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An Experiment Inspired by Fourier: J.B. Godin's Familistere in Guise
Author(s) -
LALLEMENT MICHEL
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of historical sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.186
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1467-6443
pISSN - 0952-1909
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6443.2011.01404.x
Subject(s) - order (exchange) , fourier transform , portrait , scope (computer science) , democracy , psychology , mathematics , history , computer science , political science , art history , mathematical analysis , law , finance , politics , programming language , economics
Founded in 1859 by Jean‐Baptiste Godin, the Familistere in Guise (France) is one of the rare, if not the only Fourierist experiment to pass successfully the test of time. Like C. Fourier, who inspired him, Godin thought and acted above all in terms of social experimentation. What were the main social innovations to see the light within the scope of such research? In what way could they be said to have remained faithful to Fourier? And, in the end, how can we explain that Godin succeeded where so many other Fourierists had failed? In order to answer this question, a first section sketches the portrait and trajectory of Godin. The paper then mentions Godin's principal belief and analyzes a few Fourier‐inspired experiments carried out by Godin in order to promote industrial democracy. It also points to the limits of the schemes imagined by Godin to permit a community of sometimes nearly 2,000 men, women and children to exist.