john bellers educator of marx
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8/18/2019 John Bellers Educator of Marx
1/6
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Guilford Press
John Bellers —Educator of Marx?Author(s): John T. ZepperSource: Science & Society, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Spring, 1979), pp. 87-91Published by: Guilford PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40402151 .
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COMMUNICATION
JOHN
BELLERS- EDUCATOR
OF
MARX?
The
name
of
John
Bellers oes
not
ppear
n
any
of theworld
histories
ofeducation y nyAmerican uthor. ven nBritish istoriesfEng-
lish ducation
here s scant
eference
o
this conomistnd his educa-
tional
lans,
s
Hans
pointed
ut.1
However,
Nadezhda
K.
Krupskaya,
the
wife
nd
political
olleague
of Lenin
and
the best
known
oviet
educator
rom 918 to
1939,
dentified
ohn
Bellers s
the
first duca-
tor
in the Marxist radition.2
n
her
history
f Marxian
ducation,
Krupskaya
id notdetail
heeducationaldeas
of Bellers s she did for
other
educators
dentified s
holding
viewsor
plans
consistent ith
Marxism.3
This fact
would lead
one to
conjecture
that
Madame
Krupskaya
id not read
Bellers'
Proposals 4
which
was and is
very
difficulto locate),but became awareofJohnBellersthroughKarl
Marx's
Capital.
Marx mentions
ellers nd
his
writings
en
times
n
the textor
notes
f
Capital?
Marx was
primarily
nterested
n theeconomic
deas
of Bellers such
s land
and labor
s thetrue
riches f
a
nation,
rade
as
more
mportant
han
money,
what
men can do
together
n
large
groups
hat
annot
e done
individually
nd
in
small
groups,
nd
the
labor of
the
poor
as
the
source
mines)
for the
rich.
However,
Marx
does
refer
o educational
omments
s well:
JohnBellers, very henomenonn thehistoryfpoliticalconomy,awmost learlyt
the nd
of
the
1
th
entury,
he
necessity
or
bolishing
he
present
ystem
f
education
1
The
project
f
John
Bellows
f
1696
College
of
Industry)
as not well
known,
Nicholas
Hans,
The
Russian
raditionn
Education
London, 1963),
p.
160.
2
N.K.
Krupskaya,
Public ducation nd
Democracy,
zbrannye
edagogic
eskie
rioz-
vendeniya
Moscow,
957),
p.
138.
3
Ibid.,
p.
138-215.
4
Proposals
or
Rasing
College
of
Industry
orAll
Useful
Trades and
Husbandry,
with rofit or he
Rich,
Plentiful
iving
or
he
Poor,
nd a Good
Education or
Youth. Which
WillBe
an
Advantage
o the
Government,
y
the
Increaseof the
People
nd
Their
Riches
London,
1695,
eprinted
n
1696).
Referredo
throughout
thispaperas Proposals.
5
Karl
Marx,
apital
London,
1908),
p.
107,
1
15,
122,
316,
340,427,
485,
494-5,
627,
and
804.
87
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88
SCIENCE
AND
SOCIETY
and divisionof
labour,
which
begat hypertrophy
nd
atrophy
at the two
opposite
ex-
tremities f
society.
Amongst
other
things
he
says
this:
An idle
learning
being
little
better han
the
learning
of
idleness.
.
.
Bodily
abour,
it's a
primitive
nstitution
f God.
.
. .
Labour
being
as
proper
for the bodies'
health
s
eating
s
for ts
iving;
for
what
pains
a man saves
by
ease,
he will find
n
disease.
. . Labour adds
oyl
to the
amp
of
life,
when
thinking
nflames
t. ..
A
childish
illy
mploy
a
warning
his,
by
presentiment,
gainst
the Basedows
and
their modern
imitators)
leaves
the
children's
minds
silly. 6
This
quotation
ontains
Marx's
trilogy
f
intellectual,
hysical,
nd
labor
ducation,
ut Marx
goes
no further
n
stating
r
developing
he
educational
deas
of
Bellers,
nor does
he
develop
his
own educational
ideasin anydetail.7
Robert
Owen,
another
ducator abeled
Marxist
y
Krupskaya,
as
familiar
ith he
plans
of Bellers.
