A utopian society is so idealistic as a society of realization of various moral values with physical abundance as a whole. On the contrary, the concept of utilitarianism is understood to be more realistic and a sort of gradualism in the pursuit of individual desire and interest. Both concepts come into a conflict to each other. R. Owen accomplished to combine and unite both aspects. He did not opposed the market economy itself, even if criticized the free competitive, but wished to establish the equitable exchange in it. Then his legacy has been drawn to the co-operative movement and can be said a pioneer of business ethics and corporate governance.

Owen's utilitarianism is directly linked to utopianism as a necessary means to accomplish the idealistic purpose including the idea of 'perfectibility' of human beings and is based on individualism which is an indispensable element for it. He as a deist thinks that the Supreme Power creates a man as a 'compound being' of three elements to be composed of 'Natural Inclination', 'Intellectual Faculty'; and 'Moral Quality'. Each man is born to have different human character, for the elements are adjusted in different ratio quantitatively by the Work of Creator.

He devoted himself to the establishment of community to be self-managed by the working people as a means to pursue the happiness of themselves in the region. Particularly, he as a manager of factory was in a position to be well acquainted with the nature of capital, profit, and machine. Since the early 20s, Owen has developed a new way of the quantitative analysis to estimate the future profit, namely a kind of utilitarian calculation, as to be called the 'cost-benefit analysis' in the Accounting, today. In 1837, He referred to Joint-stock Company as a means of establishing community. He proudly said that it was more advantageous to the management. He does not find a reason in his own experience to deny the possibility of workers to own a capital, whereas many other contemporary socialists also expect labourers to be capitalists.

Pursuing the possibility of the self-management on the theory of direct democracy under the 'all-member's sovereignty', Owen argues that the work of governance should be so simple and transparent as it can be carried out by the 'common people'. He definitely reveals his democratic character in the principle of participation and disclosure of information. It might be said, that he revised the Republican tradition of 'all member's sovereignty' into the utilitarian style. By changing the form, these points that were unavoidable essence to the realisation of democratic system were transmitted into next generation, such as J. S. Mill.

It is well known that J. S. Mill was favourably inclined to the co-operative association. He never gave approval to Owen's community plan in his young age, and was severely critical to general socialism in his old age, too. Nevertheless, in the Principles of Political Economy, Book Four, he suggested surely that it is on the co-operative principle 'that the well-being and well-doing of labouring people must henceforth rest', and praised some socialists as R. Owen and Loui Blanc with other co-operators. He was impressed with a fact that 'the poor have come out of leading-strings' and 'to their own qualities must now be commended the care of their destiny,' particularly with people's quality carried out the Revolution of 1848.

Return