Josiah Warren (; June 26, 1798 – April 14, 1874) was an American social reformer, inventor, musician, businessman, and philosopher.
He is regarded as the first American philosophical anarchist; of communism, being owned by cellular units while promoting equitable distribution and a system of time chits.
A pioneer in printing technology, he invented America's first continuous-feed rotary press, that was capable of producing 60 copies per minute, in contrast to the 5 copies produced by standard presses of that time. This invention was exhibited in New York City in 1832, and, according to the 19th-century newspaper The Engraver and Electrotyper, "one of the crowds that went to see the new machine was Robert Hoe," the founder of the R. Hoe & Company. A few years later, Hoe & Company began producing a press based on the same principle, which would revolutionize printing by the late nineteenth century.
Warren is also recognized for his contributions to the development of coal-oil stoves and for being one of the first to establish a trade school in the United States. His philosophical work has been appreciated across the political spectrum, influencing prominent intellectuals such as Herbert Spencer, Benjamin Tucker, Émile Armand, and John Stuart Mill. By the 20th century, he was cited by Robert Nozick in Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), where Nozick explores the concept of a meta-utopia – a collection of coexisting utopias.
Biography
Early life
thumb|210x210px|Josiah Warren at the age of 17. |left
Warren was born June 26, 1798. They had two children, Caroline (1820–1850) and George (1826–1902), and George wrote a remembrance of his father that can be found in the Labadie Library at the University of Michigan. He invented a tallow-burning lamp in 1821 and manufactured his invention for a number of years in Cincinnati.
Owenism and New Harmony
In 1825, Warren became aware of the "social system" of Robert Owen and began to talk with others in Cincinnati about founding a communist colony. He decided to join Owen's experiment at New Harmony. Early that year, Warren sold his lamp factory and, along with his family, joined Owen and nearly 900 Owenites from across the country on the Rappite estates, which Owen had acquired. Together, they hoped to create an ideal community that would pave the way for a new era of peace, abundance, brotherhood, and happiness, ultimately envisioning this model as something that could embrace all of humanity.
Cincinnati and Utopia
On May 18, 1827, Warren put his theories to the test by establishing an experimental "labor for labor store" which locals soon began calling the "Time Store." It was located in Downtown Cincinnati, which facilitated trade by notes backed by a promise to perform labor. This was the first store to use a labor-for-labor note.thumb|Sample labor note from the Cincinnati Time Store. Scanned from Josiah Warren, Equitable Commerce: A New Development of Principles (New York: Fowlers and Wells, 1852).The Time Store worked as follows: every item had a clear price tag, reflecting its cost price plus a nominal percentage for expenses like shipping, shrinkage, rent, etc., typically around four cents on the dollar. The customer picked out what they needed with minimal help from the salesperson and paid in standard currency. The store owner then calculates the time spent assisting the customer, consulting a clock for accuracy. In exchange, the customer gives a labor note, formatted something like this: "Due to Josiah Warren, on demand, thirty minutes in carpentry work – John Smith," or, "Due to Josiah Warren, on demand, ten minutes of sewing – Mary Brown." This approach meant the store owner traded his time for an equal amount of time from those purchasing his goods, with no conventional profits involved. This represented the principle of "labor for labor," known as the "Cost Principle". Over time, the system adapted to account for differences in the value of various kinds of work.
The Cost system discouraged shoppers from wasting the vendor's time needlessly, while marking each item at cost eliminated haggling and fostered mutual respect and trust rather than sharp dealings and suspicion. Although Robert Owen suggested labor notes in 1820 as part of a plan to tackle the inequality facing industrial Ireland, Warren was the first to put the idea into effective practice. His store also served as a depot for items that could be sold. Each morning, he posted a list of items in demand, showing which products the store would accept. Once accepted, the depositor could either take equivalent goods from the store or receive Warren's labor notes in exchange. Since these notes were measured in hours rather than dollars, it became practical to display a list showing prices in labor hours, based on the average labor time for staple items. Additionally, customers could review the invoices for all purchased goods, so there was no basis for dispute over pricing. Accepting only in-demand items from depositors prevented overstocking and avoided the mistake that later contributed to the quick downfall of Robert Owen's London Labor Exchange. Warren kept the Equity Store simple, with only a brief notice: