Cooperative Thoughts - Robert Owen

Robert Owen: The Father of Cooperation

         

          Robert Owen, the son of local post master and saddler, was born on 14^th May 1771 in Newtown, England. A precocious boy he borrowed as many books as he could in his native village. He was engaged in retail business between the ages of nine and nineteen. At nineteen, he began his career as a manufacturer first in partnership, then on his own, making fine cotton yarn for muslins.

          A business journey to Scotland in 1798 had two significant incidents he got relationship with Ms.Dale his future wife, and visited new Lanark a pretty village with four spinning mills. In 1799 he was married to Dale and became manager of the mills of new Lanark Twist Company.

Reforms of Robert Owen

          He found that New Lanark was place where people lived in idleness and in poverty. Due to poverty and unemployment, people were indulged in almost every kind of crime; and they were in debt trap. Most of them were out of health and misery. As a social thinker, he very much worried about the pitiable conditions of new Lanark. He was of the opinion that environment plays major role in shape of ones mind and personality. Humans’ characters are formed for him and not by him. With the commitment to the prosperity of mankind especially the working community, he introduced a number reforms in his factory. As he is the owner of the mills, he found greater opportunity of introducing them for the cause of working community.

a.    He raised wages of the workers

b.    Reduced the working hours from nineteen to ten

c.      Improved housing accommodation and provided wholesale food at low cost

d.    Each man’s daily work was watched and progress was recorded.

e.     The practice of child labour (below 10 years) was abandoned. They were trained in excellently equipped schools. There was constant change of employment; singing and dancing brightened their work and aided in their development.

f.      New Lanark was transformed in a few years into a spot with ‘general appearance of industry, comfort, health and happiness.

g.    There was infant school for younger children and a second school for the age group of eleven and twelve.

h.     As a result of his continuous efforts factory act of 1819 was passed , limiting the children for 12 hours.

i.       The practice of fines and punishment was put an end

j.       Hospitals were started for providing free medical aid to workers.

Self supporting Colonies / New Moral World

Though Robert Owens system of reforms was admitted a great success, yet he formed difficulty in getting it adopted by others. Robert Owen after having introduced reforms in his mills, appealed to the government to enforce his ideas on factory system. He looked for a wider application of his principles. He very often, detailed pictures of how his system was successful in New Lanark and the same must be adopted throughout the country. In 1819, a deputation from a committee of guardians of poor visited the village and favourably recommended for adoption but for orphan children. In the same year a powerful committee was formed to investigate and report on his plan for industrial villages. Meanwhile he appealed to the working classes how to proceed the work. Working men throughout the kingdom were interested in his scheme. It was in the year 1812, the activity of Robert Owen in advocacy of association got flourished, by formation of “The Cooperative and Economical Society”

          Owen’s  first experiment in establishing a community way of life, popularly known as “Villages of cooperation” or self –supporting colonies, was made in New Harmony, India (America). It consisted of 3000 acres of land with a population 700. Within 3months, 900 individuals joined the colony. The persons were mostly of uneducated. The colony work was very eagerly started but could not survival longer. It was split in separate units and considered as an agricultural colony. Many people left the colony and it has become a failure.

          Thereafter attempts were made to establish some colonies. They were; Orbiston (1825-27) near glasgour; Ralahine (1830-33) in county clase, Ireland; Gueenwood (1839-44) in Hampsire.

          These colonies were envisaged to promote community living, by providing sufficient facilities. The members had to cultivate crops and had involved in entrepreneurial activities, which were essential for community life. Big buildings, kitchens, schools, recreation facilities, dinning halls, workplaces were made available. They are self contained colonies as they had to provide and fulfill the requirements of the members of community.

          These villages of cooperation/ colonies were failure due to: i) lack of sufficient financial assistance required for running colonies; ii) some of his friends were dead which made the Owen very much handicapped; iii) the members of the colony were uneducated difficult to move with, iv) labourers were moody, selfish and suspicious. 

His other Doctories

a)    Formation of Human Character: Robert Owen was the ardent believer of changing the human character by changing the environment. Environment implies the working conditions, living conditions, opportunities and facilities available for mankind. He looked the human beings from the society point of view. He viewed that human character is formed for him not by him. By birth no one is found to be good or bad. It is the environment, which (brought him up) makes him good or otherwise. If at all, one is concerned with positive changes in human development, he must focus on the changes in the environment. Environment is the great force which moulds one mind. Any character from the worst to the best, to the most ignorant to the enlightened, may be given to any community even to the world at large, by the application of proper means, which means one to a great extent at the command and under the control of those who have influence in the affairs of men.

b)    Labour Notes: One of the important contributions of Robert Owen was introduction and adoption of labour notes among the workers. The object of introduction of labour notes was to replace the currency in practice and to avoid profit. He was of the view that profit is the potent evil that is the root cause of all sorts of evils of competition. It also sows the seeds of greedy in minds of people which gradually spoils the whole atmosphere. If profit is abolished, it would definitely bring a bright future among the working community. He therefore wanted the commodities must be sold at cost price, which is calculated in terms of labour. Labour notes were issued to every worker in which the hours of work devoted by him in production of a particular commodity was mentioned. The price of the articles was also mentioned in the same note. He can get required articles by giving the labour notes. Several labour exchange centres were organized. The idea of the exchanges was to establish centres where raw materials, manufactured goods provisions could be deposited. The depositor of the articles deposited which is calculated on the basis of time taken for production and later on the estimate of market. The depositor could then purchase with his labour notes such articles required from the general stock. There was thus no competition as the goods were exchanged at the cost price and there was no margin for profit. This practice led for neither middlemen nor there was no money. The most important labour exchange was “National Equitable Labour Exchange” in chanlotte street, Rathbone place, London. It was a society with a mixture of both producers and consumers who carried transactions among themselves. Hours of work were the measuring yard and goods were exchanged accordingly.