Note 452 — Chapter II · : SAINT-SIMON, THE SAINT-SIMONIANS, AND THE BEGINNINGS OF COLLECTIVISM

In the following passage the opposition is very marked: “One must recognise that nearly all Government measures which have presumed to influence social prosperity have simply proved harmful. Hence people have come to the conclusion that the best way in which a Government can further the well-being of society is by letting it alone. But this method of looking at the question, however just it may seem when we consider it in relation to the present political system, is evidently false when it is adopted as a general principle. The impression will remain, however, until we succeed in establishing another political order.” (L’Organisateur, Œuvres, vol. iv, p. 201.)

Later on the Saint-Simonians abandoned this idea and demanded Governmental control of all social relations. “Far from admitting that the directive control of Government in social matters ought to be restricted, we believe that it ought to be extended until it includes every kind of social activity. Moreover, we believe that it should always be exercised, for society to us seems a veritable hierarchy.” (Doctrine de Saint-Simon, Exposition, Deuxième Année, p. 108; Paris, 1830.)