From Artisan To Worker

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From Artisan to Worker examines the largely overlooked debate over the potential reestablishment of guilds that occurred from 1776 to 1821. The abolition of guilds in 1791 overturned an organization of labor that had been in place for centuries. The disorder that ensued - from concerns about the safety of the food supply to a general decline in the quality of goods - raised strong doubts about their abolition and sparked a debate both inside and outside of government that went on for decades. The issue of the reestablishment of guilds, however, subsequently became intertwined with the growing mechanization of production. Under the Napoleonic regime, the government considered several projects to restore guilds in a large-scale fashion, but the counterargument that guilds could impede mechanization prevailed. After Bonaparte's fall, the restored Bourbon dynasty was expected to reorganize guilds, but its sponsorship of an industrial exhibition in 1819 signaled its endorsement of mechanization, and after 1821 there were no further efforts to restore guilds during the Restoration.

From Artisan to Worker examines the largely overlooked debate over the potential reestablishment of guilds that occurred from 1776 to 1821. The abolition of guilds in 1791 overturned an organization of labor that had been in place for centuries. The disorder that ensued - from concerns about the safety of the food supply to a general decline in the quality of goods - raised strong doubts about their abolition and sparked a debate both inside and outside of government that went on for decades. The issue of the reestablishment of guilds, however, subsequently became intertwined with the growing mechanization of production. Under the Napoleonic regime, the government considered several projects to restore guilds in a large-scale fashion, but the counterargument that guilds could impede mechanization prevailed. After Bonaparte's fall, the restored Bourbon dynasty was expected to reorganize guilds, but its sponsorship of an industrial exhibition in 1819 signaled its endorsement of mechanization, and after 1821 there were no further efforts to restore guilds during the Restoration. Review: 'Michael Fitzsimmons has produced a richly documented study that is remarkably wide ranging and insightful. Better yet, From Artisan to Worker places economic considerations at the heart of politics and demonstrates that state policy formulation was as much a product of pragmatic responses to circumstance as ideology or political culture.' Robert Alexander, University of Victoria 'From Artisan to Worker emphasizes how many continuities, and also contingencies, lay behind the apparent principled radicalism of revolutionary gestures. All this makes for a contribution of the first importance not only to the history of the French Revolution but to European industrial and commercial history in general, not to mention that of economic thought.' William Doyle, University of Bristol 'The time frame [Michael Fitzsimmons] selects is convincing, and the book offers useful insights on the economic impact of the Revolution and Empire.' Alan Forrest, University of York 'Fitzsimmons brilliantly describes how the political context of the Revolution shaped the emergence of new kinds of institutions to coordinate social and economic behavior and new ideals of social and economic liberty. The work revises our understanding of the relationship between work and revolution and offers real insights into the many paths of economic modernization.' James Livesey, University of Sussex