Owen, Robert (1771-1858), was a Welsh-born social reformer. He tried to prove as a businessman that it was good business to think of the employees’ welfare. He set up the famous New Harmony community in Indiana in 1825. Owen also pioneered in cooperative movements (see Cooperative (History) ).
Owen was born in Newtown, Wales, on May 14, 1771. He left school when he was 9 years old and went to England to work as a cotton spinner. In 1799, Owen became part owner and the head of the New Lanark cotton mills in Scotland. The Industrial Revolution had begun, and machines were replacing home sewing and weaving. New factories were rarely built with the comfort of the workers in mind. Wages were low, and women and children were not treated with consideration.
Owen organized a model community. Instead of employing children, he built schools for them. He kept his mills in good repair and tried to take care of his laborers’ needs. The success of his mills impressed many visitors.
New Harmony.
Owen wrote on the subject of proper social conditions and tried to interest the British government in building “villages of cooperation.” He thought these villages ought to be partly agricultural and partly industrial. He made up his mind to show they could succeed. He then bought the town of Harmonie, Indiana, and renamed it New Harmony. There he attempted to create a utopia (perfect society).
Owen believed in equal opportunity for all. His ideas in education were influenced by Johann Pestalozzi, a Swiss educator. Owen opposed mere book learning. He believed children also could be taught “correct ideas” by surrounding them with good examples. Owen lost popularity with some people because he held antireligious views.
Many of New Harmony’s residents eventually gave up Owen’s principles. In 1827, the community failed, and Owen returned to England.
Cooperatives.
Owen retired from business to concentrate on his social theories. He lived in London in 1828. There, trades unions became interested in his “villages of cooperation.” In 1833, Owen helped organize the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union. It had more than 500,000 members. The movement tried to reorganize industry into cooperatives. The government and manufacturers opposed it, and by 1834, the union had collapsed. Owen continued to write and agitate for government aid. Although his plans were not accepted, his ideas influenced all later cooperative movements.
Owen died in Newton on Nov. 17, 1858. His son Robert Dale Owen became a well-known social theorist.
See also Kindergarten (History) ; New Harmony ; Pestalozzi, Johann H.
