Abstract

The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain saw the dramatic rise in production, generation of wealth for a new capitalist class and the inherent dangers of an unfettered free market. Without control or regulation, the owner-managers of the new mills often exploited the child labour purely to maximise profit. Though without political power the exploited working class were not without a voice. In tandem with the development of the Factory System was the demand for its regulation and reform.

Demands for Factory Reform in the early decades of the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom have long been seen as part of the British philanthropic tradition that stretched back to the earlier anti-slave trade movement. Promoted by seemingly well meaning philanthropists determined to protect the weakest members of society the establishing of a tradition seeking “Corporate Social Responsibility” is often overlooked.

One of the most important leaders in the campaign for Factory Reform was Michael Thomas Sadler who highlighted clearly the duality of the integration of philanthropic views with demand for “Corporate Social Responsibility”.

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