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The Theory of the Four Movements
This remarkable book, written soon after the French Revolution, has traditionally been considered one of the founding documents in the history of socialism. It introduces the best known and most extraordinary Utopia written in the past two centuries. Charles Fourier was among the first to formulate a right to a minimum standard of life. His radical approach involved a systematic critique of work, marriage and patriarchy, together with a parallel right to a "sexual minimum."
366 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1808
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About the author
Charles Fourier
261 books100 followersFrançois Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society. Fourier is, for instance, credited with having originated the word feminism in 1837.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 25, 2024
While working as a clerk in Lyon, Fourier wrote his first major work, Théorie des quatre mouvements et des destinées générales - 1808; The Social Destiny of Man, or Theory of the Four Movements, 1857). He argued that a natural social order corresponds to Newton's ordering of the physical universe and that both evolved in eight ascending periods. In harmony, at the highest stage, would freely express man's emotions. He contended it could create that stage by dividing society into phalanges.
In Fourier's conception, the phalange was to be a cooperative agricultural community bearing responsibility for the social welfare of the individual, characterized by continual shifting of roles among its members. He felt that phalanges would distribute wealth more equitably than under capitalism and introduced into any political system, including a monarchy. It rewarded the individual member of a phalange based on the total productivity of the phalange.
In Fourier's conception, the phalange was to be a cooperative agricultural community bearing responsibility for the social welfare of the individual, characterized by continual shifting of roles among its members. He felt that phalanges would distribute wealth more equitably than under capitalism and introduced into any political system, including a monarchy. It rewarded the individual member of a phalange based on the total productivity of the phalange.
July 18, 2019
There's a vast and intricate mythology behind Fourier's name. But to scratch the surface: Even "utopian socialist" seems like an understatement when describing Fourier; intergalactic or extraterrestrial socialist seems more apt. The world Fourier describes is, as some of his interpreters have noted, a kind of surrealist dream that unfolds in a series of successive epochs and undergoes a dramatic revolution between "chaos" and "harmony." Fourier believed that he was the first man in history to apprehend the underlying order of history as well as the destiny of man & the universe. The cosmos and everything in it, according to Fourier, are designed by god "according to mathematical laws of universal movement." There are four branches of universal movement: social movement, animal movement, organic movement, and material movement. Among these branches, only "material movement," Fourier claims, was understood in his time: it's something like the physics of Newton. Fourier promises to eventually release a multi-volume treatise on the principles of the four movements that explains their workings in minor detail. He never managed this. "The Theory of Four Movements" (1808) is actually just about one of the movements: the social movement. It's a "slender glimpse" into an advanced body of theory. Fourier is at once ridiculous and profound. In his more risible moments, Fourier describes far-fetched theories about the earth's future geography in painstaking and meticulous detail. These deadpan elaborations are part of the joy of reading Fourier.
Now what did he believe? That terrestrial history would be divided into a 4-stage, 32-period palindromic drama from Chaos to Harmony and back to Chaos again. Both the earth and its human populations that inhabited it would go through an 80,000-year process of ascending and descending "coherence," in which it they will move first in and then out of sync with the underlying mathematics of the universe. Ascending incoherence gives way to ascending combination; then descending combination gives way to descending incoherence. At the heart of this epic process is a 70,000-year period of "harmonic creations," in which man lives according to the combinatorial laws of the passional "series." Accompanying and supporting this "leap" into social "harmony," is a correlative transformation of the earth, in which the aurora borealis (what Fourier identifies as the earth's reproductive fluid) solidifies into a halo or "Northern Crown" that pollinates the southern pole, engendering a temperate global climate, eliminating harmful animal species, and yes, giving the fertile waters around the Northern Crown a lemonade-like flavor. Fourier speaks of the crown's various "influences" on the earth, many of them fanciful.
