Barthelemy Prosper Enfantin

Born Feb. 8,1796; died Aug. 31, 1864. French Utopian socialist; disciple and follower of Saint-Simon.

Enfantin was mainly attracted by the economic side of Saint-Simon’s teaching and his ideas of a “new Christianity.” After Saint-Simon’s death, Enfantin and Bazard headed the Saint-Simonian school, which gradually degenerated into a “church,” of which Enfantin became one of the high priests. Bitter disagreements among the Saint-Simonians on questions of religion, marriage, and the family led to the disintegration of the Saint-Simonian church community (“family,” end of 1831). Enfantin then set up in Ménilmontant (near Paris) a labor commune, where he attempted to implement his ideas of collective labor and free love. In 1832 this community was prosecuted, and Enfantin served one year in prison for the ‘‘offense against morality.’’ Later he participated in engineering works in Egypt (he was one of the first to submit a plan for the Suez Canal) and was director of the Paris-Lyon railroad. He welcomed the Second Empire and called on Napoleon III to promote the industrial development of France.