Summary
If Saint-Simon was half-mad, then his fellow countryman, Charles Fourier, was altogether crazy. He believed that the earth was geared to life cycles lasting 80,000 years—40,000 years of "ascending vibrations" and an equal number of "descending vibrations." The advancement of humanity consisted of eight stages. Four stages—Confusion, Savagery, Patriarchism, and Barbarousness—have already passed.
Humanity now looks forward to Guaranteeism and eventually Harmony, the final stage when the sea will become lemonade, peaceable species of animals will evolve, and people will live to 144 years, of which 120 years will be spent in unrestricted sexual delight. Then the seesaw will tip and humanity will work its way backward to Confusion before beginning another life cycle. These eight stages would repeat themselves endlessly.
In spite of his optimistic vision of the future, Fourier saw the practical world as utterly disorganized. As a solution, he proposed to reorganize society into phalanxes, or organized communes, of 1800 persons living under one roof, as in an ultra-modern hotel. Each person would have privacy, and the style of life would vary with one's ability to pay. Since everyone would have to work, there would be farmers, mechanics, and craftworkers. Children would perform dirty work and tend flowers. Residents would labor a few hours each day at whatever job appealed to them. A spirit of competition would exist.
Fourier believed that the phalanx concept would produce profits as high as 30 percent of the investment. Every member would share profits, which would be divided on the basis of 5/12 to labor, 4/12 to capital, and 3/12 to ability or talent. Everyone would be encouraged to become a part owner.
Surprisingly, the idea spread. In the U.S. alone, there were over forty phalanxes, including Brook Farm, Oneida, New Icaria, and Trumbull. However, while some lasted for several years, none proved permanent.
Commentary
The one factor which utopian socialists shared was idealism: They dreamed of the betterment of humanity. Some of these dreams, particularly Fourier's, were ridiculous, but it takes dreams to stimulate people to progress. Of these utopian dreamers, all dared to be different and to present dreams to scoffers, but Robert Owen's contributions were the most practical and the most lasting. These thinkers were both utopians and socialists—economic reformers who attempted to create an ideal world by changing society. To understand their role, an explanation of several terms is in order:
Utopia
An impractical social, intellectual, or political scheme. "Utopia" also refers to those ideal states which fail because they lack ideal human beings. Utopias are based on what the author thinks ought to be rather than what actually exists. Famous examples include Plato's Republic, Sir Thomas More's Utopia (from which the name comes), Sir Francis Bacon's New Atlantis, and Campanella's City of the Sun.
Socialism
State ownership of the basic means of production. The fundamental objective of socialism is to prevent capitalists and landlords from exploiting workers. Socialists believe that wealth should be distributed equally and that distribution under capitalism is unfair. Their solution is the nationalization of land, forests, minerals, factories, transportation, trade, and banking—with profits distributed by the state to the people rather than to capitalists and landlords.
Under socialism, rent, interest, and a leisure class would not exist. All would work according to ability.
Private property in the form of clothing, household goods, money, shelter, and land would be allowed the individual, but all else would be owned collectively. This is, of course, the modern concept of socialism, which has evolved from the concept of common ownership.
The whole idea of socialism dates to early utopian schemes. As already noted, the term originated with Robert Owen. But, as contrasted with communism, the socialists believe in attaining goals by an evolutionary process through democratic means.
Communism
Redistribution of wealth through revolution and class warfare. Basically, this belief differs from socialism in its method of attaining the same goal.
Utopian Socialists
Reformers who were inspired largely by the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution, particularly the belief in progress and the perfectibility of humanity. They did not preach class hatred but appealed to the intellectual and capitalistic classes to reform society voluntarily.
Ironically, the term is taken from Karl Marx, who used it scornfully, saying that these reformers were nothing more than impractical idealists. Thus they were named utopian socialists rather than his brand of practical revolutionary socialists. From the utopian socialists came the concept of the welfare state, held by modern socialists of Great Britain and Scandinavia, as well as others.
The last economist to be taken up in this chapter—John Stuart Mill—was not actually a utopian socialist but rather the champion of democratic liberalism, which was a broad-minded view of the principles of laissez faire. However, Mill gradually approached the socialist point of view and, in doing so, he added respectablity to the ideas of the utopian socialists.
