Utopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought. Although it is technically possible for any set of ideas or any person living at any time in history to be a Utopian socialist, the term is most often applied to those socialists who lived in the first quarter of the 19th century. From the mid-19th century onwards, the other branches of socialism, most notably Marxism and scientific socialism, overtook utop...
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Utopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought. Although it is technically possible for any set of ideas or any person living at any time in history to be a Utopian socialist, the term is most often applied to those socialists who lived in the first quarter of the 19th century. From the mid-19th century onwards, the other branches of socialism, most notably Marxism and scientific socialism, overtook utopian socialism in terms of intellectual development and number of adherents. Utopian socialists were important in the formation of modern movements for intentional community, cooperatives and meritocracy.
The utopian socialist thinkers did not use the term utopian to refer to their ideas. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels referred to all socialist ideas that were simply a vision and distant goal for society as utopian. Utopian socialists were likened to engineers who drew up elaborate designs and concepts for creating a rational and more equal...
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