Robert Owen. © Getty Images. Reproduced by permission.

Great Britain, United States 1799-1827

Synopsis

Robert Owen, reacting to the brutalities of industrial capitalism, attempted to establish cooperative communities that would serve as models for a new pattern of life. Often categorized as a utopian and the father of British socialism, he encouraged laborers to pursue the happiness of all instead of the few, refused to exploit workers under his command, and pushed for communal alternatives to the family system. By turning his cotton mill at New Lanark, Scotland, into a successful example of communitarianism and amassing a large fortune in the process, Owen hoped to demonstrate that the changes wrought by capitalism were not permanent and that nonrevolutionary alternatives could still be created. Conflicts with his partners pushed Owen out of New Lanark and prompted him to establish a model town in New Harmony, Indiana...