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Biography Fourier was born in 1772. He moved from his native Besançon to Lyon, the second largest city in France. A travelling salesman and correspondence clerk, his research and thought was time-limited: he complained of "serving the knavery of merchants" and the stupefication of "deceiptful and degrading duties". A modest legacy set him up as a writer. He had three main sources for his thought: people he had met as a travelling salesman, newspapers, and introspection. His first book was published in 1808. Latterly he lived in Paris, where he died in 1837. Ideas Fourier declared that concern and cooperation were the secrets of social success. He believed that a society that cooperated would see an immense improvement in their productivity levels. Workers would be recompensed for their labors according to their contribution. Fourier saw such cooperation occurring in communities he called "phalanxes". Phalanxes were based around structures called "grand hotels," (or Phalanstère). These buildings were four level apartment complexes where the richest had the uppermost apartments and the poorest enjoyed a ground floor residence. Wealth was determined by one's job; jobs were assigned based on the interests and desires of the individual. There were incentives, jobs people might not enjoy doing would receive higher pay. He believed that there were twelve common passions which resulted in 810 types of character, so the ideal phalanx would have exactly 1620 people. One day there would be six million of these, loosely ruled by a world "omniarch", or (later) a World Congress of Phalanxes. He had a touching concern for the sexually rejected - jilted suitors would be led away by a corps of "fairies" who would soon cure them of their lovesickness, and visitors could consult the card-index of personality types for suitable partners for casual sex. He also defended homosexuality as a personal preference for some people. Influence The influence of Fourier's ideas in French politics was carried forward into the 1848 Revolution and the Paris Commune by followers such as Victor Considérant. In the middle of the 20th century, Fourier's influence began to rise again among writers reappraising socialist ideas outside the Marxist mainstream. After the Surrealists had broken with the French Communist Party, André Breton returned to Fourier, writing Ode à Charles Fourier in 1947. In 1969, the Situationists quoted and adapted Fourier's Avis aux civilisés relativement à la prochaine métamorphose sociale in their text Avis aux civilisés relativement à l'autogestion généralisée. Karl Marx also referred to Fourier in his writings, although he rejected Fourier's works as ideological without any method of action; Marx said Fourier was merely able to 'reject it capitalism as evil' without justifying why. Contemporary influence Fourier's work has significantly influenced the writings of Gustav Wyneken, Guy Davenport, Hakim Bey, and Paul Goodman and probably influenced the Italian boss Adriano Olivetti in the management of his electronic company. In Whit Stillman's film Metropolitan, social idealist Tom is described as a Fourierist, and debates the success of social experiment Brook Farm with another of the characters. Fouriers works On Fourier and his works On Fourierism and Fouriers posthumous influences See also | ||||||||||
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