Projet de communauté philosophe

Projet de communauté philosophe (translated as Project for a Philosophical Community) is a book written by the French philosopher Victor d'Hupay, published in 1777.

Review

This book can be seen as a cornerstone in the history of communism, as it describes for the first time how "communists" (people living in a "commune") should understand this philosophy.^{[dubious – discuss]} In this work, the author advises to "share all economic and material products between inhabitants of the 'commune', so that all may benefit from everybody's work".^[1] Later, in a 1785 letter to friend Restif de la Bretonne, d'Hupay would describe himself as a "communist" author.^[2][3]

The book was partly written in d'Hupay's own bastide in Meyreuil, near Aix-en-Provence, where he was determined to set his own commune and live by the communist philosophy, with neighbours and friends.^[4]

Additional information

There is currently only one known public copy of this original edition, which is kept at the Diderot Library in Lyon.^[5]