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HE SAW THROUGH CAPITALISM

This is also centennial year of Robert Owen, pioneer socialist

N NOVEMBER 17, 1858,

there passed away an odd, but also a very remarkable man: Robert Owen.

He was born’in Wales, made his reputation in Scotland, his political career in Eng- land and unsuccessfully tried out his socialist ideas in the United States.

But beyond this he belongs to the whole world, which has honored him as one of the great founding fathers of soc- ialism, ever since Frederick Engels paid tribute to him in Socialism — Utopian and Scientific.

Robert Owen is remarkable not only as one of the pion- eer socialists, but as a man who saw. through capitalism from. the inside. Up to the age’ of 45 he was a textbook example of business ‘success.

He was born in 1771 in Newtown, Montgomeryshire, as the son of a local saddler and ironmonger, and started work at the age of nine. He Was manager of a cotton-mill of 500 workers by the age of 20, and before he was 30 he was partner and manager in the great cotton-mill of New Lanark and had married the former owner’s daughter.

By the time he was 40, he was not only one of the most

successful “captains of in- dustry,” but had a_world- wide reputation as.an en-

lightened employer and a soc- ial and educational reformer.

Admittedly his fellow manu- facturers considered some of his ideas to be lunatic; for instance, his dislike of child labor and. long hours, his championship of Factory Acts, his insistence on paying workers during interruptions in production, and on setting

up stores which sold them goods cheaper than private stores.

What was even odder, he used the -profits from these stores for the workers’ bene- fit and the upkeep of his schools: For Owen was. also one of the great pioneers of educational reform, and the virtual inventor of infant schools. Not even the fact that he made as much profit as his more flint-hearted col-

leagues reconciled Owen’s partners to his - “irresponsi- bility.”

Still, he did make plenty

of profit, and all the estab- lished order, from the Arch- bishop of Canterbury down, applauded the man who seem- ed to show that kind and enlightened employers wouid solve all -problems,

.

Only Owen himself was not

satisfied. He was not only an extremely shrewed business- man and organizer, but also a very good and simple man who wanted nothing more than to create a good world. And he could not blind him- self to the fact that, though the Industrial Revolution and capitalism had made him rich and successful, they seemed to be taking humanity into increasing misery.

He had become wealthy: and yet the new wealth of the nation “was the creation of the working class.” He had done a lot for his workers, and yet “the people were my slaves.” For that matter, they were still a long way from

a life’ worthy” of - human beings. Capitalism created wealth

—but also unemployment. The great slump after the Na- poleonic Wars caused Owen to think matters out.

Surely the answer was to de- vise a system of society which used the new productive re- sources as the common prop- erty of all, for the common welfare of all?

Gradually Owen evolved his ecommunist-schemes — at first, simply as methods for coping with unemployment; later, for the whole of soc- iety.

As a sensible and practical businessman, he worked out his projects for cooperative communities in the most con- vincingly realistic way.

Very naturally, he put them up. to the important people who had so applauded his earlier“ efforts at reform. Since his schemes were abso- lutely reasonable, they were surely bound to _ persuade every intelligent person.

But they did not. In the

ROY REID, Saskatoon, Sas- katchewan: The call of the Canadian Labor Congress for a new political alignment shows up the need for a seri- ous discussion by ‘the organ- ized farm movement in Can- ada.

The constitution of the Sas- katchewan Farmer’ Union states: “The objects of the un- ion- shall be to promote the interests of its members by suggesting suitable legislation and to make appropriate rep- resentations to the legislature

eyes of the established order, Owen, the famous philanthro- pist, became Owen the well- known agitator, who- wished to abolish rank, wealth and property, not to mention re-

ligion. It was all most. odd ‘to Owen, who neglected class

interest and class struggle. On the other hand, the workers themselves welcomed the new idea of socialism.

