Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon

Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon, was a French aristocrat and an eccentric visionary who dreamed of a world without war or organized religion, and without  radical intolerance; a global social order in which science governs life and there is no social oppression. He believed that society would have to be reorganized so that wealth would not be possessed by the few, but would serve the needs of everyone-"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work." Nationalism of industry in the West, the state-run economics of Eastern Europe, and even the government directed programs of Third World countries owe much to Saint-Simon's outlook. Saint-Simon believed socialism to be the community of Christians: "The new Christian organization will... direct all its institutions... towards the advancement of the well-being of the poorest class." Saint-Simon's contributions lay in the realization that a political liberation was incomplete without social change; technological innovation and social planning would make life more fair and fulfilling. His ideas called for public control of the means of production and the emancipation of women. He believed all power should be held by the "Industrials" of society, not the working class but a managerial elite of bankers and technologists. This idea was efficient, yet an unequal and undemocratic system. It was a dream for social development without the need for a workers' movement.