Conclusion

Robert Owen differed from most writers in that he was not at all an “intellectual,” or a student in any ordinary sense. Thought was for him always an instrument, and never a self-sufficient exercise. Adam Smith and Morrison were only two among many who found that Owen demanded not equal co-workers, but disciples and even devotees to do his bidding. The most faithful Owenites were largely weak men, who were prepared to give up their wills to the stronger spirit. Sir Leslie Stephen, in his biography of Owen in the Dictionary of National Biography, called him one of those “bores who are the salt of the earth”. Owen’s own explanation of his character was clearly no explanation at all. It involved, moreover, a confusion, very common in his thinking, between character and belief. William Lovett was colder and more critical, especially of Owen’s “anti-democratic” attitude.