How
much he atter
nfluenced
he
ideas and
writings
f the
formers still
nclear
mong
Owen scholars.
A number f
writers8 aintain
hat
Owen's
deas
were
developed
by
the
time he discovered
he seventeenth
entury
Proposals
f
John
Bellers r
mply
hat
e
was
original
n terms
f
orientation.
r.Cole
s
relatively
eutral
n
stating
hat
Owen
published
ohn
Bellers'
Propo-
sals s a
means
o foster
propaganda
ampaign
orhis
own
deas
and
that
the
proposals
n some
respects losely esembling
wen's
were
brought
orward. 9t the
opposite
xtreme,
atrell nd Podmore10
give
Bellers
place
in the
thought
f Robert
Owen. This
controversy
hangs
on the
nterpretation
f Owen's
own words:
6
Ibid.
pp.
494-5,
citing
Proposals
(London,
1696),
pp.
12,
14,
18.
7 William
N.
Blake,
Karl
Marx's
Concept
of
Education,
Philosophy
f
Education
968,
George
L.
Newsome,
Jr.,
editor
Ed
wards
ille,
llinois,
1968),
pp.
179-185,
and
Gert
Hellerich,
Some
Educational
Implications
of Karl
Marx's
Communism,
Educational
Forum,
XXXIV
(May,
1970),
471-478.
8
Margaret
Cole,
Robert
wen
of
New
Lanark
London,
1953),
pp.
116-117;
R.G. Gar-
nett,
Co-operation
nd the
Owenite
ocialist
ommunities
n
Britain,
825-45
(Manchester,
1972) p. 20; J.F.C. Harrison,RobertOwenand theOwenitesn Britain nd America
(London,
1969),
p.
23;
Hasselmann,
The
Impact
of
Owen's
Ideas
on
German
Social
and
Cooperative
Thought
During
the
Nineteenth
Century.
Robert
wen:
Prophet
f
the
oor,
Sidney
Pollard
and
John
Salt,
eds.
(London,
1971),
p.
285;
and
A.L.
Morton,
The
Life
and
Ideas
of
Robert
wen
London,
1962),
Ch.
X.
9 G.D.H.
Cole,
Robert
wen
London,
1925),
p.
164.
10 V.A.C.
Gatrell
(ed.),
Introduction
to
Robert
Owen,
A
New View
of
Society
Har-
mondsworth,
ngland,
1970),
writes
n terms
f
probability:
Owen
may
have
discov-
ered this dea
in
John
Bellers,
the
seventeenth-century
amphleteer
whose
advocacy
of
a labour
standard
of
value
he
had
reprinted
n
1817,
or of course
in Ricardo
[Principles
f
Political
conomy,
817]
himself:
he
concept
of labour
value had
both an
ancient
and
a
respectable
ancestry,
p.
70;
while
Frank
Podmore,
Robert
Owen:
A
BiographyLondon, 1923), is muchmorepositive hatthe classes n Owen's September
10,
1817,
publication
are
obviously
borrowed
from
Bellers,
p.
250;
and
The
re-
semblance
in its broad
lines
between
Beller's
College
of
Industry
nd
Owen's
village
of
co-operation
s
unmistakable.
. . Owen
shortly
roceeded
still
further
o
develop
his Plan
upon
the lines
laid
down
by
Bellers,
pp.
236-7.
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JOHN
BELLERS AND
MARX
89
Since
writing
he
preceeding ages,
which avebeenwrittent differentndsometimes
at
distant
eriods,
havebeen
reminded f
several ccurrences
eserving
otice
n
this
volume.
One
of
these
s,
the
ccidental
iscovery,
y
Francis
lace,
whenhe
was
rearranging
his
ibrary
nd
putting
utwhat e deemeduseless nd worthless
rinted
apers,
s these
were
being
wept
ut,
of
an
old
pamphlet,
ritten
50
years
efore
yJohn
Bellers.As
Mr.
Place was
t that
imemuch nterested
n
my
New
Views
he
immediately
rought
this
amphlet
o
me,
aying
I
havemade
great
iscovery
of work
dvocating
our
social
views
century
nd a half
go.
