The Labyrinth in New Harmony was created originally by the Rappites. They made one in every society they founded, and it symbolised their spiritual journey, and was used as a place for reflection and meditation. However when New Harmony was purchased by the Owenites, the labyrinth fell into disrepair. Now the obvious symbolism here is that because they abandoned God, going from a religious society to one that was against organised religion (Robert Owen actively showed his distaste for organised religion), they themselves fell into disrepair and fell apart. But I see a much broader picture here. Religion was a unifying force that kept the Rappites together, which was something that the Owenites for the most part, lacked. Not everyone there was a socialist, for example Josiah Warren, one of the most influential people in New Harmony, was an anarchist who argued that the lack of private property ownership and individualist ideas was destroying the community. Many of the people who came to New Harmony were just poor people looking for work and a home, and would support what ever ideals would be most likely to give them as such. And among socialists, there were further disagreements. Some were against religion, some were very religious. Many disagreed greatly with the system set in place to hand out credits, and the wording of the constitution. Josiah Warren later said that
Works Cited (Gallery)
Jackson, Nickolas, and atimian. “New Harmony Labyrinth.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 11 May 2011, www.atlasobscura.com/places/new-harmony-labyrinth.
Lockwood, George R. “The New Harmony Movement : Lockwood, George Browning, 1872-1932 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, New York : D. Appleton and Company, 1 Jan. 1970, archive.org/details/newharmonymoveme00lock_0/page/n11/mode/2up.
“New Harmony, Indiana.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Harmony,_Indiana.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “New Harmony.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 July 2011, www.britannica.com/place/New-Harmony. "despite them trying every form of government and organization imaginable... everyone's own interests were at war with the 'united interests'." I believe the decay of the labyrinth better symbolizes the loss of unity, as it certainly wasn't everyone who abandoned God, and it wasn't just a lack of religion that doomed New Harmony, rather, the lack of compromise, and anyone willing to get things done.