From Nowhere: Utopian and Dystopian Visions of our - Chris J. Young

Case Seven: Quest for Equality
Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract
Although equality and freedom have been goals pursued by many cultures and organizations around the
world since the beginning of recorded history, the nineteenth century saw the emergence of cross-social
structures from which people could launch and establish an egalitarian society. Writing in the eighteenth
century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau opened The Social Contract with the memorable phrase, ‘man is born free,
and everywhere he is in chains.’ indeed, many would wish to begin life anew with a tabula rasa, but at birth
the established social, political, cultural, and economic structures undermine that ability. in the wake of
the Enlightenment and the French and American Revolutions, nineteenth-century European and American
writers, philosophers, and politicians began to believe in grand ideals like equality for all men and women,
all ethnicities and cultures, and all classes. Events like the abolition of slavery, the unionization of workers,
and general emancipation led to the eventual enfranchisement of millions of marginalized people around
the globe. From international movements came calls for the reform of contemporary political and economic
structures, such as monarchies and capitalism, which were perceived by many to be the ultimate source of
universal inequality. With these vast critiques, however, also came practical suggestions for the improvement
of society, as well as concrete proposals for the establishment of true and lasting justice.
40. Charles Fourier (1772–1837). Le nouveau monde industriel et sociétaire.
Paris: Bossange père [et] P. Mongie ainé, 1829.
Along with Robert Owen, Charles Fourier was one of the most prominent utopian-socialists of the
early nineteenth century. Fourier became convinced that a thorough study of Western society and
capitalism would reveal the problems endemic within it, such as poverty and disenfranchisement. A
forerunner of the communistic writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Fourier believed that the
chief flaws of modern development could be solved by a system of community life revolving around
a central building, the phalanstère, or phalanx. Work would be transformed into ‘attractive labour,’
with many differing tasks performed daily, combined with ample opportunities for entertainment.
Reward for labour would not be communal, but based on the three factors of capital, labour, and
talent. Le nouveau monde industriel et sociétaire was one of the main expressions of Fourier’s utopiansocialist
philosophy. This first edition, although a slim volume, contained detailed instructions
for how to create a phalanx. While not as influential as Marx and Engels’s Communist Manifesto,
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