Talk:French demonstration of 15 May 1848

Corrected by PeterHuntington (talk) 04:07, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Distinction between similar terms
There are terms in this article which are correctly used, but not adequately described. This could potentially confuse someone reading in modern times. The use of the terms "republican progressives" and "moderate republicans" as the two opposing parties in the 1848 French political landscape needs to be described more. The article points out that the voters in France did not favor the republican progressives. On the other hand, the "Commission exécutive de la République française" (executive committee of the French Republic) also known as "moderate republicans", were favorable in 1848 French politics and were opposed to the social agenda of "republican progressive" party. I have added to the article a brief description of the core values of the two parties so a reader is able to understand the opposing viewpoints at stake. Before it may have confused readers because both parties used the "republican" term. The clarification of the matter lies in the idea the French were strongly opposed to monachy, with both parties supporting a "republic". The "republican progressives" were not anything like someone may think of modern day republicans. In fact they held strong socialists/marxists views, including the major influence of Louis Blanc. Blanc was opposed to free markets and the idea of competition, wanted to assure the poor a wage, and wanted the government to be the "supreme regulator of production". He also looked at machines as very bad things that caused people to lose their jobs, and in regards any machine, "demand it to be broken and fling an anathema against science!" The "moderate republicans" held similar views against monarchy, but were against the socialist views of the republican progressives. Adrianw61 (talk) 05:00, 16 November 2010 (UTC)