Owenism is the philosophy of followers of Robert Owen, a proponent of socialism who envisioned utopian communities with the goal of “complete equality” (Claeys 153). Owen lived from 1771 to 1858 and, in the interest of a new and better support system for human development, created experimental model communities that supported his vision. In his first experiment, Owen took over his late father-in-law’s Scottish cotton mill and expanded its social services, improving worker housing and sanitary conditions, as well as beginning programs for social insurance, a children’s school, and a store. While most other model societies of Owen’s creation failed, his central philosophy that “The character of man is formed for him, and not by him” through the environment in which a person is raised, remained popular amongst supporters of Owenism.
John Stuart Mill writes of interactions with an Owenist society and its philosophy in his autobiography. He recalls that his reading group, which began as a group studying German but then ventured into political economy, logic, and analytic psychology, encountered and debated a group of Owenites called the Co-operative Society. Mill describes his participation in a debate against the Owenites on population, and praises his opposition’s eloquence, saying of the historian and Owenite Thirlwall, “Before he had uttered ten sentences, I set him down as the best speaker I had ever heard, and I have never since heard anyone whom I placed above him” (Mill ch. IV). The debate with the Co-operative Society inspired Mill’s further interest in debate, as he, along with some colleagues, attempted to found a new debate society in London.
Sources
Claeys, Gregory. “Robert Owen and Owenism.” The Cambridge History of Socialism, edited by Marcel van der Linden, Cambridge University Press, 2022, pp. 146–166. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-socialism/robert-owen-and-owenism/30C07B5E089BF92CB35CC0287993404E.
“Robert Owen: The Delicious Dream of the Future.” Vassar College Archives & Special Collections Library, https://www.vassar.edu/specialcollections/exhibit-highlights/2006-2010/owen/. Accessed 22 May 2024.
Image source
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/Robert-Owen-Father…;