This was
the
only
opy
known o be in
existence,
nd
I
begged
t
of
him,
nd told
him
would
print
ne thousand
opies
of t
for
distribution,
nd that would
give
the
authorhe redit foriginatinghe dea^ lthoughminehad beenforced ponmeby he
practice
f
observing
acts,
eflecting
pon
them,
nd
trying
ow far
they
wereuseful
for he
every-day
usiness
f ife.
T
had
the thousand
opiesprinted,
nd
I
widely
irculated
hem,
with he
printed
papers giving
he
account
f
my
great
public
meetings
n
1817,
t
one of
which,
s
previously
tated,
denounced ll
the
superstitions
then
alled
religions),
hich
were
forced
pon
different
ations ver
the world.11
It
is
obvious hat
othMarx
nd Owen rediscoveredheeconomic
and
educational
aradigms
f
John
Bellers bout
150
years
fter
hey
werewritten.
Bellers greedwithMartin uther,who wrote n favor fschools
for the education
f
youth
n
his 1524
Letter
o the
Mayors
nd
Aldermen
f
all
theCities f
Germany
n
behalf
f
Christian
chools,
concerning
he
inadequacy
f
parents
n
educating
hildren.12
he
four
problems
f
the
English
oor
dentified
y
Bellers ncluded ne
evil
the education
given
the
children
y
their
parents-
nd three
needs
the
need
for
parental
nd
child
employment,
he
need for
markets
or
what
he
poor
raise
or
make,
nd
the
need for
ufficient
food
for heir
abor.
All
four
f
these
problems
were o be
relieved
y
the
College
of
ndustry
cheme
which ellers
presented
o the
EnglishParliamentn 1697.13 n
presenting
is
proposals
Bellerscalled on
1
1
Robert
wen,
The
ife f
Robert
wenWritten
y
imself
London,
1967),
ol.
,
p.
240.
John
F.C. Harrison
maintains
hat
t is not
necessary
o doubt
Owen's
honesty
n
claiming riginality
f
his
views,
ut hat
his claim annot
e taken t tsfacevalue
forhe was
nfluenced
n his
writing
tyle y
Scottishuthors
ven
hough
e
seldom
quoted
ny
of them.
ohn
.C. Harrison
ed.),
Vtopianism
nd
Education:obert
wen
and
the
Owenites
New
York,
1968),
pp.
11-13.
12
John
Bellers,
Essays
About he
Poor,
Manufacturers,
rade,
Plantations,
nd
Immortality
(New
York,
972),
p.
2-3,
. . . thePoorhave
very
ll
Qualities,
nd are as
ill
Tutors,
as well s evilExamples o theirChildren,nd thereforet's ofabsoluteNecessity
their hildren
houldhave
better
nstructors
nd a
more
ndustriousducation
han
their arents
will
ive
them;
he
Happiness
f the next
Age
much
epending pon
the
good
Education
f the Children
f
this.
13
Ibid..
pp.
3-4.
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90
SCIENCE
AND
SOCIETY
good Christians o be wise stewards fwealth and wisdombyproviding
for the
welfare and education
of the
poor.
Developed
in times
which
had
only
small
industry
nd
agriculture
as
an
economic
base,
the
Proposals
were
geared
to
rural
conditions
rather
than
to
the
complex
industrialized
ociety
of
the twentieth
en-
tury.Early experiments
n Communist
ducation
in the
U.S.S.R.
were
also
related
to rural
conditions,
e.g.,
the
schools/communes
f
S.T.
Shatskii
and
A.S.
Makarenko.
Bellers
decided
to
name
his
planned
community college,
meaning
a
body
of
associates
or
colleagues,
rather
than
a
work-house
r
community,
ecause
the name
is
more
grateful,
useful
learning
can be
taught,
and it indicates outward
fellowship
rather
than inward
communion.
A work-house
denotes servitude
nd
community
mplies
a
greater
mix
of
people
than
would
exist
in the
college.
The standard
of value
within
he
college
would
be labor
rather
than
money,
for
which there
would
be little
use.
Labor was
the source
of
enriching
men with
enough
land
to em-
ploy
and
to
provide
for the
laborers;
therefore,
Bellers
thought,
he
rich would
support
the
colleges.
To
appeal
to both
groups,
the
colleges
had a
triune
purpose:
to
provide
profit
or the
rich,
plentiful
iving
for
the poor, and a good education fortheyouth.
