Charles Fourier and Allan Kardec: symmetries and asymmetries

Abstract

Several works have pointed out the existence of correlations between Spiritism, as systematized by Allan Kardec, and the current of utopian or romantic Socialism founded by Charles Fourier. Kardec's own references in his publications to Fourierist thought and the interaction between followers of Fourierism and the nascent spiritist movement reinforce the presence of connections that require deeper investigations. This work aims to compare some of the fundamental postulates of these two influential doctrines originating from the 19th century, comparing their conceptions from three points of view. The first of these is the moral, in which one can identify, among other aspects, the way in which the two schools of thought assess the problem of human passions. The second is their perspective on the evolutionary march of the world, culminating with the third, which is the perception they exhibit about the ideal society. This examination allows a brief demonstration of the similarities and differences that can be found in the two systems of thought, explaining that similar characteristics do not imply theoretical subordination or equivalence between their proposals.