Fourier's theory of human nature and society is based on "passional attraction," a set of twelve "radical passions" that drive human behavior. Fourier is extremely contemptuous of civilization and philosophy, which has "denied" our passions and encouraged us to "repress" our passions. This is totally misguided, according to Fourier, who believes that it is only when we indulge and satisfy our god-given passions that we can find happiness. There are twelve radical passions in Fourier's scheme: luxurious, affective, and distributive passions. The luxurious passions are those of the five senses. The affective passions are those of friendship, love, family, and ambition. Finally, there are the distributive passions, la papillon (the passion for variety), la cabaliste (the passion for intrigue), la composite (the passion for combination). Happiness in Fourier results from acknowledging our attractive passions (each person has a different passional profile) and satisfying them to the best of his ability. It's for this reason that social harmony results from creating the kind of society that best facilitates the satisfaction of citizen's attractive passions. The elementary unit of such a society would be the "phalanstery" (the phalanx-monestary), in which work and daily living is organized in such a way as to satiate as many of their passions as possible. Members of this utopian community would work in groups of friends and alternate their work every two hours or so to keep them engaged. As one critic observes, "the life of the Phalanstery is a continual orgy of intense feeling, intellection, & activity." Marriage (an artificial convention that stifles attractive passions) and heteronormativity (also contrary to nature) would be eliminated; the nuclear family would be abandoned; children's rummaging curiosity would be channeled in the service of productive labor rather than discouraged. labor would be communal rather than solitary and talent would be singled our and rewarded. Society, in other words, would be radically restructured in the service of different ends. In wretched civilization men's lives are spoilt; people are exploited and dominated by the machinery of a profit-driven marketplace. Imperialism subjects millions to unmerited toil.
In Fourier's view, we are still stuck in a primitive and pre-harmonic phase of social evolution. (We still don't understand the "calculus" of the attractive passions.) Yet he envisaged a better world. After a miserable age of "civilization," an age of "guarantism" (in which everyone would be guaranteed basic work and insurance), would give way to increasingly complex and sophisticated forms of "association" or communal labor, from simple association to compound association, until a "leap" is made into "harmony" once we gain sufficient knowledge of the calculus of the passions and effectively apply them. This is certainly a kind of communist or community-centered utopia, perhaps the most mathematically and numerically involved one. At the dawn of the industrial revolution, Fourier dreamed up a vision of an impending social order in which the evils of early capitalism were replaced by an almost orgiastic vision of rewarding, sensually varied, even erotic, labor.
Now what did he believe? That terrestrial history would be divided into a 4-stage, 32-period palindromic drama from Chaos to Harmony and back to Chaos again. Both the earth and its human populations that inhabited it would go through an 80,000-year process of ascending and descending "coherence," in which it they will move first in and then out of sync with the underlying mathematics of the universe. Ascending incoherence gives way to ascending combination; then descending combination gives way to descending incoherence. At the heart of this epic process is a 70,000-year period of "harmonic creations," in which man lives according to the combinatorial laws of the passional "series." Accompanying and supporting this "leap" into social "harmony," is a correlative transformation of the earth, in which the aurora borealis (what Fourier identifies as the earth's reproductive fluid) solidifies into a halo or "Northern Crown" that pollinates the southern pole, engendering a temperate global climate, eliminating harmful animal species, and yes, giving the fertile waters around the Northern Crown a lemonade-like flavor. Fourier speaks of the crown's various "influences" on the earth, many of them fanciful.
