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Charles Fourier

File:Portrait_painting_of_Charles_Fourier_by_Jean_Gigoux_—_1835_(3x4_cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Charles Fourier

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French utopian socialist and philosopher (1772–1837)

AI overview

Charles Fourier was a French philosopher who lived from 1772 to 1837 and developed influential ideas about organizing society into cooperative communities called "phalansteries." His utopian socialist vision imagined a radically reorganized world where work would be pleasurable and people's natural desires would be fulfilled, making him an important early figure in the history of socialist thought.

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Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
Marie
Gender
male
Citizenship
France
Place of birth
Besançon
Place of death
Paris
Occupation
writer
Languages spoken
French
Notable work
phalanstère
Field of work
Fourierism
Image
Françoise Foliot - Jean Gigoux - Portrait de Charles Fourrier (cropped) (1).jpg
Show 12 more facts
birth name
François Marie Charles Fourier
place of burial
Montmartre Cemetery
Commons category
Charles Fourier
date of birth
1772-00-00
date of death
1837-00-00
Commons gallery
Charles Fourier
name in native language
Charles Fourier
influenced by
Nicolas-Edme Rétif
writing language
French
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

23 objects attributed to Charles Fourier, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~23 min read

Encyclopedic overview

François Marie Charles Fourier (/ˈfʊrieɪ, -iər/; French: [ʃaʁl fuʁje]; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker, and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of his views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become mainstream in modern society. For instance, Fourier is credited with having originated the word feminism in 1837.

Fourier's social views and proposals inspired a movement of intentional communities. Among them in the United States were the community of Utopia, Ohio; La Reunion near present-day Dallas, Texas; Lake Zurich, Illinois; the North American Phalanx in Red Bank, New Jersey; Brook Farm in West Roxbury, Massachusetts; the Community Place and Sodus Bay Phalanx in New York State; Silkville, Kansas, and several others. In Guise, France, he influenced the Familistery of Guise [fr; de; pt]. Fourier later inspired a diverse array of revolutionary thinkers and writers.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Charles Fourier” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (5)