Bentham and Owen on entrepreneurship and social reform

Jeremy Bentham invested an important amount of money in New Lanark's cotton mills, which at that time were run by Robert Owen. However, apparently Bentham never took a serious interest in the organisation of such a successful entrepreneurship and new model society, although it seemed to fit in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European journal of the history of economic thought 2014-04, Vol.21 (2), p.252-277
Main Authors: Trincado, Estrella, Santos-Redondo, Manuel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bentham
Bentham, Jeremy (1748-1832)
Economic history
Entrepreneurship
Happiness
New Lanark
Owen
Owen, Robert (1771-1858)
Reforms
Social change
Studies
Textile industry
utilitarianism
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Summary:Jeremy Bentham invested an important amount of money in New Lanark's cotton mills, which at that time were run by Robert Owen. However, apparently Bentham never took a serious interest in the organisation of such a successful entrepreneurship and new model society, although it seemed to fit in with Bentham's ideas of the entrepreneur ('projector') and also with Bentham's ideas on social reform, seeking the greatest happiness of the greatest number. This article explains how Bentham's share in New Lanark came about. It tries to ascertain whether the New Lanark experiment and Owen's ideas fit Bentham's managerial theory and ideas on social reform so as to understand why Bentham did not pay more attention to Robert Owen's practice.
ISSN:0967-2567
1469-5936
DOI:10.1080/09672567.2012.683877