Henri de Saint-Simon
French theorist who proposed a society led by industrial and scientific merit.
Henri de Saint-Simon was a French political, economic and socialist theorist and businessman whose thought had a substantial influence on politics, economics, sociology and the philosophy of science. He created an ideology known as Saint-Simonianism, which argued that the needs of an industrial class—including businesspeople, managers, scientists, bankers, and manual laborers—must be recognized for an effective society and efficient economy. Saint-Simon defined this industrial class broadly as all people engaged in productive work contributing to society, in contrast to later conceptions that limited the working class to manual laborers alone. He identified the primary threat to this class as the idling class, a tier of society composed of able-bodied persons who avoided work and lived parasitically. To address this, Saint-Simon advocated for hierarchical, merit-based organizations of managers and scientists, with those at the top serving as government decision-makers. He condemned government intrusion into the economy beyond ensuring productive working conditions and reducing idleness, and endorsed authoritarian means to achieve his goals, stating that opponents should be treated like cattle. Born a French aristocrat, Saint-Simon was highly ambitious from youth, once ordering his valet to remind him daily of his great destiny. He fought alongside the Marquis de Lafayette in the American Revolution, was captured by the British, and later studied engineering. During the French Revolution, he endorsed its ideals and engaged in land speculation to fund a scientific school, but was imprisoned during the Terror. After his release, his fortune was stolen, leading him to devote himself to political study. His ideas inspired utopian socialism, John Stuart Mill, anarchism, and Marxism, and influenced sociologist Thorstein Veblen.
- field
- Political, economic and socialist theory; sociology; philosophy of science
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- Saint-Simonianism; conception of the industrial class versus the idling class; influence on utopian socialism, Marxism, anarchism, and institutional economics
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon
- Birth Date
- 1760-10-17
- Birth Place
- Paris, Kingdom of France
- Death Date
- 1825-05-19
- Resting Place
- Père Lachaise Cemetery
- Era
- 19th-century philosophy
- Region
- Western philosophy
- School Tradition
- Saint-Simonianism / Socialism / Utopian socialism
- Main Interests
- Political philosophy
- Notable Ideas
- The distinction between the productive industrial class and the idling class
- Notable Students
- Auguste Comte / Augustin Thierry
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Henri de Saint-Simon was born in Paris into an aristocratic family, his father a marquis and his mother a lady-in-waiting. From his youth, he displayed intense ambition, instructing his valet to remind him each morning that he had great things to accomplish. He fought alongside the Marquis de Lafayette in the American Revolution, participating in the siege of Yorktown under General George Washington, and was captured and imprisoned by British forces before returning to France to study engineering and hydraulics. During the early French Revolution, he endorsed its ideals and engaged in land speculation to fund a scientific school of improvement, but later faced imprisonment on suspicion of counter-revolutionary activities. After his release, his fortune was stolen by a business partner, leading him to devote himself to political study. He later entered a brief, mutually dissolved marriage to host a literary salon, and lived in poverty for the rest of his life. His first major writing, *Lettres d’un habitant de Genève*, appeared in 1802. Saint-Simon’s defining characteristic was his creation of Saint-Simonianism, an ideology arguing that society must recognize and fulfill the needs of the industrial class—which he defined broadly to include all productive workers such as businesspeople, managers, scientists, bankers, and manual laborers—against the parasitic idling class. He advocated for hierarchical, merit-based governance by managers and scientists, condemned government economic interference beyond ensuring productive conditions, and endorsed authoritarian means against opponents. His thought influenced utopian socialism, anarchism, Marxism, and institutional economics.
Reader's Guide
Saint-Simon's significance lies in his formulation of Saint-Simonianism, which identified the industrial class—including workers, managers, scientists, and bankers—as the productive foundation of society, opposed by an idling class of parasitic individuals. He advocated hierarchical, merit-based organizations of managers and scientists as decision-makers in government, and condemned government intrusion into the economy beyond ensuring productive conditions and reducing idleness. His ideas inspired utopian socialism, John Stuart Mill, anarchism via Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, and Marxism; Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels classified him among the utopian socialists. Saint-Simon also influenced 20th-century sociologist Thorstein Veblen and the school of institutional economics. After his death, his disciples formalized his ideas into a movement emphasizing a planned economy, abolition of inheritance, and emancipation of women, and he is widely regarded as a founder of French socialism and a major early progenitor of sociology.
Did You Know?
- He fought in the American Revolution and was captured by British forces.
- He and Talleyrand planned to profiteer during the Terror by buying the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and selling its metal roof for scrap.
More in Political And Social Theorists 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record