Profile Major Works Resources

François-Marie-Charles Fourier, 1772-1837.

Portrait of Charles Fourier

French utopian socialist.

Unlike his contemporary rival, Henri de Saint-Simon, the half-mad Charles Fourier was an outright utopian.  Although Fourier was anti-state, anti-industry, anti-liberal, anti-competition and anti-urban, he distanced himself from the radical socialists who wanted the abolition of private property.   Instead, Fourier envisaged an utopian society in "natural harmony" with the cosmos that could be achieved by non-violent means. Fourier advocated the setting up phalanxes, a type of production and consumption co-operative enterprise or society.  Through his main publication, Réforme industrielle, Fourier collected numerous followers, many of whom attempted (and failed) at setting up these mini-societies.  He was highly disliked by the Marxians.

 

  

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Major Works of Charles Fourier

  • "Egarement de la raison démontré par les ridicules des sciences incertaines", 1806. [txt]
  • Sur les charlataneries commerciales, 1807
  • Théorie des quatre mouvements et des destinées générales, 1808 [bk] [1846 OC  v.1,] [English trans. The Social Destiny of Man, or the theory of four movements, bk]
  • "Tableau analytique de cocuage" [txt]
  • Traité de l'association doméstique-agricole, ou attraction industrielle, 1822,  v.1, v.2 [retitled  Théorie de l'unité universelle in 1841 OC ed. v.2, v.3, v.4, v.5,]. [English 1876 trans Theory of Social Organization,  (exc)]
  • Sommaire du Traité de l'association domestique-agricole, 1823 [bk]
  • Le nouveau monde industriel et societaire, 1829. [bk] [1830 ed][1846 OC v.6]
  • Pièges et charlatanisme des deux sectes Saint-Simon et Owen qui promettent l'association et le progrès, 1831 [bk]
  • La fausse industrie morcelée, répugnante, mensongère, et l'antidote, l'industrie naturelle, combinée, attrayante, véridique, donnant quadruple produit, 1835-36 v.1, v.2
  • Petit résumé de sa théorie, 1840 [bk]
  • Oeuvres Complètes, 1841-46, v.1, v.2, v.3, v.4, v.5, v.6
HET

 
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Resources on Charles Fourier

  • Fourier et son système by Z. Gatti de Gamond, 1840  [av]
  • Charles Fourier, sa vie et sa théorie, by Charles Pellarin 1843 [bk] [English trans, The Life of Charles Fourier by Charles Pellarin  trans]
  • Sketch of the life of Charles Fourier by J. Reynell Morell, 1849 [bk]
  • A Popular View of the doctrines of Charles Fourier, by Parke Godwin, 1844 [bk]
  • "Charles Fourier et son ecole" (v.2 p.41), by Louis Reybaud, in  Études sur les réformateurs ou socialistes modernes: Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Robert Owen, by Louis Reybaud, v.1, v.2, v.3
  • La vie, les oeuvres, les disciples de Charles Fourier by M.A.Gromier, 1907 [av]
  • Charles Fourier archive at Marxists.org
  • Fourier at history guide
  • Wikipedia
  • Charles Fourier: The visionary and his world, by Charles Beecher, 1986 [preview, biblio]

 

 
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