Pantisocracy facts for kids

Pantisocracy was a special idea for a community where everyone would be equal. It was thought up in 1794 by two famous poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. The name "Pantisocracy" comes from ancient Greek words meaning "equal government by all."

The poets imagined a place where everyone would rule together and share everything. They first planned to start this community in the United States, near the Susquehanna River. However, they later disagreed on where to go, and the project never happened.

Other friends and family were also part of this dream. This included poet Robert Lovell and three sisters named Sara, Edith, and Mary Fricker. These sisters later married the three poets. Another friend, George Burnett, was also involved.

Their friend Thomas Poole thought the idea was interesting but also a bit too perfect for people at that time. He wrote that he wasn't sure if people were "perfect enough" to live under such a system for long.

What Was Pantisocracy?

The people who believed in Pantisocracy, called Pantisocrats, thought that society and politics at the time caused unfairness and made people feel trapped. They wanted to leave these problems behind. They planned to give up owning things just for themselves and start fresh in a new place. They hoped to live by "kindness and good sense."

Robert Southey explained that their dream community had two main ideas:

• Pantisocracy: This meant "government by all," where everyone would have an equal say.
• Aspheterism: This meant "everyone owning things together," so there would be no private property.

The plan was for a small group of educated people to give up their belongings. They would then work together for the common good, meaning what was best for everyone. They believed they would need very few rules. Decisions would be made so that no one person had more power than another. Coleridge hoped Pantisocracy would help stop people from being too greedy.

Coleridge and Southey also wanted a more relaxing life than they had in England. They expected each person in the community would only need to work two to three hours a day to keep the community going.

The Pantisocrats saw their plan as more than just finding personal peace. They also wanted to change things in England. They were disappointed with the French Revolution and with England's politics. Coleridge hoped this new community would be an experiment. If it worked, he thought it could slowly spread to more people. He also hoped a more active, natural life would make his family healthier.

Ideas That Inspired Pantisocracy

Many ideas inspired the Pantisocracy plan. One big influence was the ancient Greek philosopher Plato's ideas about an ideal society, which he wrote about in his books The Republic and Critias.

More recent inspirations for the Pantisocrats included:

• Sir Thomas More's book Utopia
• Francis Bacon's New Atlantis
• Tommaso Campanella's Civitas Solis

The Pantisocrats were also very interested in travel stories about the New World (America). Many writers who visited America described it as a fresh and welcoming country. They said its people were not spoiled by the problems of society. Coleridge and Southey read many of these accounts about the American continent.

How the Idea Started

Robert Southey began thinking about a perfect community in the United States as early as November 1793. Coleridge's school friend, Robert Allen, introduced Coleridge to Southey. This happened while Coleridge was on a walking trip. Southey later wrote that this meeting "fixed the future fortunes of us both."

Coleridge stayed in Oxford for several weeks. He and Southey talked about the problems of their time. They also discussed the chance of starting a perfect society in the United States. Coleridge first called it "Pantocracy" and then "Pantisocracy."

Throughout July, Coleridge and Southey wrote many letters to each other about their plans. Coleridge even shared his excitement about Pantisocracy with people he met on his walking trip. Some people were surprised by his radical ideas. In August, Coleridge and his friend rejoined Southey in Bristol.

In Bristol, Southey and Coleridge continued to develop their plans. They spoke openly about their ideas. One person who heard them was John Poole, a cousin of Tom Poole. John Poole wrote that the young men were "shamefully hot with Democratic rage as regards politics, and both Infidel as to religion." He said he was "extremely indignant."

During this time, the young men also met the Fricker family. Mrs. Fricker was a widow whose daughters seemed willing to join the plan. Southey became interested in Edith, and Coleridge started showing interest in Sara.

Challenges and Disagreements

In the autumn of 1794, Coleridge began to look into the practical side of setting up a community in America. He spoke with a land agent. In a letter to Southey, he wrote that £2000 (about $2,500 USD today) would be enough. The agent said they could buy land cheaper in America. He also said twelve men could clear 300 acres in a few months. The agent suggested the Susquehanna River area because it was beautiful and safe from hostile Native Americans.

Neither Coleridge nor Southey had enough money. But they planned to leave in the spring of 1795. They hoped other, wealthier people would join them and help pay for the trip. Coleridge imagined the community would include "twelve men with their families." The costs would be split, with richer members helping poorer ones.

Other practical problems came up. The young men were not good at farming or carpentry. They planned to learn these skills over the winter before leaving in March. Some families planning to go had children. Coleridge worried that these children might already be too influenced by society. This could cause problems for the Pantisocracy.

As the departure date got closer, and they still didn't have enough money, the people who wanted to go started to lose their excitement. Also, some stories about life in America were not as positive as the ones Coleridge had read. These stories described a difficult life. One reviewer even joked that people promoting America were like "show-men" trying to trick passengers.

Coleridge also faced personal challenges. He received a letter from Mary Evans, an old friend, who argued against the plan. His feelings for her made him doubt Pantisocracy for a while. But when he learned she was engaged, he focused back on Pantisocracy and Sara Fricker. Under pressure from Southey, Coleridge married Sara in October 1795.

As the plans slowed down, Southey and Coleridge reached a point where they couldn't agree. They shared rooms in Bristol, but Southey worried about Coleridge's spending habits. Southey had contributed much more money to their shared funds. At one point, Southey even suggested taking servants to the New World, which Coleridge thought was silly.

Southey and others also thought about a less ambitious plan: buying a shared farm in Wales. Coleridge, still dreaming of America, felt this was not true Pantisocracy. He complained that private money would not be given up at the Wales farm. He wrote that they would just be "partners in a petty farming trade." By the winter of 1795, the dream of Pantisocracy had almost completely disappeared.

How Pantisocracy Affected Coleridge

The idea of Pantisocracy influenced Coleridge's writing and thinking. Two of his poems directly talk about the plans he and Southey had. One sonnet, "Pantisocracy," was sent to Southey in a letter but was not published while Coleridge was alive. Another sonnet, "On the Prospect of Establishing a Pantisocracy," was published later. Many of Coleridge's other works from that time also hint at the New World and might have been inspired by his thoughts about the Susquehanna River.

Even though the Pantisocracy plan never became a real community, it did affect Coleridge's ideas about philosophy. His lectures from that time show his Pantisocratic thoughts on how people should relate to each other and about wealth. Years later, he called the plan "as harmless as it was extravagant." But it's clear that many of the amazing images and political ideas in his later works were influenced by Pantisocracy and his research for the trip. On a personal level, perhaps the biggest impact Pantisocracy had on the young Coleridge was bringing Sara Fricker into his life, and later, their family.