Early life 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.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: Although Warren's purpose was principled, he recognized that self-interest, rooted in the instinct for self-preservation, drives human behavior and did not waste time on reforms ignoring this natural motivation. He believed the first step in helping others was to show them he had no power to harm them and, in his words, was "as ready to run away from power as most reformers are to pursue it." Initially, the Equity Store received little support. In the first week, business totaled just five dollars. Skeptics condemned it as a new scam, and friends advised him to abandon his utopian pursuits, offering to help him build a profitable business instead. For several days, no customers came. A nearby merchant, finding his own business waning, saw that he needed to either adopt the Equity model or close. He approached Warren, explained his situation, and asked for guidance to transition his business to this new system to regain lost customers. Warren was happy to help his fellow merchant convert his shop into a "Time Store" based on Equity principles and delighted to witness how competition could drive fairer trading methods. The two Time Stores soon drew so much support that they impacted retail trade throughout the city. Between 1827 and 1830, the store proved successful. Warren closed the store to pursue establishing colonies based on economic
mutualism, including "
Utopia" and "
Modern Times."
Modern times Modern Times, which was located in what is now Brentwood, New York, lasted from approximately 1851 to 1864. It was Josiah Warren's last attempt to put his ideas of Equitable Commerce and sovereignty of the individual, which he had developed over a lifetime of study and experimentation, into action. In 1850, Warren came back to Boston from the Midwest and began searching for an area near a major city, with low land prices, to establish a utopian community. The inexpensive land enabled Warren to be able to implement his plan to provide homes for families that had never owned one before. The
Long Island Central Pine Barrens where Modern Times was located had an undeserved reputation as having poor soil so he was able to purchase 400 acres at $2.75 an acre with a very small down payment. Modern Times was a town with neither government nor money nor laws and can accurately be described as anarchistic, The citizens of Modern Times although eschewing the profit motive, were not socialistic in their attitude toward ownership of property or the means of production. On 7 September 1864 the name of the village was changed to Brentwood."
Later life and death Warren later returned to the Boston area. From 1864 to 1869, he resided in
Cliftondale, Massachusetts, where he twice attempted to establish a mutual town. He then moved back to Boston, where he remained until his death. Warren died on April 14, 1874, in
Charlestown at the home of a friend after developing
edema. He is buried at
Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. == Philosophy ==