ABSTRACT
Modern socialism dates from the great reaction that followed the events of 1848. The completely new character of the bourgeoisie which was called "scientific," "practical," and "realistic" is most clearly revealed in its social philosophy. The utopians believed that a society conforming to reason would be easily realized, and that historical accidents would provide a thousand opportunities of which people of goodwill would know how to take advantage. The old republicans of 1848 were able to support the illusion that they were powerful men because they played the role of the men of 1793, but the revolutionary legend seems very antiquated to their young successors. The survivors of the Second Republic did not understand that the powerful upheavals of 1848 had determined a ricorso—they had come at a time when the psychological consequences of the revolution were extinguished. The French Revolution is much more notable for the continuity of ideas than for the destruction it brought about.
