Besides the Gillette Commercial, King C. Gillette Was Also a Utopian Socialist Who Co-Authored a Book with this Famous Author

Trista - January 26, 2019

Born on January 5, 1855, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin King Camp Gillette grew up to become the inventor of Gillette Razors, the modern-day safety razor. Later, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he lived for many years. While the future household name worked the Crown Cork and Seal Company as a salesman during the 1890s, he noticed all the bottle caps from the cork seals he sold thrown away. Gillette then thought of how often people threw things away after using the item once to a few times.

The safety razor became a part of the retail market starting in the mid-1800s, but they still needed a lot of work. The razors needed sharpening often because they quickly became dull. Soon, Gillette realized that men needed a safety razor where the dull blade could be removed and then discarded. He felt that this would make a huge profit, so he quickly got to work. Gillette took previous designs of safety razor blades and improved them.

While Gillette’s razors were expensive for the late 1800s, they sold for half the price of a man’s weekly salary; millions of blades sold quickly. Gillette went on to organize the American Safety Razor Company in September of 1901. The company’s name would change a year later to Gillette Safety Razor Company. The first year 168 blades and 51 razors sold. However, the second year, Gillette’s sales and profit more than doubled. During the second year, Gillette sold 90,884 razors and 123,648 blades.

Much of Gillette’s success occurred because his razors were cheap compared to other safety razors. Within a few years, the company expanded to include not only the United States and Canada but also Britain, France, and Germany. In 1915, the company sold over 70 million razor blades. Two years later, the United States became a part of World War I and the Gillette Safety Razor Company sent all American soldiers a field razor set. However, the company did not lose any money on this as the United States Government paid them for the razor set.

A few years later, Gillette sold his company to John Joyce. However, Gillette’s name stayed on the razors. King C. Gillette lived out the rest of his life struggling. Not only did his finances take a hit from the Great Depression, but he never spent his money wisely and often bought expensive items. Therefore, the infamous businessman lived out the rest of his reasonably poor but was able to escape bankruptcy. He passed away on July 9, 1932, in Los Angeles, CA.

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Gillette: The Utopian Socialist

During his life, Gillette became a supporter of Utopian Socialism. People who believe in this type of socialism advocate that all people should take control over production. Gillette did not live his beliefs quietly. In fact, he wrote and co-wrote several books on the topic. Gillette’s first book came out in 1894, The Human Drift. This is the first book where Gillette publicly discussed his support for a Utopian society. In the book, he stated that he believed all competitive corporations should create one company.

The Human Drift details the plan to create “The United Company,” the name of the trust which would take over all competitive corporations. The stocks from “The United Company” would belong to everyone and they would all take a share. He said this type of system was necessary, so the company and the city could survive. Gillette wrote that this type of company would cure everything that was wrong in society and make the people more at peace and happy. Gillette also stated that the city, known as Metropolis, would stand on top of Niagara Falls.

From here, the book details what the city would look like, such as people would be able to see workers beneath their feet. Gillette stated that everyone should be able to see all the work that goes into running a city. He wanted all citizens of this city to be productive and understand everyone else’s jobs. Gillette believed that this would create a sense of equality in the world as people would better understand each other. The Human Drift also has several detailed illustrations that further explain the mind of Gillette and his belief for a Utopian society.

In 1910, Gillette wrote another book where he took the plan of Metropolis and his beliefs in the Utopian society a bit further. This book, titled World Corporation, was similar to Gillette’s first book, The Human Drift. However, in World Corporation, Gillette writes that not only will the United States have a Utopian society, but we will take this society and expand it into the rest of the world. In a sense, “The United Company” would become “The World Corporation.”

Throughout expanding to the rest of the world, Gillette believed that the world corporation would take over more than just production. In fact, Gillette stated that once the corporation became strong enough, it would take over all the governments to create one government, the World Corporation Congress. This way, the whole world would run under on system of production and one order of government. Gillette also offered Theodore Roosevelt the job as president of the company, but Roosevelt declined the offer.

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The People’s Corporation With Upton Sinclair

While King C. Gillette’s first book received publication before he became well-known as a company founder, his last novel did not. In 1924, Gillette co-wrote a book, The People’s Corporation, with Upton Sinclair. Author of nearly 100 books, Sinclair’s most famous book is called The Jungle, written in 1904. This book discussed the horrible details of the meat industry and the lives of immigrants. The book caused so much controversy that it led to the passing of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.

When Gillette failed at his mission to get Theodore Roosevelt to sign on as president for “The World Corporation” company, he turned to other ways to make his vision a reality. This was when Gillette started contact with Sinclair, another socialist reformer. Sinclair took an interest to Gillette and set up a meeting with Gillette, himself, and Henry Ford. Unfortunately, this meeting did not go well as, by the end, Gillette and Ford started yelling at each other.

Nonetheless, Gillette and Sinclair continued to converse and eventually, Sinclair agreed to partner with Gillette for his next book about creating a Utopian society. The People’s Corporation, which originally showed Gillette as the author because Sinclair was a silent partner, went off Gillette’s first book, The Human Drift. While not much is known about The People’s Corporation online, it is available at several libraries, Amazon, and other locations. The book discusses how both the rich and the poor in the world hold great responsibility, and neither one is better than the other.

The Influence Of The People’s Corporation

Instead, the two sides can use their wealth and skills to help the other. Gillette and Sinclair state how both the rich and the poor can essentially come together by rising above their status as both levels have their sacrifices, and no one is better than the other. This book would go on to inspire American politician and businessman, Glen Hearst Taylor. In 1945, Taylor would run for office to become a United States Senator for Idaho.

After reading The People’s Corporation, Taylor decided to run for office. On top of this, he worked to establish his own political party, known as the Farm-Laborer Party in Montana and Nevada. However, Taylor’s attempts failed in 1935, so he turned his political ambitions elsewhere. Today, Gillette still holds influence in people’s lives. Not only do they continue to use his razors, but people also consider Gillette to be an innovator of marketing ideas. Today, the safety razor company is under Procter & Gamble.

Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

“King Camp Gillette Facts.” Your Dictionary.

“King C. Gillette.” Wikipedia.

“An imaginary city that changed the twentieth century.” Annalee Newitz, Gizmodo. July 2010.

“World Corporation by King Camp Gillette” Goodreads.

“No. 738: KING CAMP GILLETTE.” John H. Lienhard, Engines of Our Ingenuity.

King Camp Gillette: American Manufacture.” Encyclopedia Britannica. January 2019.

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