Margaret Fuller’s Socialism

Abstract

This essay reflects on Fuller’s “socialism” within and against some of the historical stipulations that constitute the socialist tradition. While her known writings lack an explicit political economy, they make important contributions to an understanding of the ends and means of democratic revolution in her time. Fuller’s analytical methods are marked by inclusiveness, mutuality, and a comprehensive concern for the individual as well as the category. If one strips the term “utopian” of its Marxist opprobrium, Fuller may well be considered a “utopian socialist.”