Gracchus Babeuf: The First Revolutionary Communist

Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1978. Quarto in grey & pale blue illus jacket; viii, 434 pages: illustrations; 24 cm; bibliographical references (pages 405-423) and index. Ex-library with usual markings but no spine label; now housd in archival mylar sleeve. Hardcover. ISBN: 0804709491; 9780804709491

Gracchus Babeuf (1760-1797) was a French revolutionary socialist and leader of the Conspiracy of Equals, a failed attempt to overthrow the government of the Directory in 1796. Hebegan his career as a clerk before becoming a journalist and political activist. Influenced by Enlightenment ideas, as well as the radicalism of the French Revolution, he advocated for the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic based on the principles of equality and social justice. In 1793, Babeuf became a member of the radical Jacobin Club and was appointed to a position in the Committee of Public Safety, where he advocated for more radical measures to be taken against the enemies of the revolution. However, Babeuf's radicalism put him at odds with the more moderate factions within the Jacobin government, and he was eventually imprisoned and sentenced to death for his political activities. After his release from prison in 1795, Babeuf continued to advocate for a more radical revolution and organized the Conspiracy of Equals, which sought to establish a socialist government based on the principles of equality and communal ownership of property. However, the conspiracy was discovered by the government, and Babeuf and his co-conspirators were arrested and executed in 1797. § Révolutionnaires -- France -- Biographies. communism. Revolutionaries. Kommunismus Vorgeschichte Revolutionairen. Franse Revolutie. Communisme. Named Person: Babeuf, Gracchus, 1760-1797. Babeuf, Gracchus, 1760-1797. France. France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799. France -- Politics and government -- 1789-1799 -- Revolution.