Poor Law - 3.6 Flashcards
1
Q
three facts about Booth
A
- hired 35 co-workers over a period of 17 years to study the poor
- rejected the hardline taken by the COS
- wanted to explore structural explanations for poverty rather than just moral ones
2
Q
Booth’s investigation
A
- lasted 17 years with a team that varied over the years but with Booth being the central lynchpin throughout
- all were university educates so were expected to contribute and publish their now bits of writing regularly
3
Q
Booth’s findings
A
- divided the population into eight classes (A-G) believing the differentiation between them was fundamental in understanding the causes of poverty
- believed the poor couldn’t be held responsible for their own poverty
4
Q
Booth’s criticisms
A
- He openly admitted to relying on observation and didn’t take income into consideration when defining poverty. This was viewed as subjective and unreliable.
- Helen Bosanquet (COS) objected the social survey method as it had no underpinning philosophy or principle. Argued his poverty line was flawed and the lack of definiteness it conveyed. She attacked the statistical basis of his findings saying he underestimated the income of poor families and his team placed top heavy of a reliance on primary research findings.
- classes overlapped and no sharp distinctions between them
5
Q
facts about Rowntree
A
- devout Quaker and this dominated his attitudes to society and his workforce
- he believed healthy content workers would be more efficient so championed democracy in the workplace, a minimum wage and family/elderly allowances
6
Q
Rowntree’s investigations
A
- conducted three surveys of poverty in York providing a wealth of statistical data to support Booth (e.g. built on his idea about a poverty line, 30% in cities in poverty and beyond the control of the pauper themselves)
- wanted to find out the number of people in poverty but also the nature of it
- visited over 11,000 households and obtained information from about 46,000 people (two thirds of the city’s population)
7
Q
Rowntree’s findings
A
- found that 28% of the city’s population were in obvious need and living in squalor
- worked out that the minimum wage that would be necessary for a family to live in a state of physical efficiency was 21 shillings a week
- around 10% of York lived below the poverty line, living in what Rowntree defined as primary poverty, the remaining 18% lived in secondary poverty
- he argued that the death of the main wage earner and child illness could cause poverty, coming up with the cycle of poverty
- he was very comparable to booth as they shared similar criteria whereby poverty had to be visible to the investigator not based off income
8
Q
Rowntree’s criticisms
A
- Bosanquet believed he had overestimated the level of poverty by setting the poverty line too high
- based mainly off observation saying it was too subjective
- his findings were consistent his distinction between primary and secondary poverty weren’t designed to identify the poor but rather the nature of poverty
9
Q
socialsim
A
a political and economic ideology which advocates that the means of production should be owned and democratically controlled by the community as a whole
10
Q
when was the fabian society created?
A
- founded in 1884m and was comprised of socialist members
- resorted to gradual, non-confrontational methods to push for change
- key individuals included Beatrice and Sydney Webb and Emmeline Pankhurst
11
Q
what was the Fabian society?
A
- became a pre-eminent Edwardian left wing society attracting a range of prominent figures
- held public meetings, published numerous pamphlets and lobbied politicians on a wide range of topics from poor law reform to international alliances
- all were united in their rejection of international upheaval, preferring to utilise the power of local government
- 1884
12
Q
who were the Webb’s in the fabian society?
A
- used thorough research methods and emerged as prodigious authors of works like the minority report to the commission of the poor law
- they contributed much to the modern welfare state
13
Q
what did the first Fabian society pamphlet say?
A
- were aimed at promoting social justice and were generally more radical in their policies than the early 20th century reforms of the liberal government
- in 1906 they lobbied for the introduction of a minimum wage
- 1911 the creation of a universal health care service that would enable to British to be sufficiently physically fit to develop their empire.
14
Q
why did the Fabians support the Boer war?
A
- due to their view on imperialism and the role this should play in foreign policy, believing small nations had no place in a worldwide empire
- supported the creation of a citizen army to replace the professional one
- they said the only way this would work was if society was fit so there should be. universal health service and an extension of the factory acts
- this would mean those in half time employment could be subject to extensive physical training, education in citizenship and training in the use of modern weapons.
15
Q
what role did the fabian society have in the formation of the labour party?
A
- sent delegates to the Labour Party Foundation Conference
- this resulted in the labour representative committee (LRC) to which left wing and socialist societies affiliated with
- six years later, 26 LRC sponsored candidates won seats in the election and set up as a separate party in the commons (labour) reflecting a growth n interest of socialist ideas
- fabian membership numbered 2500 by 1908, establishing a student section in 1914 with 500 members.
16
Q
what did the Fabian society form in 1895?
A
-a bequest of 20,000 from Henry Hutchinson, a Fabian led to the creation of the London School of economic and political sciences, originally intended as a research institute to prove the efficiency of the collectivist idea.
