Owen's new views theoretically belong to an old system of philosophy; his originality is to be found in his application of them. For the next few years Owen's work in New Lanark con tinued to have a national and even European significance. New Lanark itself became a much frequented place of pilgrimage for social reformers, statesmen, and royal personages, including Nicholas, afterwards emperor of Russia. According to the unani mous testimony of all who visited it, the results achieved by Owen were singularly good. The children brought up on his system, which included instruction through the eye as well as the ear, country walks, nature study, singing and dancing, were graceful, genial and unconstrained ; health, plenty and contentment pre vailed; and the business was a commercial success.
In 1815 Owen started, apparently single-handed, an agitation for factory reform. He drafted a bill to apply to all textile fac tories, prohibiting employment before ten years of age, and night work before 18, limiting hours for those under 18 to iol a day, and providing for inspection. He failed to gain support from his fellow employers in Scotland, but found influential sympathizers in London, and the bill was introduced into parliament. There it was so emasculated that, after two sessions, Owen ceased to work for it, and disclaimed all responsibility for the mutilated measure passed in 1819. Hitherto Owen's work had been that of the practical reformer, whose distinction was the originality and ceaseless unselfishness of his methods. It was in 1817 that he first put forward the ideas which made him the forerunner of Social ism and Co-operation. These ideas were embodied in a report communicated to the committee of the House of Commons on the poor law.
The general misery and stagnation of trade consequent on the termination of the Napoleonic Wars was engrossing the attention of the country. After clearly tracing the special causes connected with the war which had led to such deplorable conditions, Owen pointed out that the permanent cause of distress was to be found in the competition of human labour with machinery, and that the only effective remedy was the united action of men, and the subordination of machinery. His proposals for the treatment of pauperism were based on these principles. He recommended that communities of about 1,200 persons each should be settled on quantities of land from i,000 to 1,500 ac., all living in one large building in the form of a square, with public kitchen and mess rooms. Each family should have its own private apartments, and the entire care of the children till the age of three, after which they should be brought up by the community, their parents having access to them at meals and all other proper times. These corn
munities might be established by individuals, by parishes, by counties, or by the State ; in every case there should be super vision by duly qualified persons. Work, and the enjoyment of its results, should be in common. The size of his community was no doubt suggested by his village of New Lanark; and he soon advocated such a scheme for the reorganization of society in general. In its fully developed form it was as follows. He desired that communities of from 500 to 3,000, mainly agricultural but possessing the best machinery, and being, as far as possible, self contained, "should increase in number, unions of them federa tively united shall be formed in circles of tens, hundreds and thousands," till they should embrace the whole world in a common interest.
His plans for the cure of pauperism were received at first with considerable favour. The Times and Morning Post and many of the leading men of the country countenanced them, one of his most steadfast friends being the duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria. But at a large meeting in London, Owen his hostility to the received forms of religion. After this act of defiance his theories became suspect to the ruling classes though he did not lose all support from them. The radicals were intent on political reform, which seemed to Owen on the wrong lines. His point of view was that machinery had come to stay and made social control of industry necessary to prevent the oppres sion and poverty of the workers. When he found there was no hope of Government action he turned to groups of sympathizers to carry out his plan of self-contained Communities. In 1825 he bought 30,00o ac. of land in Indiana, U.S.A., from the Rappite religious community, and re-named it New Harmony. There was no effective choice of colonists, and some necessary trades were inadequately represented. For a time the community life was well ordered and contented under Owen's practical guidance, and a constitution was adopted within a year, based on community of property and a representative government. But differences about the form of government and religion soon appeared, and all the numerous attempts at reconstruction failed to compose them, though there is a consensus of testimony to the admirable spirit which prevailed amidst all the dissensions. The com munity was wound up in 1828, and Owen lost £40,000—f our fifths of his fortune. The other chief Owenite Community experi ments were at Queenwood, Hants (1839-45), in which Owen took part for three years; and Orbiston, near Glasgow (1825-28) and Ralahine in Ireland (1831-33), with neither of which he was directly concerned.