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Étienne-Gabriel Morelly (; 1717–1778) was a French utopian thinker, philosopher and novelist. An otherwise "obscure tax official",Michael Sonenscher, ''Sans-Culottes: An Eighteenth-Century Emblem in the French Revolution'', Princeton University Press, 2008, p.229 and teacher, Morelly wrote two books on education, a critique of Montesquieu and ''The Code of Nature,'' which was published anonymously in France in 1755.De Boni, C. (2012). Nature and Utopia in Morelly's Code De La Nature. In M.A. Ramiro Avilés & J.C. Davis (Eds.). Utopian Moments: Reading Utopian Texts (Textual Moments in the History of Political Thought, pp. 74–79). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781849666848.ch-012 This book, initially attributed to philosophes including Rousseau and
According to ''The Code of Nature'', "...where no property exists, none of its pernicious consequences could exist...." As Morelly believed that almost all social and moral ills were a consequence of private property, his proposed constitution eliminates most private property. As a result of this latter characteristic of his utopia, Morelly is often seen as a significant forerunner of later
Excerpts from ''The Code of Nature'' in English
*
Code de la Nature
', 1953 edition of the French text with an introduction by Vyacheslav Volgin {{DEFAULTSORT:Morelly, Etienne-Gabriel 1717 births 1778 deaths 18th-century French philosophers People from Vitry-le-François Proto-socialists Authors of utopian literature Enlightenment philosophers Age of Enlightenment
Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during t ...
, criticised contemporary society, postulated a social order without avarice, and proposed a constitution intended to lead to an egalitarian society without property, marriage, church or police.''The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought'', ed. Mark Goldie and Robert Wokler, Cambridge University Press, 2006, p.762
Outline
According to ''The Code of Nature'', "...where no property exists, none of its pernicious consequences could exist...." As Morelly believed that almost all social and moral ills were a consequence of private property, his proposed constitution eliminates most private property. As a result of this latter characteristic of his utopia, Morelly is often seen as a significant forerunner of later socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
thinkers. François-Noël Babeuf, Charles Fourier, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Louis Blanc, Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
all discussed Morelly's ideas in their own writing.
Among the "sacred and fundamental laws" Morelly proposed was "Nothing in society will belong to anyone, either as a personal possession or as capital goods, except the things for which the person has immediate use, for either his needs, his pleasures, or his daily work." He was opposed to the possession of property beyond what an individual needed and, especially, to private property used to employ others. According to Morelly, "All.. durable products will be gathered together in public stores in order to be distributed to all the citizens, daily or at some other specified interval..."
He also proposed banning of trade between individuals: "In accordance with the sacred laws, nothing will be sold or exchanged between citizens. Someone who needs, for example greens, vegetables or fruits, will go to the public square, which is where these items will have been brought by the man who cultivate them, and take what he needs for one day only."
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
Works
* ''Essai sur l'esprit humain'', 1743 * ''Essai sur le coeur humain'', 1745 * ''Le Prince, les délices des coeurs, ou traité des qualités d'un grand roi et système d'un sage gouvernement'' he Prince, the delights of the heart, or, A treatise on the qualities of a great king and system of wise government 1751 * ''Naufrage des isles flottantes, ou Basiliade du célèbre Pilpai'', 1753 * ''Code de la nature, ou le véritable esprit de ses lois'', 1755See also
* From each according to his ability, to each according to his needsReferences
External links
Excerpts from ''The Code of Nature'' in English
*
Code de la Nature
', 1953 edition of the French text with an introduction by Vyacheslav Volgin {{DEFAULTSORT:Morelly, Etienne-Gabriel 1717 births 1778 deaths 18th-century French philosophers People from Vitry-le-François Proto-socialists Authors of utopian literature Enlightenment philosophers Age of Enlightenment