Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc was a French socialist politician, journalist and historian. He called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor. Although Blanc's ideas of the workers' cooperatives were never realized, his political and social ideas greatly contributed to the development of socialism in France. He wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises. These cooperatives were to be associations of people who produced together and divided the profit accordingly.
Louis Blanc
Frontis from Blanc's Organisation du Travail, published in Paris in 1850 by Nouveau Monde
Blanc in his last years
Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and social theories and movements associated with the implementation of such systems. Social ownership can take various forms, including public, community, collective, cooperative, or employee. Traditionally, socialism is on the left wing of the political spectrum. Types of socialism vary based on the role of markets and planning in resource allocation, and the structure of management in organizations.
Charles Fourier, influential early French socialist thinker
The celebration of the election of the Commune on 28 March 1871—the Paris Commune was a major early implementation of socialist ideas.
Karl Marx in 1875
Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union and the leader of the Bolshevik party.