UTOPIAN SOCIALISM: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS, PHILOSOPHY, REPRESENTATIVES - ECONOMY - 2025

The utopian socialism is socialism that focuses on planning and construction of a perfect and egalitarian society, but without worrying about the methodology, the class struggle and the "status quo" in general.

It refers to the socialist tendency that advocates a society organized according to general ideals, basing this development on the basis of what is morally correct.

New Harmony utopian colony. Source: By F. Bate. Published by "The Association of all Classes of all Nations," at their institution, 69, Great Queen Street. Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, 1838. - Alamy, Public Domain, Utopian socialists express their defense of socialism when they claim that this is how society should be organized to achieve greater equity. To appreciate this preference, it is important to explore its formation and the Marxist counterpart, which makes a scientific analysis of capitalism.

There is much to admire in the ambitious theoretical and practical work of that first generation of utopian socialists. Yet today 'utopian' is a label that is invoked to dismiss any suggestion about things that could be radically different, indicating that socialism, however defined it may be, is simply an impossible dream.

Current considerations

Today, utopian socialists are not only of historical interest as a stage in the evolution of socialism. In some anarchist circles there is still a belief that worker cooperatives or versions of community life can be models to inspire support for a new way of running society.

It could be said that the utopian socialists only belonged to the first of the numerous groups that have placed their trust in socialism from above, through the management of an educated elite.

The hope that the action of a minority guerrilla army like Mao's in China or Castro's in Cuba, or even a leader like Britain's Jeremy Corbyn can transform society, owes something to that very idea.

According to certain authors, as long as capitalism continues to cause strong levels of inequality, it is important to defend utopian thinking, recovering the radical spirit of the first socialists.

Origin

Ideals of the French Revolution

Engels's pamphlet From Utopian Socialism to Scientific Socialism (1880) outlined the emergence of modern socialism in the ideas of the utopian socialists after the French Revolution, which was the defining event of European politics in the late eighteenth and early centuries. early XIX.

These early socialist ideas arose out of disappointment with the social and political institutions created as a result of the "triumph of reason" in the French Revolution.

The thinkers who inspired the revolution sought to build a society based on reason, putting an end to the feudal order where the hierarchy depended solely on family origin, religious superstition prevailing.

In this movement they had fought with the promise of liberating the whole of society, under the slogan that promised "freedom, equality and fraternity" for all.

However, those who benefited were mainly emerging capitalists, as the working class in expanding cities faced degradation and impoverishment.

Rise of capitalism

The first French socialists, such as Charles Fourier and the Comte de Saint-Simon, recognized that the new society was far from having the rationality that was expected.

As capitalism emerged, with the development of a highly unequal division of labor, the proletarianization and pauperization of the population led to a response from the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois social reformers.

His response was to plan for a more perfect form of social life. They rejected the fierce competition of the new capitalist order and affirmed that a society based on cooperation could better guarantee human happiness.

Industrialization

As industrialization brought the possibility of completely eradicating the problems associated with scarcity, the search for a better world took on a different perspective and character.

The realities of the industrial working class showed the exploitative essence of capitalism. On the other hand, rapid industrialization and socialized production exposed the reality that societies could be formed based on abundance, rather than scarcity.

This reality led to the idea of ​​the first socialist intellectuals that human society could and should be transformed into a truly democratic world, a socialist world, where there would be no exploitation of one class by another, and the needs of all people would be met.

During the first decade of the nineteenth century Saint-Simon published the Geneva letters, Fourier's first work appeared, and Robert Owen undertook the management of the New Lanark colony.

Marx and Engels called these socialists utopians, taking the term popularized by the 16th century writer Thomas More of a perfect society that could never really exist.

Characteristics and philosophy

- Moralistic theory

The theory of utopian socialism was moralistic and its practice focused on convincing the bourgeoisie to help the creation of a new society by peaceful means, seeking to set particular positive examples through the establishment of utopian colonies.

- Creation of a social science

Few critics of the nineteenth century took as a foundation the interest of utopian socialism in establishing a new science of man and society, explaining it as an eminently political phenomenon.

However, one of the primary statements of the utopian socialists was the invention of such a science, since they thought that a prerequisite for the reconstruction of society was to understand it scientifically.

The sociologist and philosopher Durkheim was one of the first to emphasize at the beginning of the 20th century the importance of utopian socialism in the emergence of the social sciences. He thought that Saint-Simon should be considered as the true founder of sociology.

Since then, the great importance of utopian socialism in the origin of the social sciences has been emphasized.

- Philosophy

Thinkers and philosophers not only grappled with the question of what a better world would look like, but how to achieve it.

A justification for his research is found in the definition given by the utopian socialists of the social sciences. Although they sought to move away from the philosophical tradition, their idea of ​​science was inspired by philosophical and even metaphysical conceptions.

Extending well beyond the confines of contemporary social science, the doctrines of Saint-Simon, Fourier, and Owen appear in retrospect as a bewildering combination of brilliant insight and the oversimplification of original thought.

Among the provisions proposed by utopian socialism was not only the abolition of the family, but also the development of industries on behalf of individuals, the proclamation of social harmony and the conversion of the function of the state into one more superintendency of production.

Thomas More. Portrait by the German painter Hans Holbein the Younger

Reflection on man and society

Utopian socialism inherited the meditations on man and society from the 18th century.