Fourier's theory of human nature and society is based on "passional attraction," a set of twelve "radical passions" that drive human behavior. Fourier is extremely contemptuous of civilization and philosophy, which has "denied" our passions and encouraged us to "repress" our passions. This is totally misguided, according to Fourier, who believes that it is only when we indulge and satisfy our god-given passions that we can find happiness. There are twelve radical passions in Fourier's scheme: luxurious, affective, and distributive passions. The luxurious passions are those of the five senses. The affective passions are those of friendship, love, family, and ambition. Finally, there are the distributive passions, la papillon (the passion for variety), la cabaliste (the passion for intrigue), la composite (the passion for combination). Happiness in Fourier results from acknowledging our attractive passions (each person has a different passional profile) and satisfying them to the best of his ability. It's for this reason that social harmony results from creating the kind of society that best facilitates the satisfaction of citizen's attractive passions. The elementary unit of such a society would be the "phalanstery" (the phalanx-monestary), in which work and daily living is organized in such a way as to satiate as many of their passions as possible. Members of this utopian community would work in groups of friends and alternate their work every two hours or so to keep them engaged. As one critic observes, "the life of the Phalanstery is a continual orgy of intense feeling, intellection, & activity." Marriage (an artificial convention that stifles attractive passions) and heteronormativity (also contrary to nature) would be eliminated; the nuclear family would be abandoned; children's rummaging curiosity would be channeled in the service of productive labor rather than discouraged. labor would be communal rather than solitary and talent would be singled our and rewarded. Society, in other words, would be radically restructured in the service of different ends. In wretched civilization men's lives are spoilt; people are exploited and dominated by the machinery of a profit-driven marketplace. Imperialism subjects millions to unmerited toil.
In Fourier's view, we are still stuck in a primitive and pre-harmonic phase of social evolution. (We still don't understand the "calculus" of the attractive passions.) Yet he envisaged a better world. After a miserable age of "civilization," an age of "guarantism" (in which everyone would be guaranteed basic work and insurance), would give way to increasingly complex and sophisticated forms of "association" or communal labor, from simple association to compound association, until a "leap" is made into "harmony" once we gain sufficient knowledge of the calculus of the passions and effectively apply them. This is certainly a kind of communist or community-centered utopia, perhaps the most mathematically and numerically involved one. At the dawn of the industrial revolution, Fourier dreamed up a vision of an impending social order in which the evils of early capitalism were replaced by an almost orgiastic vision of rewarding, sensually varied, even erotic, labor.
April 2, 2016
This Fourier guy was nuts. A disgruntled merchant writing after the French Revolution, Fourier reveals a "prospectus" for a six-part treatise on the future that he has "scientifically discovered."
This involves how extensive agriculture and population growth will cause the global warming and create a "Northern Crown" - where the North Pole will have a Mediterranean climate. The South Pole will stay frozen, because, yeah - he doesn't really go into that. The Northern Crown will be accompanied by the acidification of the world's oceans--causing them to taste like "lemonade," I kid you not-- which will kill off all the fish and create new species.
Anyway, this will lead to a utopia of free love and female equality--truly revolutionary for 1808 -- we wouldn't see this stuff again till the 1960s.
Fourier's climate ideas are funny in that they are pretty darn close to the "theory of equable climates," the explanation for why the Earth was so universally warm during the time of the dinosaurs. He also acknowledges that climate change will have winners and losers, and grounds a lot of his pseudoscience in actual science.
The main caveat to this text is that Fourier is a raging bigote, with lengthy Anti-Semitic, Orientalist, and overall racist rants. But at least he was somewhat progressive towards women!
I cannot conclude without mentioning that Fourier's text often reads like a cult text - and it actually inspired some commune / colonies in the early USA that, not quite surprisingly, failed. Wacky! Creepy! Read all about it!
This involves how extensive agriculture and population growth will cause the global warming and create a "Northern Crown" - where the North Pole will have a Mediterranean climate. The South Pole will stay frozen, because, yeah - he doesn't really go into that. The Northern Crown will be accompanied by the acidification of the world's oceans--causing them to taste like "lemonade," I kid you not-- which will kill off all the fish and create new species.
Anyway, this will lead to a utopia of free love and female equality--truly revolutionary for 1808 -- we wouldn't see this stuff again till the 1960s.
Fourier's climate ideas are funny in that they are pretty darn close to the "theory of equable climates," the explanation for why the Earth was so universally warm during the time of the dinosaurs. He also acknowledges that climate change will have winners and losers, and grounds a lot of his pseudoscience in actual science.
The main caveat to this text is that Fourier is a raging bigote, with lengthy Anti-Semitic, Orientalist, and overall racist rants. But at least he was somewhat progressive towards women!
I cannot conclude without mentioning that Fourier's text often reads like a cult text - and it actually inspired some commune / colonies in the early USA that, not quite surprisingly, failed. Wacky! Creepy! Read all about it!
