Nevertheless, no sooner was the _Organisation du Travail_ published in 1841 than it was read and discussed by almost everybody. Several editions followed one another in rapid succession. The title, which is borrowed from the Saint-Simonians, supplied one of those popular formulæ which conveniently summed up the grievances of the working classes in 1848, and during the February Revolution Louis Blanc came to be regarded as the best qualified exponent of the views of the proletariat. Even for a long time after 1848 the work was considered to be the most characteristic specimen of French socialistic writing. Its success was in a measure due to the circumstances of the period. The brevity of the book and the directness of the exposition made the discussion of the theme a comparatively easy matter. The personal notoriety of the author also had a great deal to do with the interest which his work aroused. During the short career of the July monarchy, Blanc, both in the press and on the platform, had found himself one of the most valiant supporters of the advanced democratic wing. His _Histoire de Dix Ans_ gave him some standing as a historian. Later on the _rôle_ which he played as a member of the Provisional Government of 1848, and afterwards at the inauguration of the Third Republic, contributed to his fame as a public man. And, last of all, his unfortunate experience in connection with the failure of the national workshops, for which he was unjustly blamed, added to the interest which the public took in him. All this, however, would not justify his inclusion in our history were it not for other reasons which give to the _Organisation du Travail_ something more than a mere passing interest. In no other work is the opposition between competition and association so trenchantly stated. Every economic evil, if we are to believe Blanc, is the outcome of competition. Competition affords an explanation of poverty and of moral degradation, of the growth of crime and the prevalence of prostitution, of industrial crises and international feuds. “In the first place,” writes Blanc, “we shall show how competition means extermination for the proletariat, and in the second place how it spells poverty and ruin for the _bourgeoisie_.”[552] The proof spreads itself out over the whole work, and is based upon varied examples gleaned from newspapers and official inquiries, from economic treatises and Government statistics, as well as from personal observations carried on by Blanc himself. No effort is spared to make the most disagreeable facts contribute of their testimony. Everything is arranged with a view to one aim—the condemnation of competition. Only one conclusion seems possible: “If you want to get rid of the terrible effects of competition you must remove it root and branch and begin to build anew, with association as the foundation of your social life.”