These reflections were heavily influenced by a long practice of utopian writings related to social organization, beginning with Thomas More's Utopia (1516).

Limitations

Utopian socialism criticized the existing capitalist mode of production and its results, but could not explain or dominate it.

His vision did not include a scientific evaluation of the reality of the class struggle or how a better world could be achieved from that material condition.

The utopian socialists did not understand how capitalism is run, where the class interests of the ruling class and the working class are totally opposed to each other.

Representatives and positions

The leading representatives criticized everything from private property and family structure, to the role of money and the degradation of workers forced to submit to their employers.

They tried to correct those problems, not only by promoting greater government involvement, but by imagining and implementing radically different ways of organizing economic and social life.

Henri de Saint-Simon

He believed that 18th century French society could be transformed into a rational and harmonious society led by philosophers and scientists for the common good for society.

He referred to the class struggle, although he described it as the struggle between those who work and those who are idle.

He believed that the producers of society, including the bourgeoisie, would unite against the idlers of society, such as the aristocracy, to create a more just society.

Charles Fourier

He was looking for a de-industrialization of society as a solution to capitalist development. He envisioned cooperative communities called "phalanges," where disparities in well-being would still exist, but where an undesirable job would receive a higher salary.

He criticized bourgeois society with great scathing, pointing out how exploitation was at the core of civilization.

He was the first to declare that in a given society the degree of emancipation of women was the natural measure of general emancipation.

He implemented the great maxim of social philosophy, where each individual has a certain predilection for some type of work in particular.

From this principle he deduced that if each individual is placed in his own predilection, doing what he pleases, the needs of all will be satisfied, without the forced means used by the current system of society.

Robert Owen

He was perhaps the best known utopian socialist. He had embraced the teaching of the materialistic philosophers, who said that the character of man was the product of the inheritance and environment of the individual during his life.

He considered that there were three major obstacles blocking the path to social reforms: private property, religion, and the existing form of marriage.

Robert Owen Source: John Cranch (Public domain) via Wikimedia Commons

He knew what to expect if he attacked them: excommunication from society and loss of his social position. This did not prevent him from lashing out without fear of the consequences, happening precisely what he had anticipated.

His advance in the direction of communism was the turning point in his life. While he was simply a philanthropist, he was rewarded with wealth, applause and glory, being the most popular man in Europe. However, when he surprised with his communist theories, he became an outcast from public life.

Excused from society, with the press conspiring against him, and impoverished by the failure of his experiments in America, he continued to work directly with the working class for 30 years.

Examples of utopian colonies

The utopian colonies that were founded did not last long as communes and inevitably declined into capitalist groupings.

- Model communities

Fourier built detailed plans for model communities. They consisted of towns of around 1,600 people, where each person could choose to rotate through different jobs they liked to do.

Fourier sought out wealthy and powerful entrepreneurs to support his model of generosity to the workforce. He believed that his experiments would serve as an example to convince others of the benefits of rational planning.

He made a famous advertisement where he encouraged wealthy entrepreneurs to invest in their model communities. No one responded to his call.

- Colonia New Lanark

Industrialist Robert Owen used his money in 1800 to acquire the cotton mills in New Lanark, Scotland.

There he established a model colony, providing comfortable homes and better wages. Thus, its workforce could be saved from the horrible conditions of the industrial slums.

He firmly believed that people were a product of their environment and that is why he strove to improve New Lanark's productivity. He prioritized the welfare of his people, rather than seeking profit.

His generosity even reduced the working day to ten and a half hours. This was done while your competitors made their people work 13-14 hours a day.

During a crisis, the colony stopped working for four months, but its workers continued to receive their full salary all the time.

However, in his opinion, the relatively favorable conditions that he assured his workers were far from being worthy of human beings. She was referring to the fact that while the situation of workers in New Lanark was considerably better than that of other workers, they were still subject to the rules of capital.

Communist society

Owen's solution to this dilemma was to build a society based on labor and collective property, a kind of communism. He believed that the ruling class would be conquered by the sheer rationality of communism and would cooperate in its establishment.

When Owen began to defend his ideas of establishing communism on a larger scale and abolishing private property, he was excluded from society.

- American utopian colonies

The utopian experiments spawned a whole utopian colony movement. Owen soon began organizing socialist communities in America, including the best known in New Harmony, Indiana. More than 30 separate communities were established in the United States during the 1830s and 1840s.

Owen fell from grace when his community project in New Harmony failed. This was in part because his business partner ran away with all the profits.

The idea remained popular enough in 1893 to inspire radical socialist journalist William Lane to establish the ill-fated New Australia colony in Paraguay.

References

1. Solidarity (2018). Who were the utopian socialists? Taken from: solidarity.net.au.
2. David Ruccio (2018). Utopian socialism. MR Online. Taken from: mronline.org.
3. Wiktionary (2019). Utopian socialism. Taken from: en.wiktionary.org.
4. Crystal Kim (2008). The first modern socialists: their means were utopian, but not their goal. Liberation School. Taken from: liberationschool.org.
5. Medium (2019). On Utopian Socialism. Taken from: medium.com.
6. Bryan Caplan (2019). Utopian Experimental Socialism. Econ Log. Taken from: econlib.org.
7. History Crunch (2019). Utopian Socialism. Taken from: historycrunch.com.