Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Warren, Josiah 1799-1874

Reformer; born in 1799; became known through his connection with Robert Owen in the latter's attempt to establish a socialistic community in 1825-26 in New Harmony, Ind. The failure of this experiment greatly discouraged him, but he sought to accomplish the same thing by individual sovereignty. In his opinion a righteous reward for labor was a similar amount of labor, which view he illustrated by the hypothesis, “If I am a bricklayer, and need the services of a physician, an hour of my work in bricklaying is the proper recompense to be given the physician for an hour of his services.” He carried out this plan in Cincinnati, O., where for two years he was successful in an enterprise called the “time store.” He was the author of True civilization, in which he explained his theories. He died in Boston, Mass., April 14, 1874.