Georges Sorel

Georges Sorel (1847 to 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian and later journalist, whose ideas gave rise to the movement of thought called Sorelianism. His social and political philosophy drew on Proudhon, Fernand Pelloutier, Karl Marx, Giambattista Vico, Henri Bergson and later William James. His notion of the power of myth in collective action inspired socialists, anarchists, Marxists and fascists alike. His 1908 book Reflections on Violence argues that revolution depends on the proletariat organizing violent uprisings and strikes in order to institute syndicalism.