noun
- communal buildings or communities based on the utopian socialist theories of Charles Fourier
Usage: historical; plural of phalanstery
Examples
- The 19th-century reformers established several phalansteries across the American frontier.
- Fourier’s followers built phalansteries designed to house about 1,600 people each.
- Most phalansteries failed within a few years due to financial difficulties.
- The Brook Farm community was influenced by the phalanstery model.
- These experimental phalansteries aimed to create perfect social harmony.
- Historical records show that over 40 phalansteries were attempted in the United States.