After the failure of his ex- periment in building a Com- munist colony at New Har- mony in the U.S., in which he lost. most of his fortune (1824-28), Owen found him- self an influential figure in the, British labor movement.

In 1830-34 he inspired and led the greatest movement for general union of the working class seen so far, the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union of Great Britain and Ireland.

He led it badly—he had no clue about politics — and it collapsed. After the middle eighteen-thirties his influence declined (except “in what was to ~ become the British Co- operative movement), though he went on campaigning for his ideas.

We should not blame Owen too much for his utopianism, his oddities and his utter fail- ure to understand how social- ism can and must be brought about.

In his day ~he could give us little more than the analy- sis of capitalism and _ the pioneer vision of socialism — for which we admire him. He was an old man when Karl Marx, who acknowledged his

debt to him, worked out scientific socialism. For all his weakness he

was a great man. E. J. HOBSBAWM.

=

Liz Taylor proves 4 she can actually ad

T WOULD hardly be ac- [ curate to describe Cat On A Hot Tin Roof as a cinema- tization of ‘Tennessee Williams recent prize-winning play. Despite excellent camera set- ups and editing, it remains a filmed play.

This is not a complaint, however, for the material is solid enough to maintain in- terest. Scripted by director Richard Brooks (assisted by James. Poe), character and situation are well developed in a gripping dramatic evolu- tion.

The surprising thing “about |

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof is that Elizabeth Taylor is ac-

tually good. Perhaps not as~-

capable as Judith Anderson and Madeleine Sherwood, she

does act — convincingly for the most. part. Quite a de- parture from an . undistin-

guished past.

On the other hand, we take fine performances for granted from such fine actors as Paul Newman, a graduate of the Actor’s Studio which has turned out Brando and Dean

N FORUM

or to parliament in order that such suggestions may be re- flected in legislation:”

Another section of the con- stitution states: “The union ‘shall, in its operations, be non-political.”

These two statements of the “objects” of the union appear to contradict each other. As I see it, influencing the govern- ments to pass legislation in the interests of the -farmers is definitely political action. ‘I be- lieve the second clause should, accordingly, be amended,

’ Big business is trying to “hold the line” on wage in- creases to the labor unions. At the same time they continue an agricultural -policy that is forcing farmers, and especially young farmers, to leave the land. ‘

Farmers would do well to,

take a good look at this situa- tion. Wage increases to in- dustrial workers. are’ less than enough to meet. the ris- ing cost-of living. This; along with increasing. -unemploy- ment, means less buying power.

‘to lean on a few “damns

November 28, 1958 — PACIFIC rriBuNE—PAw

among others; or from ae Ives, who has been carvin out a. distinguished se career in recent years:

are we disappointed. Ive i particular gives a Vvig0l0 7

beautifully shaded perfor q ance that is bombastl¢ convincing.

The story concern family in the southerD— States whose mechanis™ e flushed into the open i? "l = of crisis. The idea 15 ‘he novel, but treatment ° nS : several groups of prope and ambitions

or!

is fresh b reasonably down-to-earth

: pn! though there is a tender

“hells”? and frank se i to establish social realis™ “Mendacity is the syste™ i.) live in,” says one of the Pi eh, cipals, neatly summariZ/ ne basic situation. The © iy" goes on to insist that is what is needed — 2@ ‘49 we shal] have ultimately: it or not. 1 ob A number of inciden!® ing servations are made al0P? id way. Many are on money cho : its evils; others are ps ino logical. Without suger that Williams is repeatiné née}. self, although there at® — 4js niable parallels in * » work, Cat On A Hot Tit “ig is often reminiscent © ye) vigor and_ sociological tration of his earlier 18 car Named. Desire. the new play has 2 BF the clarity in its resolutioP "or inner problems and the® ial implications. yoo! : Cat On A Hot Tin neither a great play — jm great movie. But it i5 ®° ipl portant and moving ©? lifts a small corner of the i with which official My

“masks life as it actl

in those United State® N. E.§