During a whole year, Considerant was at once the leader of the École sociétaire and a representative of the people in the Parliament assembled to draft a constitution for the Second Republic. The point here is to analyse his experience, at the same time of paramount importance and a bitter one. Convinced that his two commitments were complementary, Considerant invested much energy in the Assemblée, but his dream of fourierism as a republic spawned anger, amusement, or indifference. In spite of his failure, he constinued to call himself a « phalansterian, [...] a member of European democracy, a French citizen, and a Representative of the People ».

Thomas Bouchet est professeur associé en histoire de la pensée politique à l’université de Lausanne. Il travaille ces temps-ci sur Fourier, sur l’Ecole sociétaire, et plus généralement sur les premiers socialismes. Il s’intéresse également à l’histoire du droit au travail.