Free Exchange: Anton Howes on the Society that shaped modern Britain
Description
Not many organisations can claim to have had Adam Smith, Edmund Burke and Karl Marx as members. Then again, not many organisations are anything like the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce – better known today as the RSA.
For over 260 years Its mission has been nothing short of improving an entire nation – funding inventions, encouraging trade, planting millions of trees, putting on the Great Exhibition and creating Britain’s first exam board. And int hat time it has been a hotbed of utilitarianism, a home to conservatives, radicals and even the founding father of communism.
Who better to discuss this fascinating, intensely colourful history than Anton Howes, the RSA’s house historian, whose history of the Society, Arts and Minds, was released in May.
Click here to subscribe to our daily briefing – the best pieces from CapX and across the web.
CapX depends on the generosity of its readers. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
<form class="online-donations_form" id="online-donatins-form">
<legend class="visuallyhidden">Donate</legend>
<fieldset>
<label class="amount-radio selected" for="radio-0">
<input checked="checked" id="radio-0" name="amountSelect" type="radio" value="5" />
£5
</label>
<label class="amount-radio" for="radio-1">
<input id="radio-1" name="amountSelect" type="radio" value="10" />
£10
</label>
<label class="amount-radio" for="radio-2">
<input id="radio-2" name="amountSelect" type="radio" value="20" />
£20
</label>
<label class="amount-radio" for="radio-3">
<input id="radio-3" name="amountSelect" type="radio" value="50" />
£50
</label>
<label class="amount-radio" for="radio-5">
<input id="radio-5" name="amountSelect" type="radio" value="100" />
£100
</label>
<label class="custom-amount-label" for="customamountinput">Custom amount</label>
<input class="customamountinput" id="customamountinput" name="customamountinput" tabindex="0" type="text" />
Recurring Payment
<label class="recurring-payment_radio" for="onetime" name="recurring">
<input checked="checked" id="onetime" name="recurring" tabindex="0" type="radio" value="onetime" />
One off
</label>
<label class="recurring-payment_radio">
<input id="monthly" name="recurring" tabindex="0" type="radio" value="monthly" />
Monthly
</label>
<label class="donation-label" for="fnameinput">First name</label>
<input class="donator-detail-input" id="fnameinput" name="fnameinput" required="required" tabindex="0" type="text" />
<label class="donation-label" for="lnameinput">Last name</label>
<input class="donator-detail-input" id="lnameinput" name="lnameinput" required="required" tabindex="0" type="text" />
<label class="donation-label" for="emailinput">Email address</label>
<input class="donator-detail-input" id="emailinput" name="emailinput" required="required" tabindex="0" type="email" />
<label class="terms-checkbox" for="termscheckbox">
<input id="termscheckbox" name="termscheckbox" required="required" tabindex="0" type="checkbox" value="accepted" />
I accept the
Terms & Conditions
for CapX Donations
</label>
Thanks for your support
Something went wrong
An error occured, but no error message was recieved.
Please try again, or if problems persist,
contact us with the above error message.
We apologise for the inconvenience.




