At the center of this first volume lie the theories of social science propagated by authors such as Helvetius, Holbach, Morelly and Mably as well as Rousseau´s concept of the "general will" of the people. The author describes the development of the French Revolution as a checkered struggle between the followers of a social balance of power and those who stood for the pure ideals of the Revolution as found in the teachings of Babeuf during the Reign of Terror.