Beboof's New Idea, the Abolition of Private Property

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Beboof saw the fall of Robespierre as an opportunity for France, to restore democracy. But he soon grew disillusioned with the state of things and ended up in prison. How did that experience lead him to develop his thinking toward this astonishing novel innovation? And what was that theory?

Featuring Laura Mason on her book The Last Revolutionaries: The Conspiracy Trial of Gracchus Babeuf and the Equals. Mason discusses Babeuf's call to abolish property, his radically egalitarian conspiracy against the Directory government, and the end of the French Revolution. How a centrist government turned its back on popular democracy, presided over growing inequality and working-class poverty, and abetted the rise of the reactionary right that would ultimately overthrow it. Check out the newsletter and our vast archives at thedigradio.com Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig