Fourierism

Fourierism, philosophy of social reform developed by the French social theorist Charles Fourier that advocated the transformation of society into self-sufficient, independent “phalanges” (phalanxes). One of several utopian socialist programs to emerge in the second quarter of the 19th century, Fourierism was transplanted to the United States by Albert Brisbane, who renamed it “Associationism.”

Brisbane’s ideas were popularized by Horace Greeley in the pages of the New York Tribune, and shortly thereafter a number of communal groups—phalanxes—were established. The best known was Brook Farm (q.v.), near Boston, founded by George Ripley in 1841. Brook Farm lasted until 1847, but the average duration of the nearly 50 other phalanxes in the United States was just two years.

Based on an agrarian-handicraft economy, the phalanx consisted of about 1500 people. Work was voluntary and goods produced were the property of the phalanx. But members were paid an hourly wage (the scale escalating according to the disagreeableness of the task), and private property and inheritance were permitted. Fourier’s premise was that people could live harmoniously in a state of nature, free of government intervention. Transcendentalists found much to admire in Fourierism, and true believers predicted that eventually the entire world would be organized into phalanxes.