April 26, 2022
I've read a lot of crazy sh** in my life, but this is really something else
August 20, 2016
A unique mix of criticism, comedy, and farce. It's nutty.
Unfortunately Fourier's improvement on civilization just looks like a "better" form of the same.
I do think there's a reading of this where it can all be seen as a satire of social reformers, including the socialist and utopian types.
Apparently I also missed the line where the oceans turn to lemonade*. Is that in here and I just glanced it over, or is it somewhere else?
*Oh, I see, it's only in a footnote, and he doesn't say the sea will be lemonade, only that it will taste like it due to "boreal citric acid" and salt.
Unfortunately Fourier's improvement on civilization just looks like a "better" form of the same.
I do think there's a reading of this where it can all be seen as a satire of social reformers, including the socialist and utopian types.
Apparently I also missed the line where the oceans turn to lemonade*. Is that in here and I just glanced it over, or is it somewhere else?
*Oh, I see, it's only in a footnote, and he doesn't say the sea will be lemonade, only that it will taste like it due to "boreal citric acid" and salt.
November 4, 2017
Well that was mostly terrible but not entirely so. I'll try to break this down.
We have about 5% cult-leader style self-promotion and praise, the author compares himself to Columbus and Hercules at various points.
About 10% wacky interpretive fiction, something along the lines of Phrenology or Astrology but he applies it to everything in his 7000 year old universe. From peacocks to the northern lights to the fact Earth doesn't have cool rings like Saturn (he seems particularly bitter about that :P ), in the authors view these are all symbols placed by a god to tell us we're doing things wrong.
Another 5% is fairly well aimed critique of civilization and capitalism, the critique is far longer than 5% of the book but only about 5% is not tedious.
So i think we're up to 25%, now, add 65% mind numbing tedium and we're left with a 10% golden nugget of wisdom.
The authors utopian ideas are not terrible, his attempt being to create a system in which peoples greed, jealousy, ambition, sexual passions etc. are beneficial rather than destructive. Using a sort of rival club system combined with the usual commune idea.
However the real highlight is the authors views on slavery and especially the role of women in society. Frankly in some ways his views are more advanced than those of today. Although he doesn't go into too much detail, meaning his views on female equality may not entirely be the same as a modern view of female equality.
Nevertheless some really interesting stuff, like i say a lot of the time after reading an old book, nothing much seems to have changed :( , the authors critique of capitalism and gender equality still being annoyingly relevant.
Overall though still boring as hell :) .
We have about 5% cult-leader style self-promotion and praise, the author compares himself to Columbus and Hercules at various points.
About 10% wacky interpretive fiction, something along the lines of Phrenology or Astrology but he applies it to everything in his 7000 year old universe. From peacocks to the northern lights to the fact Earth doesn't have cool rings like Saturn (he seems particularly bitter about that :P ), in the authors view these are all symbols placed by a god to tell us we're doing things wrong.
Another 5% is fairly well aimed critique of civilization and capitalism, the critique is far longer than 5% of the book but only about 5% is not tedious.
So i think we're up to 25%, now, add 65% mind numbing tedium and we're left with a 10% golden nugget of wisdom.
The authors utopian ideas are not terrible, his attempt being to create a system in which peoples greed, jealousy, ambition, sexual passions etc. are beneficial rather than destructive. Using a sort of rival club system combined with the usual commune idea.
However the real highlight is the authors views on slavery and especially the role of women in society. Frankly in some ways his views are more advanced than those of today. Although he doesn't go into too much detail, meaning his views on female equality may not entirely be the same as a modern view of female equality.
Nevertheless some really interesting stuff, like i say a lot of the time after reading an old book, nothing much seems to have changed :( , the authors critique of capitalism and gender equality still being annoyingly relevant.
Overall though still boring as hell :) .
January 23, 2009
Not just slightly cookie (the planets are copulating!) but definitely an observant guy all the same. Huzzah for utopian socialism.
November 6, 2021
Fourier is clearly a very intelligent and well grounded fellow.
