Sorel, Georges

Sorel, Georges (1847-1922), French social philosopher and journalist, born in Cherbourg, and educated at the École Polytechnique, Paris. After completing his education, Sorel became a government civil engineer in the Department of Bridges and Highways and remained in government service until his resignation in 1891. Sorel was recognized as a leader and principal theoretician of the revolutionary syndicalist movement. He believed that power had to be shifted from the deteriorated middle class to the working class, and that the power could be acquired only through a general strike that, to be effective, must be violent. After 1909 he broke with syndicalism and briefly embraced the proto-fascist monarchism of Action Française; he later supported the Russian Revolution. Sorel's philosophy influenced many political theorists, among them Benito Mussolini and Lenin. Sorel's most important work is Réflexions sur la violence ( Reflections on Violence, 1908).