New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1844-03-02
Fourier and the Courier.

appealing letter recently addressed to him through
our columns by Mr.. A. Brisbane; but, with that
zeal for Christianity and moral purity, which has
won orhim an envable reputation, proceeds to dea'
out column ofswceping denunciations of Fourier
ism as French nfidelity,' abomlna5le and DIS
gushing doctrines &c. We cannot perceive the
Justice ofrefusng to answer most respectful! letter
from man you have assailed, allowing the writer
to speak for himself, Or in any way permitting the
reader to know what he himself proposes, while
you heap on him accusations OF all kinds OF mo-
tives, views and purposes which ne dlsclalms and
and abhors-but when we come to be less of
philosopher and more Of Christian according
to the Courier standard, we may get the hang
Of it.
The Courier's article IS in good part made up
Of extracts from Mr.. Brisbanc's and other writ
ings, which prove whatever the Courier desires,
Just as you prove from the Bible skilfully ham
died, that there is no God The following Is
fair example Of Courierism:
"Thes expressions hatvasus bnt ,hsy
pc this int could be expected From some OF the
Mr. Charles Laue Of the foremost among them, In the
ss Of the Present IN an Association Article asks sig
nIicantly-'
Now this Mr.. Charles Lane never was and
never pretended to be Fourierst, but has been
conspicuous in Boston and this city as an able
opponent of any form of Association beyond the
single family. He has controverted Mr.. Bris-
bane as sharply and as ably as any man. tie
has all summer been engaged with A. B. Alcott
in an attempt to show practically well as by his
writings that the separate family is the true Social
basis. Very recently, his views have been some
what modified, and he has gone to reside for
season with the Shakers, in Harvard, Mass,
holding their anti-connubal, antl-Property no.
tons, and not even now pretending to any belief
in Fourier, whose teachings are SO directly oppo-
site. The paragraph quoted by the Courier from
Mr.. Lane, as recommending licentious inter
course, was intended by the writer to sustain the
Shaker idea of complete separation Of the sexes!
Oh course, if system is to bear the blame Of all
that is said by its foes as well as its friends, it
must fare hard. Mr.. Lane is settled, perfectly
pure, and, so far from being irreligious, is
gagged in controversy to prove the absolute ne
cessity OF Religion as the basis of any Society,"
He is the most spiritually minded man we know,
the Editor Of the Courier excepted.
The following, according to the Courier, are
among the open incubation of the Fourlerltes,
their worse doctrines being kept in the back
ground:
,,;tions saorsIi5n ~ b. plan Of insulting into the
mind Of child sentiments Of virtue honor and truth! Is
ldiculed as absurd aud frivolous DECEPTION
and iing directly ta9sh: him. by p'ecelt and example
aud precise scheme OF education which would make m
accomplished cOundrsl, deliberately skeched and
commended"
We cannot characterize these assertions as they
deserve in any courteous language, SO let them
pass. Our readers, certainly, cannot need any
refutation. We infer, from the last quotation,
that the writer must have been educ ated in what
he considers Fourier institution, but he is surely
mistaken in its character
One word on the general subject, and we
close. The Friends of Association in this Coun
try understand well their position. They have
carefully studied, judged and accepted, the plan
for an organization of Industry the basis Of
Combined Interests, propounded by Charles Fou-
rier. They know that this is based on eternal
Justice and Christian Phllanthrophy, and that its
vast Economies and facilities will secure to the
now destitute Millions advantages-such as
thorough, universal Education constant, unde-
grading Employment, the fair reward of their
Labor, means of constant Intellectual and Moral
culture, Sc &c.-which they can never hope to
obtain-whch they certainly cannot obtaln-un-
der the present Social arrangement, based on the
power of the strong and the restitution of the
feeble This great idea Of the Organization of
Industry on the basis of United instead of con-
tlctng Interests, they will live and die by. 1t
is right, it is bene6cen it is imperaively needed
and if Fourier and any of his disciples fell into
thousand speculative errors-if they were even
Infides, instead of being as in fact, Christians
it would not at all shake this truth Prove, then,
that Fourier condemned Marriage, or cherished
an unsound theory respecting the natural, upper
verted impulses of Human action, or proposed an
imprac,icabe way of training infants, or devised
a visionary rlode OF procuring the performance of
functions now deemed repulslve or disgusting-in
short, transform all the Misrepresentation and
caricatures of his defamers into truths-and still
those princip pies he has enunclated which these
adversaries cannot ridicule and dare not attempt
to refute would remain, as worthy Of acceptance
and self.denying effort as ever. Some arrange
ment OF Society which shall secure to every hu-
man being who has faculty 10 work an opportunity
70 labor and to receive the fair reward Of his LIZ.
bora reward which shall include the means of
thorough Education, ample Subsistence, Social