social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism
and the cooperative movement.
Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:
- First, no one was responsible for his [or her] will and his [or her] own actions because his whole character is formed independently of himself; people are products of their heredity and environment, hence his support for education and labour reform, rendering him a pioneer in human capitalHuman capitalHuman capitalis the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience...
investment. - Second, all religions are based on the same ridiculous imagination, that make man a weak, imbecile animal; a furious bigot and fanatic; or a miserable hypocrite; (though in his later years he embraced Spiritualism).
- Third, support for the putting-out systemPutting-Out systemThe putting-out system was a means of subcontracting work. It was also known as the workshop system. In putting-out, work was contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who completed the work in their own facilities, usually their own homes....
instead of the factory systemFactory systemThe factory system was a method of manufacturing first adopted in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s and later spread abroad. Fundamentally, each worker created a separate part of the total assembly of a product, thus increasing the efficiency of factories. Workers,...
.
Robert Owen was born in [aberdeen)[Newtown, Powys|Newtown]], a small market town in Montgomeryshire
, Mid Wales
, in 1771.
Man is the creature of circumstances.
The working classes may be injuriously degraded and oppressed in three ways: 1st — When they are neglected in infancy 2nd — When they are overworked by their employer, and are thus rendered incompetent from ignorance to make a good use of high wages when they can procure them. 3rd — When they are paid low wages for their labour
Eight hours daily labour is enough for any human being, and under proper arrangements sufficient to afford an ample supply of food, raiment and shelter, or the necessaries and comforts of life, and for the remainder of his time, every person is entitled to education, recreation and sleep.
The lowest stage of humanity is experienced when the individual must labour for a small pittance of wages from others.