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(Preview) The Socialist Who Bought a Town
Robert Owen was a factory owner, a social reformer, the father of British socialism… and possibly the nicest company-town tyrant in history.
Long before Karl Marx called for revolution, Owen tried to build a kinder version of capitalism: humane factories, universal education, shorter work days, and workers treated like human beings instead of expendable machinery.
His model industrial town at New Lanark became world famous, attracting kings, intellectuals, and even the Tsar of Russia.
But success convinced Owen he could go further. So he sold everything and moved to Indiana to build a…
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