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POST GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY. DEPARTMENT IV. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY (CHRISTIAN ETHICS). Thesis :- ROBERT OWEN AND CHRISTIAN SOCIALISE, FINLAY FRASER, (Ormond College? Melbourne). f 1. Contents Chapter 1. Introduction. ...... 1 - 16 Chapter 11 .... Robert Owen and New Lanark. 17 - 31 Chapter 111 ... Owen's Welfare Propaganda and Is Socialistic . Experiments 32 - 53 Chapter IV . Owen and Religion. .... 54 - 64 Chapter V .... A ReYiew of Owen's Life and Teachings ..... 65 78 Chapter VI. .... The Christian Sooialists . 79 - 102 Chapter Vj.i .... Later Christian Socialism. 103 - 112 Chapter Vlll . Modern Socialism. .... 113 - 127 Chapter IX .... The Christian Ideal . 128 - 146 Bibliography . ..... 147 - 149 2. - Summary -* M -i - * * - Chapter I . Background to Mpvementa under Re view t- Land Tenure in medieval times in Britain - Enclosures - Revolts of peasants against encrouohments of nobles etc. - Position in Scotland - Results of War of Roses - Rise of New Commercial lords who turned arable lands into sheep runs - Sir Thomas MorAs "Utopia* - Reformation in England and Scotland Socialistic schemes of the 17th. Century - Peter Chamberlain - Peter Plookboy - John Bellairs - Land changes in the 18th. uentury - More enclosures in England - Jacobite Risings in -X Scotland - Beginning of Industrial Revolution - Introduction of machinery in industry - State of religion in the 18th. and early 19th. centuries - Oxford Movement - Rise of Socialism on the Continent - St. Simon> Fourier* Blanc and Proudhon in France - Republic of 1848 which influenced Lassalles, Bakuni, Marx and Ludlow. Chap t e r II .^ Robert Owen and New Lanark. <••»-•»- •_.<*.-» -* * •« • -» .* ..* ~* . mattm i .•— • ••• mm •*!••• •• Early Life - Manager of Drinkwater's Factory - David Dale at New Lanark and the state of his mills - Owen marries Dale's daughter and becomes managing director of the Mills - .His endeavour to improve the social life of the workers at the mills - New partners - Education of the young - The Presbytery of/ 3. of Lanark's minute - Trouble with partners over Bible reading in the School - Dissolution of Partnership and end of Owen's connection - Comments on his sojourn at New Lanark. Chapter^m mm "^<*• « t _* «_«—•III. «•—« Owen's jyeLTare J'ropaga^ida and His Socialistic Experiments. (a). Factory Apt;- Owen's efforts to promote legislation for reducing the working hours of children - The Passing of the Factory Act - Owen the pioneer of Factory legislation. (b). New--m -— -- iHarmony!- • i—*-^* * -* « « Efforts to overcome unemployment after peace in 1815 - Malthas and population - Owen's ideas as revealed in "Report to the County of Lanark*1 - His own experiment at New Harmony - Description of settlement - Causes of failure. (c). Orbiston!- Another attempt on Owen's Theory - Abram Combe - Practical Society in Edinburgh 7 Purchase of Estate at Orbiston near Glasgow - Description of settlement - reasons of failure. (d). Later attempt at Queenswood - Owen appointed governor - his extravagance -' failure. (e). co-operative Labour Exchanges and Trades Unions - Owen's influence on the uo-operative movement - Labour notes as _>• a system of exchange instead of gold - Failure of experiment and reasons - Owen's influence on Trades Unions - Lost touch with Movement. "••^^^IMChapter i* ^ •* -• ^ IV./-*i m rf Chapter IV. Owen and Religion. Early religious beliefs . Abandons impressions in farour of Christianity - Enthrones reason • His guiding p principle of "Environment makes Character11 - Man not responsible for his own actions - Criticism of the clergy - Attack on the religions of the world - a statement of his beliefs and a commentary on same • Owen and rationalism • His views on marriage • A convert to Spiritualism - Death in 1858 and burial in consecrated ground. Chapter V. A Review of Owen's Life and Teachings. Sympathetic attitude to the Oppressed - His disinterested labour for Reform - His sacrifices • His mystical temperament - Inconsistencies - His denial of religion and his misunderstanding of it - His philosophy of environment - Education • Failure of Communism - Misunderstood in own day • Challenge to extreme Individualism < An appreciation. Chapter VI. The Christian Socialists. Owen*s idea of Association - Failure of Owenite experiments convinced leaders of working-men that direct action was necessary - Owenites prominent in Chartist Movement Difficulty of distinguishing between Socialists and Chartists . Christian/ 5. Christian Chartists - Christian Socialism arising out of over throw of Chartists - Maurice and his teaching - Ludlow brings ideas from the French Republic of 1846 - Attitude of the Church towards the poor - Laissez-Faire - Christian Socialists' proclamation - Opinion of competition - Pounding of Co-operative Association of Tailors - The Tailoring Industry as depicted in >> Alton Looke - The name uhristian Socialist - Tracts on Christian Socialism - Co-operative production - Ideas of payment for labour done - Unsuitable members of Associations- Under Owenite influence* London uo-operative stores for Co-operative selling instituted - Opposition of Maurice and Ludlow - Influence of Christian Socialists on obtaining legal recognition for co-operative societies - Withdrawals of Maurice? Kingsfey and Ludlow from the Movement - Reasons for failure - No-Popery cry - Crimean War - Movement made too great a demand on moral qualities of the first associates - Kingsjpy advocates improvements in rural districts - Co-operation in Agriculture. - General Comments and comparison with Owenisra. «M^MMV^«W»-W-Chapter -«• ^. i*VII. m M ~t t Latejr Qhrist^ian Socialist Movement^. The Influence of the Early Christian Socialists re mained in various spheres - Working Men's College - Guild of St. Matthew - A High Church Movement - Principles of the Guild - Combated the spread of scepticism - Supported Henry George in his Single Tax - Guild never appealed to popular imagination - Pronouncement of Anglican church on Socialism - Lambeth con ference/ 6. ference of 1888 - As a result the Christian Social Union formed - Its rules - Objects - Strictly an Anglican body - A review of its principles - Conference on Christian Politics, Economics and Citizenship. Chapter Till. Modern Socialism, Socialism and the Church » Individualism and Socialism • The modern state - Definitions of Socialism • The Capitalistic outlook - Evolutionary Socialism - Socialistic programme - Revolutionary Socialism • The Teaching of Marx - Communists. Chapter IX- The Christian Ideal, Present state of Society - Combines - Study of scriptural teaching • Old Testament, New Testament - Brotherhood • The Social Ideal - The personality of the Individual - The Church and Social Problem - Co-operative Societies - Duty of Christians • A Contrast with Owenite Ideal. 1. t Ohapter A*. - Backgrounds to ^the Movements under ^Review. After years of historical disputation there seems to be no reasonable doubts but that the earliest form of land owner ship in Great Britain was tribal. The land was common property and the conception of private ownership was alien to our early forefathers. In Saxon times there was firstly folc land or people's land - the land held by the village community as a community and secondly boo or book land - land granted to in dividuals by charter. Even when the land became boo-land the old folo-land system was not entirely suppressed and in grants and charters* tracts of land were withheld from private-ownership and reserved for the use of the Community. With the coming of the Normans to England* grants of land were given to the knights as rewards and were held as a fief from the Sovereign. Thus in theory all possessions were the property of the reigning monarchs. The knights in turn let out the land fro their retainers on condition that these fought for the Lord of the Manor in time of war. The retainers tilled the soil* being practically their own masters in agriculture and giving a certain amount of their products to their overlord. The village communities regulated their own affairs by collective customs* rights and responsibilities. The Church often took the place of the lay-overlord and abbeys and monasteries were surrounded/ 2. surrounded by agricultural communities. Land formed the chief source of wealth, trade and commerce being despised. By the middle of the thirteenth century certain towns in England had emerged from manorial and ecclesiastical control and these offered a ready market for food stuffs* which grew in value and could be exchanged for money. As joint-possessors of certain oommunial lands the peasants could sell their produce in the towns and also could command money wages for their labours. About this time the village commun ities began to lose their status* the land was enclosed and the villains were dispossessed. As a result peasant revolts occurred and demands were made for a return to old charters of liberty with the restoration of rights to common pasture and fishing. John Ball, a priest* pointed back to the origins of society and asked "When Adam delved and Eve spun Who was then the gentlemun.* He advocated the removal from the land of the great lords, judges* lawyers and everyone injurious to the community. The revolt was crushed and the lot of the agricultural labourer became worse and worse. As a result of the Wars of the Roses the old feudal families ceased to exist^and their retainers being disbanded were unable to find employment. At this time a spirit of trading had sprung up and English wool, cloth and minerals made their/