Introduction
“A New View of Society” by Robert Owen starts with letters to an MP, superintendents of factories, and a Prince. The appeal is further divided into four parts, each concerning a distinct social problem. Presumably, Robert Owen hoped to attract the attention of parliamentarians, manufacturers, and royals to his ideas and give impetus to public discussion. This paper aims to provide a critical review of “A New View of Society.”
In the First Essay, Owen says that the time of change has come since a great number of people live miserable lives. In the Second Essay, the author describes two experiments in which a manufacturer improved the working conditions of working-class people. In the Third Essay, Owen generalizes on how the experiment can be integrated into his philosophy to be then realized in practice (Owen 26). In the Fourth Essay, the author argues that the government should prevent ignorance, thereby reducing crime.
Work
Owen has a strange idea that men have no power over the circumstances they find themselves in. Therefore, he proposes that the government should support working-class people by creating decent living conditions and providing them with education in all aspects (Owen 34). This is not a bad idea, although the philosophy underlying it is questionable.
The worker will surely show better results if more resources are invested in their living conditions and in developing their healthy habits. First, decent living means enough food and rest. Secondly, education and protection from the evils of drunkenness, visiting public houses, and wasting money in card games, as well as participating in crime, will improve the mental and psychological states of people.
Family Life
Owen describes the experiments in which Mr. Dale, a manufacturer, built a village for his workers and constructed a working house for the children. To govern the village, Mr. Dale used education to highlight the evils of vice and improve the living conditions of workers, demonstrating the benefits of a decent life. Under the new rules, the families of the workers have improved since they started drinking less and being more loyal to their wives. The decreased involvement in crime also improved family lives, as people began to feel safer and trust each other more.
Where Does the Scheme Come From?
The author asserts the basic principles of his philosophy, insisting that members of society cannot be offended by people who have undesirable characteristics. He asserts that after learning a new philosophy at the level of feelings, people will understand that they should feel pity and compassion instead of irritation and anger, which are only products of the mind. The authors argue that society teaches working people about crime from one generation to the next, and then haunts them, which is incorrect. The author’s philosophy stems from his personal background, as he was the son of a manufacturer himself, which influenced his vision of the relationships between managers and subordinates.
Application to the Entire Nation
Owen states in the introduction that manufacturers and those in power should consider improving the state of the ‘living tools’ that are the working-class people, who at the time constituted three-fourths of the British Isles’ population. In the final Fourth Essay, the author argues that the government should adopt the principles of care and compassion for working-class people and create conditions for them similar to those established by Mr. Dale, who learned from his mistakes. To generalize, Owen says that the scheme could be applied to the entire nation, which was then divided into a vast majority of the poor and a relatively small part of the ruling class and small traders.
Conclusion
Thus, a critical review of Robert Owen’s “A New View of Society” was provided. The paper presents a new philosophy based on the idea that society bears responsibility for the miseries of its members. The author suggests that a working-class man has limited opportunities for improving his life; therefore, society, meaning the ruling class and each of its members, should feel responsible and compassionate towards the troubles of the working class.
Work Cited
Owen, Robert. “A New View of Society.” In Sources for Western Society, 3rd ed., edited by John McKay, Clare Haru Crowston, Merry Wiesner-Hanks, and Joe Perry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013.