Victor d'Hupay

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 in its modern sense. He wished to transform the ideals of the Enlightenment philosophers into practice. – a word that had existed since the twelfth century to designate certain forms of pooling of goods – in the sense of an advocate of the community of goods. About this time, just before the French Revolution, he was referred to as a communist 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 some new ideas. He corresponded with Mirabeau and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. He presented several projects of national education and models of government to the National Assembly, and militated for the abolition of marriage, which he saw as a form of property owning. Despite his commitment to the revolution, he was imprisoned during the Terror and his house was looted. He authored a limited volume of work during the Empire and died at Fuveau in 1818, at the age of seventy-two.