Demands for Economic Justice -Babeuf

• The reformers of 1789 sought to make a constitutional government that limited the monarch's power, protected individual rights, ended the special privileges of the aristocracy, etc.
• However, alleviating the hardships of the poor was not of concern
• Sans-culottes demanded that the government increase wages, set price controls, and punish food speculators and profiteers
• 1795 a new constitution that established a five-member directory was established
• Still the discontent of the poor was not answered
• Babeuf's conspiracy of the equals
• Conspired the reestablish the constitution of 1793 and the overthrow of the directory
• Attack on the mistreatment of the poor and call for the abolition of private property
• The organization of a secret society attempting to overthrow the government heralds revolutionary movements in the 19th and 20th centuries
• Only such a radical move would end the tyranny of the rich over the poor
• "A man only becomes rich through the spoliation of others"