The shock of the French Revolution

During the eighteenth century, the corporative social order in Europe was a subject of debate among state philosophers. As early as 1776, comptroller-general of France Turgot made an unsuccessful attempt to abolish all corporations and guilds and bring an end to their privileges and freedoms. His reforms met with strong resistance and he was dismissed from office. A draft edict was drawn up in the Austrian Netherlands in 1786 to abolish the guilds, but these reform attempts were equally unsuccessful. The forces of democratic patriotism in the Republic of the United Provinces were not strong enough, and were defeated by stadholder Willem V and his pro-Orange party in 1787. Ideas about a new social order were emerging in many German states, too.

The breakthrough came with the French Revolution. During a tumultuous sitting on 4 August 1789, the Assemblée (National Assembly) abolished the guilds in France, with the aim of applying their Revolutionary principles of égalité and liberté to labour relations. The d’Allarde Law of 2-17 March 1791, based on the principle of freedom of labour, ended the crushing monopoly of the guilds. On condition that they had a patent, every citizen was entitled to practice a trade, profession or craft. The Assemblée even regarded this freedom as a basic right. This far-reaching liberalisation of the labour market brought an immediate end to the centuries-old guild system in France. Initially, the craft journeymen welcomed the abolition of the restrictions imposed by the guilds. However, the freedom they had been granted quickly deteriorated into a series of strikes by journeymen (carpenters, blacksmiths and milliners), who united in order to use this new weapon to force their master-patrons to pay them higher wages. The agitation soon escalated into violence, threatening to disrupt the urban economy of France, and even took on a contra-revolutionary character. Powerful measures were imposed. The worried Assemblée responded with the Le Chapelier Law of 14 June 1791, which dissolved all professional associations – those of patrons as well as employees. Under the threat of heavy fines and even imprisonment, workers and journeymen were forbidden to form associations, i.e. to take joint action in order to improve working conditions.