Nineteenth-century socialist historians located socialism’s origins in France

Evidence

On their part, the historians of nineteenth-century socialist constructions place their points of origin quite firmly on French soil and among the sons and daughters of the most politically and intellectually mobile elements of the Third Estate: the bourgeoisie, the petit bourgeoisie, and the artisans. Moreover, these historians of the socialist movement unanimously assert that the French Revolution (an event upon which there is less agreement among them) was the more dramatic of the two moments that spurred the development of socialist ideas. As we have already noted, somewhat peculiarly, the Industrial Revolution, that is, the appearance of a technologically vigorous and mechanically imaginative industrial capitalism as the second moment that allowed for the subsequent development of socialist thought, has been seen as an English phenomenon. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 281

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why has the Industrial Revolution been framed as English rather than French, and what does that national framing hide about capitalism’s origins relevant to the Black radical tradition?
• XREF: connects to: Scientific socialism’s origins predate the nineteenth century — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 279; Modern socialism’s analytical roots predate the nineteenth century; Marx credited French historians for the origins of his class struggle idea (+4 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Scientific socialism’s origins predate the nineteenth century — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 279; Modern socialism’s analytical roots predate the nineteenth century; Marx credited French historians for the origins of his class struggle idea (+4 more)