Pierre Leroux and the Doctrine of Humanity
From Corvus Editions
(1842; 60 pages) - Orestes Brownson (1803-1876) ended as a conservative, a staunch defender of the Catholic Church, but not before making remarkable contributions in a variety of radical movements. He was among the key figures introducing New England intellectuals to the cutting edges of European thought in the 1840s, and was responsible for introducing American mutualist William Batchelder Greene to the writings of Pierre Leroux—an introduction which contributed directly and significantly to the emergence of an American mutualism. Indeed, Greene’s work might well have remained in the shadow of Brownson’s, had Brownson not abandoned the field, leaving others, such as Greene, William Henry Channing and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody to draw their own conclusions about Leroux’s “doctrine of humanity,” and forge an American version of radical theory in the revolutionary period around 1848.
This essay, from the Boston Quarterly Review, remains one of the very best introductions to Leroux's thought, and provides important clues to the adaptations made by Greene. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
