Code of the Community

Name: Code of the Community
ISBN: 9787100079495

泰·德萨米The Commercial Press · ChinaApr 2023

3.9

Word count: 206K words
Chapters: 31
ISBN: 9787100079495

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Summary

In this book the author sharply criticizes the social and political order of the capitalist system while also setting out in great detail the basic principles for building a future ideal society.

Editor's review

The Code of Community is the representative work of the nineteenth-century French utopian communist Théodore Dézamy, first published in 1842. This Commercial Press edition, one volume in the Chinese Translation of World Academic Classics series, provides a precious historical text for understanding early communist thought. Dézamy systematically sets out his blueprint for an ideal "commune" society, advocating the abolition of private property, public ownership of goods, and distribution according to need, and designs detailed institutional arrangements covering political, economic, and social life. Compared with the utopian socialism of Saint-Simon and Fourier, Dézamy's thought is more revolutionary and practice-oriented and influenced later socialist movements. From the perspective of intellectual history, the book's value lies in showing a typical form of communist thought before the birth of scientific socialism; its utopian institutional designs contain both a sharp critique of capitalism and the intellectual limitations of its historical conditions. In reading it we must place it in the specific context of the early Industrial Revolution in Europe in the first half of the nineteenth century, when social tensions were intensifying, and understand its dual character as a document of social criticism and a plan for an ideal society. For modern readers, the book's significance lies not only in learning about a historical intellectual resource but also in inspiring us to consider different paths to enduring questions of equality, justice, and ownership.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers and students interested in the history of socialist thought and the origins of communist theory
Readers who wish to learn the concrete content of nineteenth-century utopian socialism and utopian thought
Thinkers concerned with institutional design and with issues of equality and justice in political philosophy
Readers of the Chinese Translation of World Academic Classics series who wish to engage systematically with classic Western political works

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking practical guides to economic or political action
Those impatient with historical theoretical texts who expect a light reading experience

Reading tips

It is advisable to read the translator's preface or an overview of the history of thought first to understand Dézamy's intellectual background and his place in the genealogy of utopian socialism.
While reading, compare Marx's and Engels's assessments of utopian socialism and consider the differences and connections between scientific socialism and earlier utopian schemes.
Pay attention to the concrete institutional designs in the book—the organization of labor, methods of distribution, educational planning, and so on—and analyze their idealism and their historical limitations.

About the publisher

The Commercial Press China · Founded in 1897

The Commercial Press is a publisher known for classic works and academic publishing, with titles spanning Eastern philosophy, foreign literature, world history, social culture, and applied psychology. Its list includes classical commentaries such as Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries on the Analects and Wang Bi's Commentary on the Zhouyi, as well as modern annotated translations like Zhuangzi with Modern Notes and Translation. In foreign literature it offers War and Peace and Crime and Punishment, while in world history it carries Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Applied psychology is represented by Irvin D. Yalom's Existential Psychotherapy, and ethical texts include a Greek-Chinese-English edition of the Nicomachean Ethics. Its authors and translators include Zhu Xi, Wang Bi, Yalom, Braudel, and translators such as Huang Zheng, Zhang Yiling, Shen Dongyu, and Tang Jialong, balancing the editing of original texts with academic translation.

版权信息
汉译世界学术名著丛书（分科本）出版说明
中译本序
泰·德萨米
序言
第一章本书的计划
第二章根本法
第三章分配法和经济法
第四章共同用膳
第五章工业法和农业法
第五章（续）
第六章关于贸易
第七章分散制度和公有制度的比较 [1]
第八章哲学
第九章关于婚姻、父子关系和家庭
第十章教育
第十一章劳动大军
第十二章气候的恢复
第十三章卫生法
第十四章警察法
第十五章科学和艺术
第十六章卢梭错误的真正原因
第十七章政治法
第十八章几条基本真理 [1]
第十九章关于过渡性制度的对话
附录（一）
附录（二）
泰奥多尔·德萨米传略
德萨米的著作
有关德萨米的参考书
主要人名对照表

FAQ

What is the core argument of The Code of Community?

The core argument is the thorough abolition of private property and the establishment of a commune system based on public ownership, common labor, and distribution according to need, with this ideal society's political, economic, and social life set out in the form of detailed legal provisions.

What is the relationship between Dézamy's thought and Marxism?

Dézamy belongs to what Marx and Engels called the "utopian communists." His thought influenced the early workers' movement, but in founding scientific socialism Marx and Engels criticized its utopian character and stressed the need to ground socialism in historical materialism and the laws of social development.

What are the features of this edition?

The Commercial Press edition is an authoritative Chinese scholarly translation, usually including a translator's preface or notes that help readers understand the text's historical context and intellectual value; it belongs to a basic series that systematically introduces classic Western scholarship.

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About the author

泰·德萨米 Author

Tai Desami is the author of The Public Code. Public information about this author is currently limited, and no clear records are available concerning an English name, nationality, or dates of birth and death. According to the information held in the library, only one work by this author has been collected, namely The Public Code, which is commonly classified under law. It can therefore be inferred that the author's writing centers on legal codes and institutional norms, and may involve the organization and exposition of rules concerning public property, public rights, or public governance. The juxtaposition of "public" and "code" in the title directs readers' attention to a text of generally binding rules rather than to scattered essays. Because biographical and scholarly background materials are lacking, it is difficult to determine the author's intellectual origins or historical standing. Readers should approach the work itself, read it in the context of legal history and the history of institutional thought, and pay attention to editions and the context of composition, avoiding excessive inference from the title alone.