  We discuss possible patterns of electron fractionalization in strongly
interacting electron systems. A popular possibility is one in which the charge
of the electron has been liberated from its Fermi statistics. Such a
fractionalized phase contains in it the seed of superconductivity. Another
possibility occurs when the spin of the electron, rather than its charge, is
liberated from its Fermi statistics. Such a phase contains in it the seed of
magnetism, rather than superconductivity. We consider models in which both of
these phases occur and study possible phase transitions between them. We
describe other fractionalized phases, distinct from these, in which fractions
of the electron themselves fractionalize, and discuss the topological
characterization of such phases. These ideas are illustrated with specific
models of p-wave superconductors, Kondo lattices, and coexistence between
d-wave superconductivity and antiferromagnetism.
