The Idea

In 1894, King Camp Gillette, an American businessman and the inventor of the safety razor published a book entitled The Human Drift. In this work, Gillette laid out a plan for a Utopian society called Metropolis and how the current capitalist system needed to be changed in order for peace and prosperity to flourish. His immense city would be built near Niagara Falls and be powered by the water of the falls. The preface of the book establishes Gillette’s reasoning for proposing Metropolis and the defense of his beliefs. America, as he saw it, was at a crossroads. He says, “All governments have fallen because of the insecure foundation on which they were built; and this government is travelling the same road, to the same end.” Gillette saw the world around him and felt that it was heading for a downfall. At this point, America had been out of the Long Depression for over a decade. This depression wrought havoc on the economies of the world and lasted for six years. Gillette had also witnessed the cruel and unfair working conditions that the majority of American workers had to endure and the overall depressing and deterioration of society as a whole because of the capitalist system. He felt the problems of society had resulted from the current system of production and distribution and the competitive attitudes of humans. In fact, Gillette states that he disagrees with the idea that “competition is the life trade.” I can see why he would oppose the current system of competition and the production and distribution of material goods. It seems that this system only breeds greed on the part of those who are able to attain the available wealth. This competition for wealth causes the exploitation of individuals in order to feed the greed of wealthy. Gillette views society through the same scope that Karl Marx does. The capitalist system results when individuals are used for the gain of the “elite.” He saw the capitalist system as a mode of production as did Marx, and this system was one that was imperfect. Gillette’s solution for the current system is reform. He states that, “This pathway… will give birth to hope in the mind of every individual, of a future free from poverty, misery, and crime.” Part of this reform consists of the equal distribution of material goods. Along with this reform is his proposal that the new social system will be controlled by “a united stock company by the people of sufficient magnitude to gradually absorb and finally control production and distribution.” In his system of “united intelligence and material equality,” the production and distribution would run smoothly and perfectly. Gillette’s preface is a proclamation of the truth of the imperfections of the current, capitalist system, and an appeal that readers consider his theories.

Source:

Gillette, King Camp. The Human Drift. Boston: New Era Publishing Co., 1894.