Charles Fourier

Charles Fourier (1772–1837) was a French social theorist who proposed cooperative communities called phalansteries and argued that social organization should satisfy human passions.

Phalanstery: A planned cooperative community in Fourier’s social theory, organized to combine productive work, shared life, and individual choice. This was Fourier’s proposed setting for reorganizing society around varied work and collective provision.
La Réunion: A nineteenth-century Fourierist settlement founded in Texas by French colonists led by Victor Considerant. This settlement was one of the largest attempts to put Fourierist association into practice.
French Revolution: A period of political and social upheaval in France beginning in 1789 that ended the monarchy and transformed European politics. Fourier’s lifetime began amid the revolution’s collapse of inherited institutions and promises of social reform.
Early socialism: Nineteenth-century movements and theories that challenged unequal ownership and sought cooperative or collective alternatives. Fourier’s community plans became one influential strand in socialism’s early development.
Theory of the Passions: A theory that treats human passions as natural forces whose varied expression can organize a harmonious society. Fourier made the passions the foundation for matching people to work and social roles.
Brook Farm: A Massachusetts communal experiment founded in 1841 that later adopted ideas associated with Fourierist association. Its founders’ turn toward Fourierism connected the community to his cooperative social vision.
Lyon silk trade: The production and commerce of silk centered in Lyon, a major French textile industry. Fourier’s work in commerce and exposure to trade shaped his criticism of competitive economic life.
Feminist theory: The study of gendered power and the social arrangements that produce or challenge inequality between genders. Fourier linked women’s social position to the condition of society, a claim later associated with socialist feminism.
Attractive Labor: Work organized to engage people’s interests and desires rather than relying chiefly on coercion or necessity. Fourier expected appealing, varied work to replace much of the drudgery of conventional labor.
North American Phalanx: A Fourierist cooperative community established in New Jersey in 1843 and dissolved in 1856. It was a sustained American experiment modeled directly on Fourier’s communal principles.

Linked from 8 pages