Classical Economists in the Face of the Old English Poor Law: Prejudice in Scholarly Clothes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15678/KREM.2024.1004.0201Keywords:
classical economics, Poor Law, work incentives, class prejudices, interest groupsAbstract
Objective: The purpose of this article is to identify the ideological functions of economic theory using the historical case of the opinions of classical economists on the poor law as an example (treating ideological sets of ideas as justifications for the social order).
Research Design & Methods: The research method adopted in this paper is an analysis of the text carried out in the context of its social function.
Findings: The article analyses some moral and social aspects of the emergence of economic theory and shows classical economists’ criticisms of the Old Poor Law as rationalisation of social prejudices of upper classes of society. The essence of the discourse of mainstream economists has been to show low moral resources in the working class as the cause of poverty, together with the thesis that social assistance perpetuates this condition. The opposite of these theories were John Barton’s arguments, portraying welfare as an investment in the moral resources of the poor, allowing them to return to the ranks of working people. This dispute was forgotten for many years, but seems still relevant in the 21st century context.
Implications / Recommendations: This paper supports the opinions of eminent scholars (like Blaug or Lindert) that the main problems with poverty are essentially the same in our times as in the 19th century. Blaming poor people for their poverty seems as familiar to us today as it was two hundred years ago. Thus the issue of the welfare state is more moral and political than it is theoretical.
Contribution: This paper is a contribution to the identification of the role of social prejudice in the emergence of economic theory.
Downloads
References
Barton, J. (1817). Observations on the Circumstances Which Influence the Condition of Labouring Classes of Society. John & Arthur Arch.
Barton, J. (1820). An Inquiry into the Progressive Depreciation of Agricultural Labour in Modern Times with Suggestion for its Remedy. John & Arthur Arch.
Blaug, M. (1963). The Myth of the Old Poor Law and the Making the New. Journal of Economic History, 23(2), 151–184. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050700103808
Blaug, M. (1973). Ricardian Economics. A Historical Study. Greenwood Press. (Original work published 1958).
Bowley, M. (2010). Nassau Senior and Classical Economics. Routledge.
Boyer, G. R. (1990). An Economic History of the English Poor Law, 1750–1850. Cambridge University Press.
Boyer, G. R. (2021). The Winding Road to the Welfare State. Economic Insecurity and Social Welfare Policy in Britain. Princeton University Press.
Coats, A. W. (1960). Economic Thought and Poor Law Policy in the Eighteenth Century. Economic History Review, 13(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.2307/2591405
Cowherd, R. G. (1977). Political Economists and the English Poor Laws. A Historical Study of the Influence of Classical Economics on the Formation of Social Welfare Policy. Ohio University Press.
Geremek, B. (1997). Poverty. A History. Wiley-Balckwell.
Gerring, J. (1997). Ideology: A Definitional Analysis. Political Research Quarterly, 50(4), 957–994. https://doi.org/10.1177/106591299705000412
Himmelfarb, G. (1985). The Idea of Poverty. England in the Early Industrial Age. Vintage Books.
Hollander, S. (1976). The Economics of Adam Smith. Toronto University Press.
Johnson, E. A. J. (1937). Predecessors of Adam Smith. The Growth of British Economic Thought. P. S. King & Son.
Kahl, S. (2005). The Religious Roots of Modern Poverty Policy: Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed Protestant Traditions Compared. European Journal of Sociology, 46(1), 91–126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003975605000044
Kim, M. (1998). Are the Working Poor Lazy? Challenge, 41(3), 85–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/05775132.1998.11472034
Leonard, E. M. (1900). The Early History of English Poor Relief. Cambridge University Press.
Lindert, P. H. (2007). Growing Public. Social Spending and Economic Growth Since the Eighteenth Century (Vol. 1). Cambridge University Press.
Lindert, P. H. (2021). Making Social Spending Work. Cambridge University Press.
Malthus, T. R. (1798). An Essay on the Principle of Population as it Affects the Future Improvement of Society, with Remarks on the Speculation of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet and Other Writers. J. Johnson.
Malthus, T. R. (1803). An Essay on the Principle of Population, or a View of This Past and Present Effects on Human Happiness; with an Inquiry into Prospect Respecting the Future Removal or Mitigation of the Evils Which It Occasions (2nd ed.). J. Johnson.
Malthus, T. R. (1836). The Principles of Political Economy. Considered with a View to Their Practical Application (2nd ed.). William Pickering.
McCulloch, J. R. (1828). Poor Laws. Edinburgh Review, 47, 303–330.
Murray, C. (1984). Losing Ground. American Social Policy, 1950–1980. Basic Books.
O’Brien, D. P. (2010). J. R. McCulloch. A Study in Classical Economics. Routledge.
Poynter, J. R. (1969). Society and Pauperism. English Ideas on Poor Relief 1795–1834. Routledge & Kegan Paul, Toronto University Press.
Ricardo, D. (1980). On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. In: P. Sraffa (Ed.), The Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo. Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1823).
Samuelson, P. A. (1978). The Canonical Model of Political Economy. Journal of Economic Literature, 16(4), 1415–1434.
Senior, W. N. (1828). Two Lectures of Population Delivered before the University of Oxford. Saunders and Otley.
Senior, W. N. (1831). A Letter to Lord Howick, on a Legal Provisions to the Irish Poor; Commutation of Tithes, and a Provision for the Irish Roman Catholic Clergy (2nd ed.). John Murray.
Slack, P. (1995). The English Poor Law, 1531–1782. Cambridge University Press.
Smith, A. (1981). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations (R. H. Campbell, A. S. Skinner, Eds). Liberty Fund. (Original work published 1776).
Sotiroff, G. (1952). John Barton (1789–1852). Economic Journal, 62(245), 87–102.
Szreter, S., & Mooney, G. (1998). Urbanization, Mortality, and the Standard of Living Debate: New Estimates of the Expectation of Life at Birth in Nineteenth-century Cities. Economic History Review, 51(1), 84–112.
Townsend, J. (1971). A Dissertation on the Poor Laws, by Well-wisher to Mankind. University of California Press. (Original work published 1787).
Webb, S., & Webb, B. (1963). English Poor Law History. Part 1: The Old Poor Law. Frank Cass.
Young, A. (1771). The Farmer’s Tour through the East of England Being the Register of Journey through Various Counties of This Kingdom, to Enquire into the State of Agriculture (Vol. 4). W. Strahan, W. Nicoll.
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 09-09-2024 (3)
- 27-08-2024 (2)
- 01-07-2024 (1)
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Krakow Review of Economics and Management/Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
