The United Company

The heartbeat of Gillette’s reform movement is the creation of the United Company. According to Gillette, this stock company would be organized “‘by the people, for the people,’ for the purpose of entering the field of competition in producing, manufacturing, and distributing the necessities of life at cost.” This organization is essential the controlling force of Gillette’s utopian community. The idea of a company ruling the people seems to go against what Gillette is advocating. However, there are some differences with the United Company. For one, the company would be controlled by and made up of the population. Because mankind will have united intelligence, the problems of organizing and controlling such a large stock company will be gone. Also, the company will only produce what it needs to in order for the inhabitants to survive. Gillette states that: “The necessities of life are food, clothing, and habitation.” Nothing else matters. Because there is no material wealth, there is no need to pursue it by making more and more of “stuff.” One of the essential components of the current market system is the law of supply and demand. This law explains how and why the market works the way it does. If supply is up while demand is down, then the price of the item falls, the opposite is true as well. With the United Company only making what is necessary, the market system run by supply and demand will vanish in a sense. As individuals within Gillette’s society have need, obviously there is a demand for something, but the competition and fluctuating prices will no longer be a product of the system. I find it interesting that Gillette, a businessman, a man who made much profit from the capitalist system was completely against it. As he noted in the preface, he saw everything going on around him and knew that only reform would change things. It is also interesting to note that while most utopian societies are free of governing bodies, Gillette saw a need for one; this is the fundamental reason for starting the United Company. He proposed that the Company be managed by a board of one hundred and twenty five directors who would be elected by the stockholders. These stockholders are those who bought stock in the Company, i.e. the members of the society. These directors have complete control over the Company. Gillette felt that these men should be professional businessmen of integrity, honor, and financial ability. A business man himself, Gillette felt that the only people who know how to run an organization and society as a whole are those who are among the business elite. It is interesting that while Gillette wants equality in all aspects, as well as united education, in assigning the roles of directors only to those who are among the elite, he seems to acknowledge that there should be a hierarchical order in society, with the elite (directors) and those below (stockholders). To me, this contradicts the whole idea of a utopian society founded on equality. However, this may show that while society in general is crumbling, Gillette feels that some aspects are good and even necessary for society to function, i.e. government and a stratified society. Gillette’s views show that he favors a more socialistic utopia controlled by the Company. This Marxist view is based on the idea of capitalism being a mode of production, with the next step in its evolution being socialism. While most utopias are communistic in nature, Gillette feels socialism is the better route to take.