Representing the Working-Class: A Case of Embodiment-Representation in the 19th Century

When considering the opposition between electoral mandate and embodiement-representation, it is often thought that the latter is “pre-modern” and the former would constitute the only admitted concept of representation in Western representative governments. The aim of this paper is to propose another narrative, by showing the importance of embodiement-representation in the construction of the labour movement in the 19th century. I intend to show the crucial role of non-electoral representation, both in collective organizations and through mobilizing figures, in the formation of the contemporary forms of the representation of workers. To do that, I will mostly focus on France, but also borrow examples from other countries. My paper will fall into three parts. First, I will show that in France embodiement-representation played an important part in the emergence of a labour movement during the July monarchy (1830-1848): being unable to get a proper representation at the Assembly, organized workers developed – in pamphlets and newspapers – the idea that because they could not get electoraly represented, they needed to construct their own forms of representation. Then, I will try to assess the effects of the adoption of universal male suffrage in 1848 on labour representation; I will show how during Spring 1848 workers experienced both electoral and non-electoral forms of representation, but that after the insurrection of June 1848 they started to entirely resort on embodiement collective representation, up to Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's coup d'étatin 1851. Finally, I will explore the different forms of labour embodiment representation after 1848, focusing on the emergence of anarcho-syndicalism, labour parties and figures such as Louise Michel that embody wokers' struggles.