Yes, the sea water is going to turn into lemonade and kill all the sea monsters and bring about a new race of amphibious servants and fishy friends who'll drag our ships about for us!
Finally someone with the balls to say it.
The Theory of the Four Movements offers a wholly sensible programme. We're all going to live in one building, have orgies, live in all voluptuousness, and bring about some sort of universal cosmological harmony binding all the planets together so that we can grow to 7 ft and live to 144 - just as God intended.
A very insightful and astute read with many pertinent lessons for today.
Yes, the sea water is going to turn into lemonade and kill all the sea monsters and bring about a new race of amphibious servants and fishy friends who'll drag our ships about for us!
Finally someone with the balls to say it.
The Theory of the Four Movements offers a wholly sensible programme. We're all going to live in one building, have orgies, live in all voluptuousness, and bring about some sort of universal cosmological harmony binding all the planets together so that we can grow to 7 ft and live to 144 - just as God intended.
A very insightful and astute read with many pertinent lessons for today.
October 3, 2017
Vi har egentlig kun læst omkring 100 siders uddrag (ikke at forglemme sekundærlitteraturen oven i), men den er så besværlig at læse at det har taget mig meget længere tid end det burde og jeg har derfor inkluderet den i min reading challenge for i år alligevel haha. Han har nogle ret fede idéer men jøsses det er tung læsning! Men han ville have kunne lide 2017, det er jeg ret sikker på 👌
August 4, 2021
I think a generous ratio would be about 80% crackpot, 20% brilliant insights. He rants about planets fucking, the change in the ocean flavor, the what basically amounts to global warming increasing the area of habitable land, the horrible economic practices and character of the Jews, and a lot of mostly empty verbiage about random topics can safely be discounted.
However, he is one of the earliest writers I know who earnestly believed in granting women equal rights and dignity. The runner up would be J.S. Mill, who was writing several decades later. He also has a lot of rants about the evils of capitalism, at least as it was practiced in his time in France. Some of these would be broadly applicable to today, but they are more emotional and hysterical than is typical in a philosophy book. As a whole this book is so poorly organized and argued, it is difficult to give it anything above the score I gave.
However, he is one of the earliest writers I know who earnestly believed in granting women equal rights and dignity. The runner up would be J.S. Mill, who was writing several decades later. He also has a lot of rants about the evils of capitalism, at least as it was practiced in his time in France. Some of these would be broadly applicable to today, but they are more emotional and hysterical than is typical in a philosophy book. As a whole this book is so poorly organized and argued, it is difficult to give it anything above the score I gave.
Read
August 22, 2017I read this, amongst other utopias, as a class assignment. I'm not a fan of utopias, I don't think most of them are fiction. This one definitely isn't. Therefore, I can't in good conscience rate them like I would do a novel.
However I should say this, we read this in contrast to News From Nowhere, and while the latter most definitely resembles a story with a plot and characters, this one with all its insane ramblings and mathematics was a lot easier to read. At times, it could even be somewhat fascinating in its insanity, so that's something.
By the way, for those interested, people have actually tried replicating the exact system described in this book in the real world. It didn't end well for them.
However I should say this, we read this in contrast to News From Nowhere, and while the latter most definitely resembles a story with a plot and characters, this one with all its insane ramblings and mathematics was a lot easier to read. At times, it could even be somewhat fascinating in its insanity, so that's something.
By the way, for those interested, people have actually tried replicating the exact system described in this book in the real world. It didn't end well for them.
October 27, 2008
If you are interested in Utopia, Fourier has his own description... A great read!
May 22, 2009
Brilliant. Fourier is the Utopian's Utopian! I read a 19th century edition of this, and am glad to see the new edition out.
March 19, 2024
Professional Yapper. Incredible.
Read
May 11, 2024did not get to read as much of this as i wanted, only the parts for class, but i like what he’s doing
June 27, 2025
Came with high expectations. I did not expect to be met with so much creative writing
December 23, 2025
stick to math bro
Want to read
January 27, 2012Read about this guy in The Last American Man. Sounds like Fourier has some really detailed and bizarre utopian ideas.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews