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phalanstery

/ˈfælənˌstɛri/
IPA guide

Other forms: phalansteries

A phalanstery is a group of people living in a communal society, and it's also the name of a building where they live.

A specific kind of utopian community, the phalanstery was first imagined by French philosopher Charles Fourier in the early 1800s. The French term, phalanstère, comes from phalanx, an ancient Greek military group, and monastery. The phalansteries, which later influenced buildings by architect Le Corbusier, were designed with communal kitchens, quiet rooms, libraries, and areas for doing carpentry, metal forging, and more. Work done here was intended to make the phalanstery self-sufficient.

Definitions of phalanstery
  1. noun
    a group of people living communally based on the principles put forth by Charles Fourier
  2. noun
    a building or property owned and shared equally by followers of Fourierism
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