Frédéric Le Play and his circle of social reform

Abstract

Frédéric Le Play broke new ground in sociology and was a driving force behind the use of scientific method in the Social Sciences. He lived in the France of the 19th century, which was marked by social unrest, a result of the political revolutions and the new social order brought about by the industrial revolution. His concern for peace, stability and social progress was shared by eminent people of his day, of varying political persuasions, who were brought together by the belief that social reforms were necessary in order to create a stable society. Throughout the thirties and forties, Le Play was a frequent visitor to various salons where social reform was the issue of the day, that is to say, how society should be changed in order to prevent unrest and injustice, and this enabled him to share his struggles to achieve social peace, which first began after witnessing the bloody events of the 1830 revolution. It was in these salons, that Le Play established what we might call his intellectual circle. This intellectual circle, composed of like-minded people concerned about society, see in Le Play and his observations a fitting voice to guide them in a policy of social reform based on scientific principles. The aim of this article is to describe this intellectual circle and show how its influence helped Le Play develop a scientific method for society. It cannot be doubted that discussion of the social question affected social policies and, thus, the development of sociology.