Bellers
appealed
to the self-interest
f the
rich,
advancing
several
of
the same
arguments
used
by
the
American
common school
crusaders
in
the
nineteenth
entury.
Till the
rich be satisfied
o
put
it
[the
col-
lege]
a-foot,
the
poor
cannot,
f
they
would,
for want
of materials
p.
181).
Care
of the
poor
would
guarantee
the care
of the heirs
of the
rich
and
lessen
the
possibilities
f
revolutions
nd social
change.
A hundred
pounds
spent
in
colleges
would be
better
pent
than
the
same
amount
spent
on
prisons
and
hospitals.
A
college
would need 200
people's
labor
to
produce
the necessities
for a total population of 300. The 200 laborers would include 44
tradesmen,
82
women and
girl
workers,
4
men
and
boys
to
work
on
the
farm,
nd
50
working
for
money.
The
labor
of the additional
100
would
produce
a
profit
f
1,000-1,500
pounds
per
annum
to be used
by
the
founders
or
to
improve
the
colleges. Aged
and
decrepit people
were to
be excluded
from
olleges
n
the
beginning
because
the
colleges
would be weak and
would
have
to be nurtured
nto
strong
nstitutions;
at
a later
time those who cannot
be industrious
ould be added.
Col-
leges
could
vary
n
size
from 300 to
3,000
or more
persons
established
in
English
agricultural
or
fishing
reas.
A
total
capital
investment
f
18,000 pounds was necessary, o be divided as follows: 10,000 to buy
land at
500
pounds
per
acre;
2,000
for
stock;
3,000
for
necessary
ools
and
equipment
in
the
trades;
and
3,000
for new
buildings
nd
repairs.
Detailed
suggestions
and
plans
for
the
distribution
f
trades,
use
of
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JOHN
BELLERS AND
MARX
91
money,ules, nd use ofprofits ithin hecollegewere lso contained
in the
Proposals.
In
addition
o the
planned
economy,
ome sound
educational d-
vice
was
included
n
the
1695
Proposals. Anticipating
enjamin
Franklin,
ellersmaintained hat:
... in
learning
of
language,
words should be first earned and afterwards ules
to
put
them
together;
children first
earning
the words
of their
mother-tongue,
nd then sen-
tences;
but to understand what
rules their
language
hath,
requires
a
ripeness
of
judge-
ment;
and the
putting
of rules
upon
children
before,
cripples
their
understandings;
when
boys
of
twelve
years
old are as
long again
at
school
learning
language
by
rules,
as
a
child of threeyearsold withoutrules (p. 173).
Skinner's
einforcement
heory,
s
wellas behavioral
ngineering
and
modeling
or
behavior,
s
suggested:
Raise
a child's
ove
to what
he
should
learn,
by
rewards and
emulation,
for
beating
them
(only)
to
make
them
earn,
spoils
their natural
parts,
more
than
the
acquired
(they
are
beat
to)
will make
up;
by
which
ome,
that
would
make
anything
etter
han
scholars,
re
made
only
mere scholars
p.
172).
.
. . children re
guided
more
by
sense than
reason;
and
thereforemustbe
hedged
from
all
evil
more
by
wise
management
than
discourse,
as
we see colts are tamed
more
by
it
than words
p.
174).
As
in the
education
f
Emile
y
Rousseau
nd
the aterGreat
Prin-
ciple
of
Education
f
Marx,
hildren
were o be
taught
ow
to use
the
hands and
legs
rather
han
ust
the
mind,
for abor maintains
nd
upholds
mankind
while
cademic
earning
s
ust
varnish.
t was
recog-
nized hat
t
s
muchharder
o breed
educate)
child han o feed
him.
For those
nterested
n this remarkable
nd
strangely eglected
pioneer
f
educational
hought,
he
collegeplan
and
educational
iews
of
John
Bellers re
reproduced
n toto
n
Appendix
L,
Proposals
or
College
of
Industry
f
All Useful
Trades and
Husbandry, p.
155-
181, n RobertOwen,The
Life
f
Robertwen,
upplementary
ppen-
dix,
1803-1820,
Vol.
-A
London:
Effingham
ilson,
oyal
xchange,
1858).
JOHN
T. ZEPPER
Universityf
New Mexico
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