The correct answer is A) reduce misery.
Owen contended that the labor of unemployed people should be used to reduce misery.
Here we are talking about Robert Owen (1771-1858) an industrial businessman from Wales, England, creator of the Utopian Socialism, a philosophy that supported the cooperatives that allow workers to participate in the company's decisions.
Robert Owen treated his workers decently in is textiles factories during a time when factory owners offered low-paid jobs for long hours and under unhealthy conditions. He was interested in improving the working conditions as a way to create a better and more productive workplace.