De l'argent dans la Quinzaine

Abstract

It is not surprising that Charles Péguy, the founder of the Cahiers de la Quinzaine, its administrator and main contributor, faced monetary problems throughout his life. For the Cahiers, which he created as a “free” voice among the multitude of socialist publications, did not mind to displease part of its readership; moreover he accepted no advertising. This article connects Péguy's defiance with respect to money to his philosophy of history. For the first time in the history of mankind, Péguy claims, money had eradicated all the traditional values of society. Péguy's originality is to present himself as a witness of this mutation and to expose its more insidious ramifications–for example in “parliamentary prose.”