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Abram Combe (15 January 1785–11 August 1827) was a British
utopian socialist Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often de ...
, an associate of
Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted e ...
and a major figure in the early co-operative movement, leading one of the earliest
Owenite Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperative mov ...
communities, at Orbiston, Scotland.


Life


Early Years

Combe was born in Edinburgh on 15 January 1785, son of George Combe, a brewer and strict Calvinist. He attended Edinburgh High School but, unlike his brothers
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
and
Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
, he preferred practical pursuits to academic ones and became apprenticed to a local tanner. After his apprenticeship Combe worked as a
currier A currier is a specialist in the leather processing industry. After the tanning process, the currier applies techniques of dressing, finishing and colouring to a tanned hide to make it strong, flexible and waterproof. The leather is stretched an ...
in London and Glasgow, before returning to Edinburgh in 1807 to set up his own tannery business. He married Agnes Dawson in 1812 and started a family. Combe was a hard-working and successful businessman, motivated by self-interest but honourable in his dealings with others. He strongly believed that every man was responsible for his own character and was scathing in his criticism of anyone whose standards of behaviour differed from his own. Such criticisms were often expressed satirically in verse and prose.


Owenism and Divine Revelation

In 1820, Combe met
Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted e ...
during a visit to his mill at New Lanark and was impressed by Owen's views on the formation of character, the defects in the principles and practices of society and the virtues of co-operation and universal benevolence. Following a period of reflection and study Combe radically altered his former views and habits. He ceased to be motivated by self-interest and where once he had criticised other people's weaknesses he now showed compassion. He even abandoned some of the social activities that he had previously enjoyed, such as eating meat, drinking alcohol and going to the theatre. In 1821 Combe put his Owenism into practice by becoming a founder-member of the Edinburgh Practical Society, an Owenite group which opened its own co-operative store and founded its own school. Although the Society claimed 500 members, it fizzled out within a year. Combe then tried to set up a co-operative with his own employees at his tanyard, but this too was short-lived. Combe continued to proselytise on Owen's behalf by writing pamphlets and books. These included ''Metaphorical Sketches of the Old and New Systems'' (1823), in which he satirically attacked the prevailing capitalist economic theories by comparing the British economy to a cistern, which was capable of supplying the wants of the entire nation until the guardians of the stopcock cut off supply. He also attempted to defend Owen's religious views. Owen had scandalised large sections of society by attacking all forms of organised religion and was widely believed to be an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
and
infidel An infidel (literally "unfaithful") is a person accused of disbelief in the central tenets of one's own religion, such as members of another religion, or the irreligious. Infidel is an ecclesiastical term in Christianity around which the Church ...
. Combe went to great lengths to present Owen's ideas as prophetic truths, wholly consistent with the laws of nature, which, he argued, were the laws of God. He referred to these beliefs as “Divine Revelation”, which he explained as “the facts and truths which the Great Governing Power of the Universe reveals to the senses and understanding”.


