Robert Owen

Hello there, my name is Robert Owen and I am a British utopian socialist. I lived a majority of my life in Manchester, England, which was where I accumulated a great deal of wealth from managing cotton textile mills. In 1800, I moved to Scotland to become the manager of the New Lanark Mills. As the owner of these mills, I implemented a more humane employment system. For example, I refused to hire children younger than ten years of age and the children that I did hire were given a decent amount of breaks and ample educational opportunities. Among the adult workers I employed, I tried to discourage them from performing immoral tasks, such as drinking too much alcohol. As my career progressed, I began to develop a vision for a utopian society throughout my mill towns. I believed I could establish a new definition of human nature in my towns, where humans would be healthy, rational, and tolerant. Each town would govern itself and hold its property in common. In 1816, I presented these ideas to the citizens of my mill towns. As of now, my mill towns are still a work in progress, but before long I hope to create a perfect society so that I can spread my ideas to all of England!