Industrialization and the City: A new way of living - The Phalange of Charles Fourier
Phalanstère , Charles Fourier ; 1800s; Industrialization and the City The Architect Charles Fourier (1772-1837), full name François-Marie-Charles Fourier, was a French social theorist who advocated a reconstruction of society based on communities of productive individuals known as phalanges (from the Ancient Greek word phalanx – military unit). He argued that a natural social order exists corresponding to Newton’s ordering of the physical universe and that both concepts evolved in eight ascending periods. At the highest stage and when in harmony, man’s emotions would be freely expressed, and to achieve that stage society should be divided into phalanges. He also emphasized on adapting society to human needs and preached on the wastefulness of the capitalist system, a sentiment shared later on by the socialist Karl Marx. The Phalange as An Ideal “A self-contained community of 500-2,000 individuals working for a shared and mutual benefit” ...