What is UTOPIAN socialism and characteristics

Utopian socialism is a political ideology that arises in the Industrial Revolution as a reaction to the injustices of capitalism and the bourgeoisie. Let's focus on goals that utopian socialism pursued: first of all, it intended reject industrial progress to return in a certain way to the rural world and the artisanal production system. They believed that it was much more rational to work in this way, without factories, so that people could live in better conditions.

They also make a fierce criticism of private property, Well, they realize that only a few enjoy it (the big landowners, the big bourgeoisie, the political and economic power...) that's why they want to abolish private property. They also place a lot of emphasis on education. They believe that by educating the people, the people will become aware and will be able to take care of themselves. All these ideas are very rooted in the French Revolution, with which utopian socialists aim to create a rational state with a more just society. Some key figures of these utopian socialists are; Charles Fourier, Robert Owen, Henri de Saint-Simon.

To learn more about the topic, don't miss this lesson from a Teacher where we discover you What is utopian socialism and its most notable characteristics.

Index

1. What is utopian socialism? Simple definition
2. Utopian socialism: main characteristics
3. Who are the main representatives of socialism?
4. When does utopian socialism emerge?

He utopian socialism, also known as first socialism, pre-Marxist socialism or proto-socialism, is the way in which a set of political, economic and philosophical ideas socialists that emerged during the first years of the 19th century and are considered the origin of true socialism, compared to the later so-called scientific socialism.

The term utopian socialism was coined by Engels at the end of the 19th century, using it to refer to all those socialist currents prior to his ideas and of Marx, since he considered that utopian socialism was impossible because he did not analyze capitalism or fight against he.

Utopian socialism is not a movement as such, but rather It is a set of ideas similar, but that varies greatly depending on the author or thinker who transmits his ideas. The variety of utopian socialism meant that there were many variants, such as Christian or liberal beliefs.

Most of the theories of utopian socialism were born during the Industrial Revolution, when capitalism began to have greater influence, bringing this criticism from many people who were looking for a new economic system that was better than capitalism

The influence of utopian socialism was such that many of the ideas of Marxist socialism are born from him, since both Marx and Bakunin spoke of being influenced by these movements, and that therefore so much without utopian socialism we would not understand the anti-capitalist movements that appeared in the world.

Even so, many of the thinkers of the time considered that utopian socialism was useless, since it could not be was based on a real society, and therefore would not be able to function in reality, being therefore only theoretical.

To understand in depth what utopian socialism is, we must list its main characteristics, since this will make so that we can understand how it differs from other movements, and the reasons why it influenced movements later.

The main characteristics of utopian socialism are the following:

1. Cooperation must be basic, since for the maintenance of this world it is vital that everyone cooperates with each other, without selfishness, and seeking an ideal world in which everyone participates in the same way.
2. They believe that the world must move towards love and peace, totally rejecting war and violence, since they consider that a perfect world is one in which no one fights against anyone.
3. Equality is the basis of a society, Everyone must be equal to each other, since for socialism to work there must be no inequalities or differences between social classes.
4. It is an idealistic thought, since they seek an ideal world in which everything goes well, without conflicts and in which we are all equal.

To continue with this lesson we must talk about the main representatives of socialism utopian, as this will help us see the diverse points of view of the thinkers who developed these ideas.

Main representatives of utopian socialism are the following:

• Henri de Saint-Simon: Thinker of the positivist current of French origin. Among his main thoughts was the so-called positive social reorganization, which sought to satisfy all classes and especially the working class. His idea was to create a new state, led by scientists and artists, rather than by nobles and the clergy. His importance lies in the influence he had on liberalism, anarchism and Marxism.
• Charles Fourier: Economist, sociologist and philosopher of French origin. Founder of cooperativism, and great critic of the capitalist system and industrialization. He is considered the originator of liberal socialism, and also of feminism, since he considered that women deserved a greater position in society.
• Robert Owen: Welsh thinker known for promoting the British labor movement, considering that the world was corrupt, and looking for an idealistic model that could change the growing inequality in the world in which He lived.
• Etienne Cabet: French thinker and politician, founder of the Icarian movement, which sought to found an egalitarian society on American soil. He was looking for a system close to communism, but he did not want a revolution, but rather he considered that the way was to convince others of the importance of change.

With the arrival of the modern world, numerous writings began to exist that sought a just and balanced world, an idealization that considered it possible for it to exist. an egalitarian society. Of these early texts, the best known is Utopia by Thomas More, In it we talk about elements similar to utopian socialism.

Behind the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution and the arrival of capitalism The first thinkers began to appear who were looking for a new model for the changing world in which they live, trying to fix the problem of the excessive power of the bourgeoisie. The work of these thinkers is what was called utopian socialism.

The expansion of capitalism also brought the expansion of utopian socialism, thinkers emerged throughout Europe who created texts on the subject, but their models were always impossible to realize in reality.

Finally, Utopian socialism gave way to scientific socialism, when Marx and Engels created their socialist texts in which they sought a world similar to that of the utopian socialists, but adapting it in such a way that its implementation was possible.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is utopian socialism and characteristics, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Ackerley, M. YO. (2008). Utopian Socialism, the criticism of C. Marx and F. Engels. Its validity in the 21st century. Eikasia, 3, 16.
• Moriyon, F. G., & Castillo, J. AND. c. (1985). From utopian socialism to anarchism. Chisel.
• Engels, F. (2022). From utopian socialism to scientific socialism. Oedipro.