Thinking of a Utopian Future: Fourierism in Nineteenth-Century Spain

Fourierist utopianism really took root in nineteenth-century Spain. The original focal point in Cádiz had echoes in Cartagena, Granada, Madrid, and Valladolid. Apart from spreading Fourier’s ideas, these Spanish Fourierists tried to set up several utopian communities (known as phalansteries) and published books and newspapers, in which—among other things—we find the first signs of feminism in the Spanish language. For all these reasons, Spanish Fourierism may be considered an important chapter in the history of utopian socialism. As it had to do with a drive for freedom and daring in thought, the movement could be very flexible and was capable of associating with other doctrines, such as romanticism, feminism, and spiritism. Whereas the most political branch of Spanish Fourierism is related to the Democratic Party, republicanism, and the roots of Marxist socialism (Partido Socialista Obrero Español, the Spanish Socialist Party, founded in 1879), the libertarian drive implicit in setting up utopian communities lived on in anarchism.