His reconstruction of society came to be known as Fourierism. Born François Charles Marie Fourier in Besancon, France, on April 7, 1772, Fourier was the ultimate prophet of a utopian society, so utopian that "sea water could be turned into lemonade" and human beings had remarkable powers to change their world. He departed almost entirely from established institutions and philosophies, rejecting the society in which he lived. Partly because of his lofty ideals and partly because he coupled them to a strange "theory of universal analogy," scholars have had a difficult time in accepting Fourier's theories.

As a child, Fourier was educated at a local Jesuit high school and was then apprenticed to various businesses. When the French Revolution began, Fourier, then living in Lyons, sided with the counter-revolutionaries. He was drafted into the army in 1794 but was discharged for ill health two years later. For years, Fourier...