The world had been wedded to the Industrial Age for over two hundred years, and old ways die hard. Robert Owen of New Lanark was born in 1771, just at the leading edge of the Industrial Revolution. As a major cotton spinner, starting in his early twenties, he witnessed the transition from a society based on agriculture to one based on industry. At an early age, Robert Owen dedicated himself to eliminating the suffering and misery of the human race, a quest he maintained with vigor until his death in 1858 at the age of 87. He believed he had unlocked the hidden secret of human nature, i.e., that the individual is incapable of forming his own character, but that society forms it for him.
Society can cause an individual to have any character it desires by providing the right environment.
In an experiment conducted at a cotton spinning mill in New Lanark, Scotland, Owen sought to demonstrate this truth. He believed, even to the day of his death, that if he could overcome man's ignorance, they would gladly adopt his principles as the basis for society. In retrospect, Owen proved not necessarily the truth of his beliefs, but that capitalism worked - that profit and humanity were compatible. Owen used his situation at New Lanark to improve the lives and working conditions of those he employed. At a time when most industrialists considered human beings as little more than fodder for their powerful machinery, Robert Owen eliminated child labor, reduced working hours, and made his factories safe, healthy, and clean places to work.