Joseph Alexandre Victor d'Hupay (1746–1818) was a French writer and philosopher. He is known for being perhaps the first writer to use the term ''

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

'' in its modern sense. He wished to transform the ideals of the Enlightenment philosophers into practice.

Life and works

In 1746 Victor d'Hupay was born into an

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...

ic family in the village of La Tour-d'Aigues in the

Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mountain ranges (from we ...

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. d'Hupay began writing his first texts on the rural economy when he was seventeen. He believed agriculture to be the basis of wealth, and followed the

physiocrat Physiocracy (; from the Greek for "government of nature") is an economic theory developed by a group of 18th-century Age of Enlightenment French economists who believed that the wealth of nations derived solely from the value of "land agricultur ...

movement that advocated an economy based upon it just as Marquis de Mirabeau did. He followed the example of Baron de La Tour-d'Aigues, who was interested in land development and had one of the largest libraries of the time on this subject. d'Hupay challenged the display of wealth of Bruny, and other barons, because he, as a follower of

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

, wanted a simpler more rural life away from the tumult of cities. He read Enlightenment philosophers, and wished to put their ideas into action. In 1770, he bought the

bastide Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the fi ...

of Puget in Fuveau, thus acquiring his rights as a nobleman. During his life, Victor d'Hupay divided his time between La Tour-d'Aigues,

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseill ...

and the neighbouring village of Fuveau, to the south of

Montagne Sainte-Victoire Montagne Sainte-Victoire ( Provençal oc, Venturi / Santa Venturi according to classical orthography and oc, Ventùri / Santo Ventùri, label=none according to Mistralian orthography) is a limestone mountain ridge in the south of France whi ...

. The restored family bastide in Fuveau was run according to his principles. Once his country house in Fuveau was restored, he published his first book, '' Projet de communauté philosophe'', which advocated the idea of living in a sort of commune. In the book, he told how he wanted to gather in his new home a circle of friends for a life in community. In 1785, he defined himself as a communist author - a word that has existed since the twelfth century to designate certain forms of pooling of goods - in the sense of a supporter of the community of goods. Around this time, just before the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

, he was referred to as a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

in a book review by Restif de la Bretonne; according to some sources, this was the first time that the word "communism" was used in print in its modern sense. During the Revolution, Victor d'Hupay became enthusiastic about new ideas. He corresponded with Mirabeau and

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (also called Bernardin de St. Pierre) (19 January 1737, in Le Havre – 21 January 1814, in Éragny, Val-d'Oise) was a French writer and botanist. He is best known for his 1788 novel ''Paul et Virginie'', n ...

. He presented several projects of national education and models of government to the National Assembly, and militated for the suppression of marriage, which he saw as a form of property owning. Despite his commitment to the revolution, he was imprisoned under the Terror and his house was looted. He wrote a little under the Empire and died at Fuveau in 1818, at the age of seventy-two.

References

External links

Website devoted to Victor d'Hupay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hupay de Fuveau, Victor French political writers French communists 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers People from Vaucluse writers from Aix-en-Provence 1746 births 1818 deaths French male writers French male essayists 18th-century essayists 18th-century socialists