living standards Flashcards
argument for ILS for the working class
Diposable income increased at the end of the 19c than the beginning. Money wages up 50% and real wages up 1/3rd
leisure: cigaretted football, music halls
1850 factory act and bank holiday act gave them more free time
death rated decreased due to economic growth and an improvement of health
argument against ILS for the working class
But this is only indicative of an income to well-being, not the actual achievement of it
Rather:
Infnt morality was 153/1000 in 1880 (2 today)
Average bmi was 21
⅔ of boer war voulenteers turned down for not being fit.
rowntree and booth- 30% of wc below the poverty line
rise in money wages is not holistic
Cotton bc of the american civil wa
Agriculture (becuse of free trade) (1.4m to 0.9m by 1911)
life expectancy in cities were 10y less
argument for ILS for women
Slow growth in better occupations (clerks, clerical jobs, teachers)
Increase from 180k to 500k in 1900
work= independance
argument against women in work
Men paid 2x that of women
L.s poor for unemployed and unmaried women
Prostitution and domestic work was most likely: london had 9k postitutes and 3k brothels
domestic work was poorly paid
Attitudes for women in work
Seperate spheres
Trade union hostility
Education
Only 27% of brides could sign their names on the register
argument for ILS for the upper and middle class
growth in mc was driven by industry and free trade. new MC suburbs with large houses were emerging, indicating ILS.
industrial land owned by aristocracy was especially valuable
e.g lord londonderrys estates were one of the best sources of coal in the world
coal fields of marquis de bute in wales made him the richest man in the world
9/10 millionaires were landowners
argument against ILS for the upper class
free trade destroyed farming, and by extension, the source of aristocratic wealth
- 2/3 of cereals imported
- 20% less output
-poor harvests of 1870
- agr share of nat inc halved 20% to 10%
oscar wildes lady bracknell expressed the aristocratic opinion;
“land has ceased to be ether profit or pleasure”
conclusion
britan didnt feel the effects of the mid victorian boom. most ILS were regional and, holistically speaking, britan did not feel ILS (superficial vs fundamental criteria for judgment)
