The 19th century gave the world many new reformers, ideologists and philosophers. The ideas of a utopian development of the world appeared, involving workers in the socialist struggle. One such philosopher was the English utopian socialist Robert Owen. He is the founder of philosophical thought about an ideal humanistic society.
Biography of Robert Owen
The famous English philosopher was born into a family of representatives of the petty bourgeoisie in the county of Wales in 1771. From an early age, the boy gets used to hard work, earning his own living on his own. While still at school, Robert becomes a teacher's assistant. Due to some family circumstances, the boy's education ended when he was 10 years old. Life in the family of a small shopkeeper instilled in the child respect for material values obtained by backbreaking work. Robert becomes an apprentice of a master of manufacturing production, and then a clerk in the manufactures of Scotland. Constant employment at the manufactory did not allow the young man to receive a full-fledged education.
Life in Manchester
Especially strongly influenced by his residence in Manchester. In those years, Manchester was the industrial center of England, cotton production developed in it, factories and manufactories were built. Robert becomes the manager of one of the factories and his career is skyrocketing. It was Manchester that became for him the starting point in the formation of utopian philosophical ideas. In 1794, Robert, together with his partners, opened a new factory, where he began to manufacture spinning machines and introduce them into production. The industrial boom in Manchester in the late 18th century was a milestone in the development of a young entrepreneur. A few years later, the future philosopher opens his own spinning mill, where he develops and applies new labor legislation.
At this time, Robert pays a lot of attention to the work of the literary society, where he becomes one of the lecturers. He reads reports on changes in labor legislation, introduces a 10-hour working day at his own enterprise, opens a mutual aid fund, a kindergarten and a school. In 1815, the philosopher appears in a parliamentary commission with a draft law that restricts child labor and establishes compulsory schooling. Robert Owen becomes not only the owner and manager of the factory, but also an ardent defender of workers' labor.
Utopian ideas by Robert Owen
In the 1780s, Oeun met Caroline Dale, who was the daughter of a wealthy textile factory owner in New Lanark. His wife became his assistant in all endeavors. During the years of his married life, the philosopher had seven children, but they did not support his father's ideas. Having married, Robert becomes the manager of his father-in-law's factory and it is here that he initiates a social experiment.
The philosopher saw the need for changes in the lives of ordinary workers, so he is developing a reform program at a textile enterprise. He supported the workers and strove to improve working and living conditions. Robert believed that each person is a hostage to circumstances and the social environment that shapes his character. It is important to pay attention to working conditions and help workers in difficult times. The philosopher sought to show that the development and prosperity of an enterprise is a joint activity of workers and managers. He made reports on reforms at his own enterprise and decided in 1799 to conduct a social experiment on it, the essence of which was to build a communist society.
According to the project by Robert Owen, it was supposed to create cooperative villages for the poorest strata of the population - communes where people would work without the intervention of capitalists. Thus, workers would be able to provide themselves with everything they need and be responsible for their activities. The economic crisis of 1815 had a strong impact on the spread of utopian ideas. Robert actually becomes a preacher of his ideas, but he failed to find like-minded people, and he also failed to raise the necessary funds to implement the project.
Despite all the difficulties, Robert was able to create a commune, the experience of which he described in his work "A New View of Society or the Experience of Character Transformation." In an effort to develop and promote his ideas, the philosopher went to America, where he created the communist colony "New Harmony". The basis of the life of the colony was the idea of communist equality. However, the colony soon ceased to exist. Owen spent all his savings on its development, leaving only a certain amount to his children.
The ideas of socialist equality, communism, and the re-education of man became utopian in the world of the time when capitalist relations were the basis of economy and life. Owen refused to believe in the need for the struggle of the working class, the holding of processions and strikes, believing that a developed society could arise from the peaceful coexistence of different groups of the population. Robert and his supporters found themselves outside the framework of the British labor movement - Chartism. However, one cannot fail to see the merits of the philosopher, who throughout his life strove to improve the position of the workers, to create new legislation. His mistake was to deny the need for the political struggle of the working class. He saw the correctness of the transformations in the re-education of man, in understanding his nature. Society turned out to be not ready for this type of transformation, so the philosopher's research failed.
