ABSTRACT
Industrial globalization initially developed in Great Britain but soon spilled over to other European countries. The social disruptions that occurred due to this development led to political clashes. One of the main issues that arose was the organization of factory workers in labor unions struggling to improve labor conditions and create shorter working hours. Hence, Owenite Socialism became an important influence in the British working-class movement. However, most entrepreneurs cared little about what Robert Owen proclaimed and wanted to stay masters over time and maintain long working days. The monotonous labor in textile factories and the lack of variability in labor patterns, nonetheless, evoked resistance. Factory workers defended the Blue Monday (a free Monday to resist the increasing discipline of the factory bell that was imposed on weavers and cobblers during the six working days of the week, cf. Thompson 1963), regularly changed jobs, and sabotaged the homogeneous time structure that had become imposed within the textile factories.
