Saint-Simonism
Saint-Simonism(Or Saint-Simonianism), socialistic system based on the economic, religious, and social ideas of Claude-Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825). It aims to create an industrial society scientifically administered by experts (scientists, technicians, property owners, and financiers) for the benefit of the “poorest and most numerous classes.” It abolishes inheritance, socializes the means of production, and bases distribution on the merits of the individual recipients. The system exerted considerable influence on movements toward a scientifically planned economy even though the distortion of certain aspects of Saint-Simon's New Christianity (1825) by his disciples resulted in the discrediting and disbanding of the new sect they had organized. Michel Chevalier was among the Saint-Simonians who visited the U.S. Although no communities were founded in the U.S., Orestes Brownson was a notable convert who expounded these social...
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