1932. 
21. Semichon, R. Les idees sociales et politiques de La Tour Du Pin, exposées d'après son livre “Jalons de Route”. Paris: Editions Gabriel Beauchesne et ses Fils, 1936.
22. Sheinman, M. M. Khristianskii sotsializm: istoriia i ideologiia. Moscow: Nauka, 1969.
23. Sladky, J. A Program for a Christian Social Order: The Organic Democracy of René de La Tour du Pin: A Dissertation. Washington: School of Theology and Religious Studies of the Catholic University of America, 2012
24. Sowerwine, C. France since 1870. Culture, Politics and Society. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018. 
25. Talmy, R., Abbé. Aux sources du catholicisme social, l'École de la Tour du Pin. Tournai: Desclée, 1963.