Who were the utopian socialists, and what did they believe?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. Utopian socialists were so named by a critic, Karl Marx, who felt their beliefs were unrealistic and naïve. They did not believe in the abolition of private property, did not advocate violence, and wanted to harness the power of industrialization to the advantage of all workers. Clause Henri Saint-Simon was a French-born utopian socialist who advocated a New Christianity and admired the British System. Visionary Charles Fourier applied mathematical intensity to his concept of the phalange, a kind of collective which took individual passions into account, and which influenced the kibbutz program in Israel. Robert Owen also believed in the collective, and sought to establish consumerist cooperatives with factory-paid housing and schools.