Utopian Socialism

 Utopian Socialism

Robert Owen (1971 to 1858) is known for his role in the founding of major movements such as the Cooperative Movement as well as the Utopian Socialism. However, he rose to fame for his campaign for the creation of socialist communities and the advocating of proper working conditions for all employees. He believed that better treatment of employees consequently led to increased productivity. His actions attributed to the drastic industrial changes that characterized the Romanticism and Enlightenment eras. The growth of his business and his working experiences led to his devotion to the publication and practice of some of the economic and social strategies that he believed would positively impact the society as will be highlighted in the review below.

The increase in mechanical inventions for cotton farming and trading in Britain attributed to the great success and growth of industries and the development of commerce activities. However, Owen was against the modern factory setting so he sought to revolutionalize it as he still sought the moral economy of the pre-industrial era. Therefore, Environmentalism according to him was important as he did not see the need for changing to new revolutionalized means of production. He claimed that individuals were products of their environment and therefore for change to happen, one would have to change the environment to change individuals. Previously, employees had poor working conditions and he, therefore, sought an experiment to change his workers’ working environment to a favorable one. He believed that if employees were treated well, they would increase their productivity levels which would consequently translate to the growth of the industry. This principle attracted politicians with ant modern views as well as the working population. In 1800, while managing a textile factory in New Zealand, he introduced favorable working conditions such as creating safe working conditions, payroll deductions to finance insurance cover, renovating the houses as well as reducing the working hours (Davis, Robert & Frank 2014). Surprisingly the implementation of his working principles was effective as it not only attracted profits but also new employees who were amused by the success of the implementation of his experiment in production.

Britain was formerly an Agricultural harbor and is also considered among the first countries to experience the industrial revolution. Mechanical inventions led to the transformation of product production from small scale levels to craft activities and finally mass industrial manufacturing which not only increased local trade but also attracted international trade (Smelser & Neil 2013). For Britain, it is in the textile industry that the factory system that the potential for mass industrial production was first tapped. It also led to other innovative improvements thus putting the country ahead of others in production. According to Robert & Kenneth, internationally Britain grew its market during the early stages of the industrial revolution making it a hotbed for trade with other countries (2013). Therefore, Britain was leading in international trade. There was a great demand for cotton produced goods in America and Europe more than anywhere else. This led to the growth of foreign trade activities in Britain (Owen 164); the country which was among the first industrialized countries was placed at an advantageous trading position globally which means the British Industry grew faster as compared to other countries. However, according to Owen despite the high growth and success of the industry, it led to the creation of new inhibitors by diffusion of manufacturing activities and was bound to create evils in the society and this could only be curbed by using legislative measures to counter this system of production that he was against.

According to Robert Owen, the British government’s only interest in the industry only satisfied their financial gains. They considered the industry as a great source of national wealth that continued to accumulate with the growing industrial revolution. They were not concerned about the adverse effects caused by the growth of these manufacturing industries such as increased crime rate due to population increase. This explains why his views and opinions on the advocating for the protection of workers in the 1819 Cotton Mills and Factories Act faced opposition from political figures who went ahead and set unfavorable terms for the industrialists (Owen 164). According to him, the government was contented by the fact that these industries were a source of revenue generated majorly from foreign exchange and an increase in exports. Therefore, he asserted that the safety of workers was not their concern since all they wanted was individuals to work in factories. These exploited individuals were often unemployed illiterates and this became one of the reasons Owen advocated for increased educational levels for workers. A decline in education levels among workers meant that they were aware of their rights and would, therefore, avoid oppressive employment terms. Therefore the government was manipulating the workers.

In any growing community, the main responsibility of the government is to ensure that all employees are taken care of by supporting employee welfare movements and the abolition of any policies that negatively affect their working population. However, the British government did not support any of these measures during early industrialization. The Grand National Consolidated Trades Union that supported employees was forcefully closed by the government. The government’s responsibility is also to ensure that they counter all evils that arose from the diffusion of individuals with different social characters. Also, the government is responsible for ensuring that all economic activities taking place has positive impacts on the growth of the nation. This explains why Robert Owen faced opposition since his ideas revolved around communalism where everyone received equal benefits. This was not advantageous for political leaders who thrived from the benefits of individualism (Harrison & John 2009). The government gained power from some of the conditions in which the nation thrived. However, Robert Owens played a key in getting the government’s attention about the situation amidst the opposition and the transitions from traditional farming to industrial revolution.

According to Robert Owen, without proper treatment of employees, there will be lagging in development. He, therefore, stressed the importance of proper treatment by conducting social experiments such as the European settlement. He viewed industrialization as an epidemic that would only be controlled by subordinating machines to humans and not humans to machines as it would decrease human labor in Britain. Conclusively, his arguments and advocating of workers’ rights is justified as it not only led to reformed treatment of employees such as use of payroll for employees in insurance but they also sensitized the general public on oppressive discriminative employee measures sought by the individualist employers who wanted to have a share in the industries’ growing revenue.

Work Cited

Davis, Robert A., and Frank O’Hagan. Robert Owen. A&C Black, 2014.

Harrison, John. Robert Owen and the Owenites in Britain and America (Routledge Revivals): The Quest for the New Moral World. Routledge, 2009.

Hatcher, Tim. “Robert Owen: a historiographic study of a pioneer of human resource development.” European Journal of Training and Development (2013).

Morgan, Kenneth. The Birth of Industrial Britain: 1750-1850. Routledge, 2013.

Owen, Robert. Observations on the Effect of the Manufacturing System: With Hints for the Improvement of Those Parts of it which are Most Injurious to Health and Morals... Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1817.

Smelser, Neil J. Social change in the industrial revolution: An application of theory to the British cotton industry. Routledge, 2013.