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Victor Prosper Considerant | |
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| Born | (1808-10-12)12 October 1808 Salins-les-Bains, France |
| Died | 27 December 1893(1893-12-27) (aged 85) Paris, France |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | 19th century philosophy |
| Region | French philosophy |
| School | Humanism |
| Notable ideas | Feminism, socialism |
Victor Prosper Considerant (12 October 1808 – 27 December 1893) was a Frenchutopian socialist philosopher and economist who was a disciple ofCharles Fourier.
Considerant was born inSalins-les-Bains, Jura and studied at theÉcole Polytechnique (1826 diploma). He entered theFrench Army as an engineer, rising to the rank of captain. However, he resigned his commission in 1831, in order to devote himself to advancing the doctrines of Fourier.[1] Subsequently, working as a musician, he collaborated with Fourier on newspapers. He edited the journalsLa Phalanstère andLa Phalange.[citation needed] On the death of Fourier in 1837, Considerant became the acknowledged head of the movement, and took charge ofLa Phalange.[1]
His mother-in-law,Clarisse Vigoureux, introduced Considerant to the principles of Fourierism.[citation needed]
Considerant wrote much in advocacy of his principles, of which the most important isLa Destinée Sociale. He authoredDemocracy Manifesto, which preceded by five years the similarCommunist Manifesto byMarx andEngels. Considerant defined the notion of a "right to (have) work", which would be one of the main ideas of French socialists in the1848 Revolutions. He is also known for having devised theproportional representation system. He also advocated such measures of "direct democracy" (a term he coined) as referendum and recall.
The failure of an insurrection againstLouis Napoléon obliged Considerant to go into exile in Belgium in June 1849.[citation needed]
While exiled, Considerant visited the United States in 1853 on an invitation fromAlbert Brisbane; following his travels, he wrote a book titledAu Texas advocating for a socialist colony based in Texas.[2]
In collaboration withJean-Baptiste Godin and others, Considerant was a founder and first director of theLa Réunion colony established in 1855 nearDallas,Texas.
After the failure of La Reunion, Considerant retreated to a farm inSan Antonio where he advocated for a new colony inUvalde Canyon.[2] Considerant would live in Texas throughout theAmerican Civil War, finally returning permanently to France with his wife Julie in 1869.[3]
He was a member of theFirst International, founded in 1864, and took part in the 1871Paris Commune.[citation needed] He died in Paris in 1893.
Contrary to a common error, his name is not written Considérant as he explained: "... there is no acute accent on my e. I have fought in vain for more than sixty years ever since my name was printed to defend it [from the accent]!"[4]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Considérant, Victor Prosper".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 978.
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