Orbiston

During the early 1820s Owen had been trying to raise funds to set up a co-operative community in Lanarkshire, Scotland. One of his supporters was Archibald James Hamilton, whose father owned a large estate near Motherwell. On his father's behalf, Hamilton had sold part of the estate to Owen, but after much delay Owen abandoned the project and went to America to set up a community at New Harmony, Indiana. Hamilton had known Combe since the days of the Edinburgh Practical Society and together they decided to set up a community without Owen's help. They and others formed a
joint-stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...
to finance the operation, Hamilton bought back the land from Owen and sold a smaller part of it, at Orbiston, near Motherwell, to the company. Building works to house the new community commenced in March 1825, but it was several months before any tenants could be admitted. In the early days, Combe and Hamilton were assisted by George Mudie, who had founded the Owenite community at
Spa Fields Spa Fields is a park and its surrounding area in the London Borough of Islington, bordering Finsbury and Clerkenwell. Historically it is known for the Spa Fields riots of 1816 and an Owenite community which existed there between 1821 and 1824. The ...
. Mudie and Combe, however, could not work together and Mudie soon left after warning Hamilton that Combe lacked the management skills to lead the community. Although building work was far from complete, the first tenants were admitted in October 1825. The community got off to a controversial start when Combe insisted that it be known as The First Society of Adherents to Divine Revelation. Many of the members objected but as Combe had been accepted as their leader his will prevailed. In order to chronicle the progress of the community he edited a weekly newspaper, ''The Register for the First Society of Adherents to Divine Revelation at Orbiston''. In spite of Combe's protestations of religious orthodoxy, the community was viewed with suspicion by local church ministers and their congregations. The situation was not helped by the unruly behaviour of the building workers, Orbiston became known locally as "Babylon" and some newsagents refused to stock ''The Register''. Nevertheless, the community continued to grow and by the summer of 1826 it consisted of around 250 members, while its commercial activities included an iron foundry, a printing press, a dairy, a grain mill and several building trades. Orbiston was visited by several English co-operators who were keen to see its progress. One visitor was the economic writer John Gray, who published an address of advice and criticism of Combe's experiment: ''A Word of Advice to the Orbistonians, on the Principles Which Ought to Regulate their Present Proceedings'' (1826). Like George Mudie before him, Gray was alarmed by the lack of any management plan for the community. Combe had accepted all applicants for membership, without regard for what type of work they were capable of undertaking. As a result, Gray thought, the community was failing to perform the tasks necessary for its survival. While Gray was fulsome in his praise of Combe as a person he said that he was "too little of a theorist... his mind was very prematurely devoted to practical measures." Other visitors made similar criticisms, but Combe was not convinced that the survival of community was at risk.


Illness and death

Combe's health now began to fail. In addition to editing ''The Register'' and addressing numerous meetings, he had also spent many hours helping to dig trenches. By mid-1826 he was coughing up blood and having trouble breathing. His doctor in Edinburgh told him that his lungs were inflamed and that he should cease all strenuous activity. After a two-week convalescence Combe seemed to recover and he returned to Orbiston. However, in August 1826 he had another attack, which left him too weak to continue leading the community. He gave up editing ''The Register'' and left Orbiston to live in Edinburgh. Combe remained the community's President and talisman. He gave advice through letters to ''The Register'', but played no part in its day-to-day activities and was unable to resolve the various internal disputes which were dividing the community.Cullen, Alexander, ''Adventures in Socialism'' (Glasgow, 1810) pp. 237/8. Combe died on 11 August 1827 and by the end of that year the community had been wound up.


Combe in print

* ''An Address to the Conductors of the Periodical Press, on the Causes of Religious and Political Disputes'' (1823) * ''Observations on the Old and New Views'' (1823) * ''Metaphorical Sketches of the Old and New Systems'' (1823) * ''The Religious Creed of the New System'' (1824) * ''The Sphere for Joint-Stock Companies'' (1825) * ''The New Court'' (1825) * ''The Register for the First Society of Adherents to Divine Revelation at Orbiston'' (weekly journal edited by Combe from 10 November 1825 to 9 September 1826)


Notes


Sources

* Cullen, Alexander, ''Adventures in Socialism'' (Glasgow, 1810) * Garnett, R. G., ''Co-operation and the Owenite Communities in Britain, 1825 – 1845'' (Manchester University Press, 1972) * Gray, J., ''The Social System: A Treatise on the Principle of Exchange.'' London, 1831. Appendix. * Harrison, J. F. C., ''Robert Owen and the Owenites in Britain and America'' (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1969) * Seligman, E.R.A., 'Owen and the Christian Socialists.' ''Political Science Quarterly'' Vol. 1, No. 2 (Jun., 1886), pp. 206–249. * Combe Family Gravestone

{{DEFAULTSORT:Combe, Abram 1785 births 1827 deaths British social reformers British socialists Owenites Politicians from Edinburgh Utopian socialists