ABSTRACT
Robert Owen and his collaborators were not the only utopian socialists who had an interest in the planning of new settlements. Many Owenites were aware of the somewhat different forms of socialism which had emerged across the Channel in France. Three distinct traditions had impacts on the early development of socialism in England – the Saint-Simonians, the followers of Etienne Cabet known as Icarians, and the followers of Charles Fourier. Etienne Cabet was influenced more by Thomas More's Utopia than he was by Robert Owen's writings. In France, Cabet organised a political movement based on the principle of pacific communism, with his ideas being disseminated through his newspaper, Le Populaire. The Fourierists had a significant role within French socialism but also appear to have had greater impact on British socialism and communitarianism than Cabet's followers. There is a contrast between the Owenites and the French utopian socialists.
