L'esprit de Philadelphie : La justice sociale face au marché total

This book is an invitation to reintegrate the ethos of the ILO's Philadelphia Declaration of 1944, in order to dispel the mirage of the Total Market and create new paths to Social Justice.

The Declaration of Philadelphia is a pioneering text. In May 1944, it was the very first International Declaration of Universal Rights and its spirit has influenced the texts which followed. It made social justice one of the cornerstones of the new international order that emerged from the ruins of the war.

Alain Supiot analyses how the social lessons from the experience of the period 1914-1945 have been forgotten during the last decades. The goal of social justice has been replaced by that of establishing a market without limits. But he also shows that the Declaration of Philadelphia has lost none of its power today for all those who believe that the economy and finance should be means to serve human beings, not the reverse.

Alain Supiot is Director of the Nantes Institute for Advanced Studies. He is the author of numerous books on labour law.

• Documents and sources

  • Declaration of Philadelphia (1944) (incorporated into the ILO’s constitution in 1946 where it is reproduced as an annex)
  • Declaration of Philadelphia (1944) original text
  • Roosevelt's address to the ILC (Official Bulletin, 1944)
  • Records of proceedings of the ILC, 26th session, Philadelphia (Montreal) 1944
  • ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998)
  • ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008)

• Additional information

  • Lee, Eddy, The Declaration of Philadelphia: Retrospect and prospect, International Labour Review, 1994
  • Interview (in French) with Alain Supiot, broadcasted on Thursday 7 January 2010 on France Culture (radio)