Industrial Revolution: Robert Owen

Robert Owen was a successful Welsh businessman during the Industrial Revolution in Britain, but he left his mark on history as one of the leading social reformers of his time. He observed the changes in economic and social life caused by the rapid growth of machinery as he worked in the textile industry. He challenged the social view and believed that poverty was the consequence of the sins of the working class. He thought that in order to improve the man, you need to improve his social environment first, and set 8 statements of what he called the “true principles” based on them. The proving ground for Owen’s social theories was New Lanark Mills in Scotland, the management in which Owen commenced in 1800. At there, he restricted the labor of