Historical ‘Utopization’ of Space: The Case of New Lanark, 1784-1825
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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6143-1646
Abstract
This article tackles the historical processes of utopization, re-utopization, and de-utopization of spaces where projects of creation of ideal societies were implemented. Its main thesis is that the unstable meanings of these places drew on the historical assumptions about the real world that shaped the worldviews of those who interpreted them. The case of New Lanark (Scotland) reveals this variability in meaning: a paradigm of the paternalist utopia in the late 18th century, the materialization of the “new system” conceived by Robert Owen in 1800-1815, and an “almost-utopian” place for later Owenites. The analysis of the writings left by Owen and several visitors shows the importance of the category of “social human nature” in the ongoing utopization, re-utopization, and de-utopization of this village. The limited relevance of this category in the rare testimonies of the New Lanark workers explains why they did not consider to inhabit a utopian place.
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Robert Owen, New Lanark, utopian place, utopization, social question, socable human nature, moral environtment
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