The Calculus of Harmony
Charles Fourier claimed to find inspiration in the exorbitant price of an apple in a Parisian restaurant. He became convinced that he could design a more efficient way to produce and deliver goods.30 Many of his publications preceded those of de Saint-Simon, but his ideas seemed to find greater leverage when interpreted by others.
Unlike other socialists of his day, Fourier believed that the pursuit of self-interest served as an effective incentive to productive work.31 He simply did not believe that the market economy of his day successfully mobilized the pursuit of self-interest for the common good. Just the opposite, he argued—it was anarchic and inefficient. It allowed—it even encouraged—merchants to charge excessively high prices. A system of many small producers failed to take advantage of economies of scale. It condemned workers to repetitive and monotonous activities that inevitably sapped their energy and diminished their incentives to work. It confined women to repetitive and redundant domestic labor.As a merchant and traveling salesman, Fourier came into contact with much suffering from poverty and unemployment. He was offended by the low productivity of labor. He argued that most people were employed in deadening jobs that failed to fully utilize their energies, and that nearly two- thirds of all workers were performing virtually useless tasks.32 A more efficient economic organization promised enormous benefits to all—if only a benefactor-capitalist would advance the money necessary to set up the first community or “phalanstery”.
These practical suggestions were packaged in strangely mystical terms. The proper combination of individuals within the phalanstery could create the necessary harmonic chords. The minimum number of individuals required was 814, a figure Fourier arrived at by calculating the probable permutations of the requisite passions (the details have been lost to history).
He christened the society that would emerge from these associations Harmony, and developed an elaborate conceptual framework based on the correspondence between the passions, the chromatic scale, and the colors of the spectrum. The mystical qualities of a plan influenced by the principles of both tarot and chess would align the forces of cooperation and create an army devoted to production rather than to warfare.The phalansteries were not to be egalitarian communities. Members would be remunerated according to their individual contributions of capital, talent, and effort (the precise measurement of these contributions was not addressed). The dining rooms would offer meals at three different prices— luxurious, inexpensive, or takeaway to be consumed in one's own private room.33 On the other hand, inherited privilege would be abolished.34 A basic subsistence income or ‘‘social minimum'' for those unwilling or unable to work would provide a safety net of sorts, as well as a guarantee that all individuals had the freedom to choose their employment. Variety was also assured, since Fourier believed that no one truly enjoyed performing the same activity for more than two hours at a time. Work tasks would, therefore, be organized in two-hour shifts. Any time lost in making the transition between different activities would be regained by the freshness and enthusiasm with which work would be performed. Some tasks might remain so onerous that no one truly enjoyed performing them: these could be performed by Drudges who would only be called upon to work occasionally.
Some unpleasant tasks could be assigned to those who would revel in them. Fourier believed that two-thirds of all boys and one-third of all girls between the ages of nine and fifteen loved getting dirty. This group, organized into a formal corps called the Little Hordes, would be assigned such tasks as cleaning the stables and maintaining the sewers. The children's enthusiasm and efficiency would provide a model for others and the community as a whole would honor and celebrate them.
Every morning their charge would sound ‘‘in an uproar of bells, chimes, drums, and trumpets, a howling of dogs and a bellowing of bulls. Then the Hordes, led by their Khans and Druids, rush forward with a great shout, passing before the priests who sprinkle them with holy water.''35 Owen had suggested making children do the housework, but he had never made it sound like so much fun.The greatest advantage of collective association would be the reorganization and centralization of domestic tasks, such as food preparation and childcare. Fourier announced that the constraints of domesticity had reduced women's productivity to one-fifteenth that of men, although they were potentially capable of producing, on average, three-quarters as much (the basis for his calculations remains unclear). Fertility decline would release women from maternal obligations and free them for more directly productive activities, in which they would be disadvantaged only by their lesser physical strength. These calculations help explain why Fourier believed that the status of women was an important indicator of the progress of civilization.
Recognizing the difficulties of a transition towards more equal opportunity, Fourier proposed a form of affirmative action that would reserve one- half of all jobs in the most lucrative fields for women, but explained that about one-eighth of all women had a natural inclination for performing childcare.36 Fortunately, this number (plucked from his imagination, like all others) would be sufficient to meet collective needs, sparing men from responsibilities such as changing diapers. Fourier also believed that women were particularly skilled in the calculation of the erotic sympathies, the algebra of love. This gift would be put to good use in managing the sexual passions of the association, which were every bit as important to its harmony as total productive output.