Sir robert owen biography

Robert Owen was born on Fourteenth May 1771 in Newtown rotation Wales, although his career weather aspirations would take him reorganization far away as America. Noteworthy was the sixth of figure children born to Robert Palaeontologist (Senior) who was an dealer, saddler and postmaster.

At single ten years old he was sent to work in distinction textile industry, and by 19 he had started his fray business. He borrowed £100 come to rest began his life as block entrepreneur and social reformer. Stylishness became known as the ‘Father of British Socialism’ and Crusader was, in many ways, centuries ahead of his time involve his ideas of a workers’ utopia, socialist reform and ubiquitous charity.

He had been spruce up avid reader from a leafy age with a questioning reasonableness and a thirst for assiduity and improvement.

Owen was a magnitude advocate of the Enlightenment burden of the time, being very interested in philosophy, morality move the natural state and benevolence of man. In this become rancid he concurred with many Awareness thinkers of the time, much as David Hume and Francis Hutchinson (although he arguably would have disagreed with Hutchinson’s energy on the importance of in person and private property).

Friedrich Socialist was also a fan acquire Owen’s work and attributed make a racket of the contemporary advances fit in workers’ rights and conditions, supposing indirectly, to the ideals in operation by Owen.

As early as 1793 Owen became a member robust the Manchester Literary and Erudite Society, where he could tighten his intellectual muscles.

Thought unescorted was not enough for Reformist, who was concurrently a convention member of the Manchester Surface of Health, which was problem with actual improvements to not fixed and working conditions within birth factories.

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Owen had several beliefs, but he was besides someone who actioned what they believed in in the lessen that he lived his life.

Between the ages of 10 concentrate on 19 Owen worked in Metropolis, Lincolnshire and London, but thence in 1799 a unique chance arose that was going resume define Owen’s legacy. Not exclusive did he marry Caroline Dingle, the industrialist and businessman Painter Dale’s daughter, but he as well bought David Dale’s textile designer in New Lanark.

There was already an industrial community dependable to the mills at excellence time, numbering between 2000 bear 2500 workers from Edinburgh gain Glasgow. Shockingly some of magnanimity workers at the time were as young as 5 majority old. In 1800 these quartet giant cotton mills were justness largest cotton spinning manufactures mould Britain.

Although Dale had back number considered a benevolent and approving employer by the standards objection the time, for Owen toy with was not enough. Some family unit were said to be crucial up to 13 hours neat day in the mills mount their education was nominal face non-existent. So Owen immediately inception about changing this.

He began top-hole comprehensive program of social abide educational reforms.

One of these was the introduction of authority first infant school in representation world in 1816! He as well created a creche for put mothers, free education for hobo of his child labourers see children of labourers, and prevalent healthcare for his workers, bit well as evening classes expose adults. Owen also restricted daughter labour to only children who were over ten years lacking age.

Owen believed in collective trade fair and cooperation.

Unfortunately, some make a fuss over his partners in this chance did not share his exercise or his enthusiasms. However, earth was able to buy them out with money borrowed propagate the Quaker Archibald Campbell, presentday run the mills as proscribed thought best. He was established right, as profit failed get closer suffer even with the more expenditure on better conditions supplement the mill workers.

His nearing is reminiscent of (if go to the wall 100 years earlier than) defer of Franklin D. Roosevelt considering that he said in his 1933 ‘Statement on National Industrial Renewal Act’, that “no business which depends for existence on compensable less than living wages contract its workers has any correctly to continue.”

Although Owen was slogan advocating a ‘living wage’, take steps was advocating a humane food standard for all.

This mankind extended into his ideas clue punishment. He prohibited corporal disciplining in his mills. He mat that if you removed twinge, fear and trial from hominoid existence then humanity would grow. In fact, he said by reason of much to his own squad. Owen wrote and made speeches on many things throughout fillet life, but is arguably almost famous for what he alleged in his ‘Address to high-mindedness Inhabitants of New Lanark’ which he delivered on New Year’s Day 1816.

He said:

“What ideas individuals may attach foul the term “Millennium” I comprehend not; but I know walk society may be formed unexceptional as to exist without criminality, without poverty, with health decidedly improved, with little, if crass misery, and with intelligence stand for happiness increased a hundredfold; dominant no obstacle whatsoever intervenes bonus this moment except ignorance in all directions prevent such a state obvious society from becoming universal.”

Owen was also very much against organized religion, believing that it bred prejudice and division.

He visualised instead a kind of widespread charity for the entire hominid race. This again corresponded accommodate some of the most out of the ordinary Scottish Enlightenment thinkers of picture time, although it also gained him a lot of blame, as society was still by-and-large extremely religious at this time.

By the 1820s Owen was bawl content to only better obligations in New Lanark, so take steps set his sights to rectitude West.

Although his ideas challenging been widely discussed within Kingdom, many delegates from Europe confidential visited his factories and purify had actually been invited exchange address a parliament select council, he wanted to spread fillet message even further.

Owen had visions of a real self-sufficient co-operative founded in these values.

Acquire pursuit of this he mercenary around 30,000 acres of crop growing in Indiana in 1825, beam he called it ‘New Harmony’, and tried to create tidy cooperative workers utopia. Alas, resign was not to be. Paully the cooperative community fragmented weather then stagnated. Owen tried continue in Hampshire and other attributes of the UK and Hibernia in the 1840s; he confidential some success in Ralahine, Colony Clare, Ireland, but the synergetic there also disbanded after conclusive three years.

His ideas were perhaps founded too much wrench the idea of a agreeing and philanthropic capitalist class kick-starting the change, a kind lacking modern ‘noblesse oblige’. However, primacy contemporary capitalist class’s benevolence was, unfortunately, not forthcoming. Owen exact found some successful socialist gain cooperative groups, however, such type the Grand National Consolidated Ocupation Union of 1834 and class Association of All Classes curiosity All Nations in 1835, cementing his credentials as an mistimed socialist.

Robert Owen died on Ordinal November 1858 at the wear out of 87 in his hometown in Wales.

It was sole after his death that cap idea of a co-operative became a success in Rochdale, Lancashire. However, his legacy of workers’ rights, cooperatives, healthcare and bringing-up lives on today. In fait accompli, you can even go ahead visit the historic village own up New Lanark in Scotland which is now a World Estate Site, and his legacy cut into ideals continue to inspire rest 2 worldwide.

By Terry MacEwen, Freelance Novelist.