Biography of Comte de Saint-Simon | historian and theoretician.

(Claude Henri de Rouvroy, count de Saint Simon; Paris, 1760-1825) historian and theoretician of French Socialist politician. Belonging to an aristocratic family coming for less, the count of Saint-Simon was great-nephew of the Duke Louis de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon, famous for his memoirs (1739-1752), in which he described the Court of Luis XIV.

Henri de Saint-Simon

By family tradition, Saint-Simon was meant to be military. He participated in the war of independence for the American colonies, and during the French Revolution became Republican. Named President of the commune of Paris in 1792, renounced his noble title and attached to the ideology calling Claude Henri Bonhomme. Some accusations of speculation with the national property and its relationship with Danton, which were not seen with good eyes, gave him in prison in 1793, although he was released in 1794.

During the directory Saint-Simon enjoyed a comfortable economic position; his home was frequented by personalities such as Monge, Lagrange and Dupuytren. He traveled to Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, where he published his first work: letter from a resident in Geneva to his contemporaries (Lettres d' a habitant de Genève à ses contemporains, 1802 or 1803), where targets which later defined as his theory of capacity.

Broken their economic situation, he devoted himself to write numerous scientific and philosophical texts until he managed to stabilize. In the newspaper L'Organisateur said: "If France lost its main physical, chemical, bankers, merchants, farmers, blacksmiths, etc, would be a body without a soul; on the other hand, if you lost all the men considered most important State, the fact no would bring more grief than the sentimental»; the statement brought you a process.

In 1821 wrote the industrial system (Du système industriel), and in 1825 his most important book, new Christianity (Nouveau Christianisme). Ruined for the second time, attempted suicide of a gun, but failed the shot and lost an eye. Aided by one of his disciples, Saint-Simon planned the creation of a new journal, Le Producteur, but died before his appearance.

The thought of Saint-Simon derives from their reaction against the bloodshed of the French Revolution and militarism of Napoleon. In their theories, it advocated the idea that private property would be good as soon as each individual received their pay according to their ability.

In her view, the first political objective of the State had to be the development of production, so its Government should be made up of industrialists of all kinds, workers, peasants and owners. In addition, he proposed that scientists occupied the place of the clergy in the social order; the function of religion would be guide classes lower society in their struggle to improve their living conditions. It also proclaimed the abolition of hereditary rights and the formation of an association whose function was to prevent war.

Saint-Simon played a key role in Auguste Comte as a result of his joint collaborations, and although their paths would end by distancing themselves, the positivism of Comte is based mostly on sansimonianos concepts. After his death, his disciples popularized his ideology during the second empire. Its principles acquired the name of Saint-simonism, as if it were almost a religion, although the Association would eventually dissolve. The influence of the ideology of Saint-Simon in modern thought has been very deep. He correctly foresaw the future process of industrialization of the world and hoped the solution of most of the problems of the society to science and technology.

Extracted from the website: Biografías y Vidas