History of American Socialisms

by John Humphrey Noyes

"Fourier says: There are certain Laws of Organisation in nature, which are the source of order and harmony in creation. These laws human reason must discover and apply in the organization of society, if a true social order is to be established on the earth. The moral forces in man, called sentiments, faculties, passions, etc., are framed or fashioned, and their action determined, in accordance with these laws. They tend naturally to act in conformity with them, and would do so, if not thwarted. If the Social Organization, which is the external medium in which these forces operate, is based on those laws, it will, it is evident, be adapted to the forces—to the nature of man. This will secure their true, natural and harmonious development, and with it the solution of the fundamental problem of social order and harmony. In organizing society on its true basis, begin, says Fourier, with Industry, which is the primary and material branch of the Social Organization. By the natural organization of Industry the productive labors of mankind will be dignified and rendered attractive; wealth will be increased ten-fold, so that abundance will be secured to all, and with abundance, the means of education and refinement, and of social equality and unity. When refinement and intelligence are rendered general, the superstructure of society will be built under the favorable circumstances which such a work requires.

"Briefly stated, such is Fourier's view. In his works he describes in detail the plan of Industrial Organization. He explains the laws of organization in Nature (as he understands them), on which Industry is to be based. He takes special pains to give minute directions in relation to the subject, and warns those who may undertake the work of organization, to avoid mistakes—some of which he points out—that may easily be made, and would vitiate the undertaking.

"The little Associations started in this country, of which you have given an account, had for their object the realization of Fourier's industrial system. Now, instead of avoiding the mistakes which he warned his followers against making, not one of those Associations realized a single one of the conditions which he laid down. Not one of them had the tenth, nor the twentieth part of the means and resources—pecuniary and scientific—necessary to carry out the organization he proposed. In a word, no trial, and no approach to a trial of Fourier's theory has been made. I do not say that his theory is true, or would succeed, if fairly tried. I simply affirm that no trial of it has been made; so that it is unjust to speak of it, as if it had been tested. With ample, that is, vast resources, and some years to prepare the domain, erect buildings, and make all necessary arrangements, so as to thoroughly prepare the field of operations before the members or operators entered, then with men of organizing capacity to test fairly the principles which he has laid down, a fair trial could be made.

"I repeat, let us be just to those who have labored patiently and conscientiously for the social elevation of humanity. Fourier's was a great soul. To a powerful intellect he added nobility and goodness of heart. Clear, exact, strict and scientific in thought, he was at the same time kind and philanthropic in feeling. Impelled by noble motives, he devoted his intellect to the most important of works, to the discovery of the natural principles of social organization. Such a man deserves to be treated with profound respect. Infantile attempts to realize his ideas should not, in their failure, be charged upon him, covering him with the ridicule or folly attached to them. Let him stand on his Theory. That is his intellectual pedestal. Let those who undertake to judge him, study his Theory. When they overthrow that they will overthrow him.

"I will close by stating my estimate of Fourier, which is the result of some reflection.

"Social Science is a creation of the nineteenth century. It has been developed in a regular form in the present century, as was Astronomy, for example, in the sixteenth. Men have arisen almost simultaneously in different countries, who have conceived the possibility of such a science, and set themselves to work at it. Fourier took the lead. He began in 1798, and published his first work in 1806. Krause, in Germany, began to write in 1808. St. Simon, in France, in 1811. Owen, in England, at a later period still. Comte, a disciple of St Simon, began in 1824, I think. Fourier and Comte were the only minds that undertook to base Social Science on, and to deduce it from, universal laws, having their source in the infallible wisdom of the universe. Comte, after laying a broad foundation with the aid of all the known sciences; after seeking to determine the theory of each special science, and to construct a Science of the Sciences by which to guide himself, abandons his scientific construction (reared in his first work—"Positive Philosophy"), when he comes to elaborate his plan of practical organization. He deduces his plan of the Social Order of the future from the historical past, and especially from the Middle Age regime, guided in so doing by his own personal feelings and views. His Social system is consequently a compound of historical deduction and personal sentiment. It is, I think, without practical value. His scientific demonstration of the possibility and the necessity of Social Science is of great value, and will secure to him unbounded respect in the future. Fourier, at the outset of his labors, conceived the necessity of discovering the laws of order and harmony in the universe—Nature's plan and theory of organization—and of deducing from them the Science of Social Organization. Leaving aside all secondary considerations, he set about this great work. The discovery of the laws of order and organization in creation was his great end. The deduction of a Social Order from them was an accessory work. He claims to have succeeded; and claims for his plan of social organization no value outside of its conformity to Nature's laws. "I give no theory of my own," he says in a hundred places; "I DEDUCE. If I have deduced erroneously, let others establish the true deduction."

"Social Science is a vast and complex science; it can not be discovered and constituted by the aid of empirical observation and reasoning: the Inductive method can not do its work here. The laws of order and organization in nature must be discovered, and from them the science must be deduced. In astronomy, in order to solve its higher and more abstruse problems, it is necessary to deduce from one of the great laws of Nature; namely, that of gravitation. It is more necessary still in the case of the involved problems of Social Science.

"Now the merit of Fourier consists in having seen clearly this great truth; in having sought carefully to discover Nature's laws of organization; and in having deduced from them with the greatest patience and fidelity the organization of the Social System which he has elaborated. His organization of Industry and of Education are master-pieces of deductive thought.

"If Fourier has failed, if he has not discovered the laws of natural organization, or has not deduced rightly from them, he has opened the way and pointed out the true path; he has shown what must be done, and furnished invaluable examples of the mode in which deduction must take place in Social organization. He has shown how the human mind is to create a Social Science, and effect the Social Reconstruction to which this science is to lead. If he went astray, and could not follow the difficult path he indicated, he has at least clearly described the ways and modes of proceeding. Others can now easily follow in his footsteps.

"If we would compare the pioneers in Social Science to those in astronomy, I would say that Fourier is the Kepler of the new science. Possessing, like Kepler, a vast and bold genius, he has, by far-reaching intuition and close analytic thought, discovered some of the fundamental principles of Social Science, enough to place it on a scientific foundation, and to constitute it regularly, as did Kepler in astronomy. Auguste Comte appears to me to be the Tycho Brahe of Social Science: learned and patient, but not original, not a discoverer of new laws and principles. Other great minds will be required to complete the science. It will have its Galileo, its Newton, its Laplace, and even still more all-sided minds; for the science is far more complex and abstruse than that of astronomy; it is the crowning intellectual evolution, which human genius is to effect in its scientific career.