Charles Fourier
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For other famous Fouriers, see Fourier.
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François Marie Charles Fourier (April 7, 1772 - October 10, 1837) was a French utopian socialist. Fourier coined the word féminisme in 1837; as early as 1808, he had argued that the extension of women's rights was the general principle of all social progress. Fourier inspired the founding of the communist community called La Reunion near present-day Dallas, Texas as well as several other communities within the United States of America, such as North American Phalanx.
Biography
Fourier was born in 1772. He moved from his native Besançon to Lyon, the second largest city in France. A travelling salesman and correspondence clerk, his research and thought was time-limited: he complained of "serving the knavery of merchants" and the stupefication of "deceiptful and degrading duties". A modest legacy set him up as a writer. He had three main sources for his thought: people he had met as a travelling salesman, newspapers, and introspection. His first book was published in 1808.Latterly he lived in Paris, where he died in 1837.
Ideas
Fourier declared that concern and cooperation were the secrets of social success. He believed that a society that cooperated would see an immense improvement in their productivity levels. Workers would be recompensed for their labors according to their contribution. Fourier saw such cooperation occurring in communities he called "phalanxes." Phalanxes were based around structures called "grand hotels," (or Phalanstère). These buildings were four level apartment complexes where the richest had the uppermost apartments and the poorest enjoyed a ground floor residence. Wealth was determined by one's job; jobs were assigned based on the interests and desires of the individual. There were incentives, jobs people might not enjoy doing would receive higher pay.
He believed that there were 12 common passions which resulted in 810 types of character, so the ideal 'Phalanx' would have exactly 1620 people. One day there would be 6M of these, loosely ruled by a world 'omniarch', or (later) a World Congress of Phalanxes. He had a touching concern for the sexually rejected - jilted suitors would be led away by a corps of 'fairies' who would soon cure them of their lovesickness, and visitors could consult the card-index of personality types for suitable partners for casual sex. He also defended homosexuality as a personal preference for some people.
Influence
Some Phalanx-style communities started developing in 1840.
The influence of Fourier's ideas in French politics was carried forward into the 1848 Revolution and the Paris Commune by followers such as Victor Considérant.
Fourier's influence began to rise again in the middle of the 20th century. among writers reappraising socialist ideas outside the Marxist mainstream. After the Surrealists had broken with the Communist Party, André Breton returned to Fourier, writing his Ode à Charles Fourier in 1947. In 1969, the Situationists quoted and adapted his Avis aux civilisés relativement à la prochaine métamorphose sociale in their text Avis aux civilisés relativement à l'autogestion généralisée. Indeed Marx did refer to Fourier in his writings however he rejected his works as ideological without any method of action, he said Fourier was merely able to 'reject it [capitalism] as evil' without justifying why.
Contemporary influence
Fourier's work has significantly influenced the writings of Gustav Wyneken, Guy Davenport, Hakim Bey, and Paul Goodman and probably influenced the Italian boss Adriano Olivetti in the management of his electronic company.
In Whit Stillman's film Metropolitan, social idealist Tom is described as a Fourierist, and debates the success of social experiment Brook Farm with another of the characters.
Further reading
primary- Fourier, Charles. Théorie des quatre mouvements et des destinees generales (Theory of the four movements and the general destinies), appeared anonymously in Lyon in 1808.
- Fourier, Charles. Oeuvres complètes de Charles Fourier. 12 vols. Paris: Anthropos, 1966-1968.
- Jones, Gareth Stedman, and Ian Patterson, eds. Fourier: The Theory of the Four Movements. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996.
- Fourier, Charles. Design for Utopia: Selected Writings. Studies in the Libertarian and Utopian Tradition. New York: Schocken, 1971. ISBN 0-8052-0303-6
- Beecher, Jonathan. Charles Fourier: The Visionary and His World. Berkeley, U of California P, 1987. (a major work)
- Burleigh, Michael. Earthly Powers. London: HarperCollins, 2005 ISBN 0-00-719572-9
- Barthes, Roland Sade Fourier Loyola. Paris: Seuil, 1971.
- Brock, William H. [Phalanx on a Hill: Responses to Fourierism in the Transcendentalist Circle]. Diss., Loyola U Chicago, 1996.
- Buber, Martin. "Paths in Utopia." Boston: Beacon Press, 1949.
- Davis, Philip G. Goddess Unmasked: The Rise of Neopagan Feminist Spirituality ISBN 1890626201
- Desroche, Henri. La Société festive. Du fouriérisme écrit au fouriérismes pratiqués. Paris: Seuil, 1975. (a major work)
- Engels, Frederick. Anti-Dühring. 25:1-309. Marx, Karl, and Frederick Engels. Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Collected Works [MECW]. 46 vols. to date. Moscow: Progress, 1975- .
- Guarneri, Carl J. The Utopian Alternative: Fourierism in Nineteenth-Century America. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1991. (a major work): Left Right and Green ISBN 0872862895
See also
External links
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