Abstract:

Mably was a famous French Enlightenment thinker and outstanding Utopian communist in the eighteenth century. His thoughts and writings produced a great influence on various stages of development and representative figures in the French Revolution. This article focuses on his intellectual content, his historical position and his role from the following three aspects: Mably's socio - political ideas and his philosophy, his relation to Rousseau, and his relation to the French Revolution. In conclusion, Mably's thoughts were quite similar to Rousseau's in many aspects; however, there were still plenty of aspects different from Rousseau's. Some were milder than Rousseau's, but some went farther than his. Accordingly, Mably was called the "father of French Revolution". This is indeed not an overstatement.

Key words: Mably, Utopian communism, Rousseau, French Revolution