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 () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

'' in its modern sense. He wished to transform the ideals of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

philosophers into practice.

Life and works

In 1746 Victor d'Hupay was born into an

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

ic family in the village of

La Tour-d'Aigues La Tour-d'Aigues (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern France. Geography The town is located at the south of the Grand Luberon, away from Pertuis. It is the capital town of the Pa ...

in the

Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal dialect, 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 mounta ...

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. 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. They believed that the wealth of nations derived solely from the value of "land agricultu ...

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 ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...

, 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 13th and 14th centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the first bastides ...

of Puget in

Fuveau Fuveau (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department The following is a list of the 119 communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of Fra ...

, 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, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

and the neighbouring village of Fuveau, to the south of

Montagne Sainte-Victoire Montagne Sainte-Victoire ( Provençal according to classical orthography and according to Mistralian orthography) is a limestone mountain ridge in the south of France which extends over between the départements of Bouches-du-Rhône and ...

. 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 had 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, he was referred to as a

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

in a book review by

Restif de la Bretonne Nicolas Restif de la Bretonne, born Nicolas-Edme Rétif or Nicolas-Edme Restif (; 23 October 1734 – 3 February 1806), also known as Rétif, was a French novelist. The term '' retifism'' for shoe fetishism was named after him (an early no ...

; 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 ...

. 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 1746 births 1818 deaths 18th-century French essayists 18th-century French male writers French communists French male essayists French male writers French political writers People from Vaucluse Proto-socialists writers from Aix-en-Provence