This paper aims to display the kind of problems the French Third Republic faced over the establishment of “économie sociale” (social economy), by exploring the conflict between “republican solidarisme” (L. Bourgeois, L. Mabilleau) and “coopératisme” (C. Gide).
Several researchers have attempted to extract the conceptual framework of “économie sociale” from the history of social thought. Although their studies assist us in classifying various ideological currents based on whether or not they played a key role in organizing “économie sociale,” the competitive relationship between those currents classified as “économie sociale” organizers has not been investigated sufficiently.
Furthermore, in the early 20th century, the attempt to reach a consensus on “économie sociale” generated a philosophical conflict, continuing the institutional rupture between cooperative society and mutual aid associations. Both “republican solidarisme” and “coopératisme” placed a high value on private initiatives or associations, as they were considered effective in improving existing solutions to social problems. However, a conflict of opinion on liberty and duty arose between the two ideological currents. The former considered the mutual aid association as a new avenue for citizens to fulfill social duty, requiring governmental intervention for reinforcing public-private sector partnerships. However, according to the latter, the application of “republican solidarisme” to social reform might endanger the principle of modern solidarity that was based on private initiative or association.
