THE MUSEE-SOCIALS CREATION - THE CONSTRUC TION OF SOCIAL POLITICS ANDTHE INCEPTION OF A THINK-TANK

The centennial of the Musee social's creation invites us to reflect up on the social meaning of this late 19th-century <<think-tank>> devoted to <<the moral and material betterment of workers b. An analysis of t he various stages of its inception-from the 1889 Universal Exposition, to the Conseil superieur du travail, and finally to the privately spo nsored institution opened to public in 1895 - reveals the multiplicity of actors and the complexity of the <<social field>> in late 19th-cen tury France. The Musee social, situated in the interstices of philanth ropy, politics and emerging social science, offers a transversal look at the construction of social politics and points to a broader definit ion of the notion of government than that might otherwise be invoked w hen analyzing more traditional institutions such as the Parlement.