Outline Malthus’s Theory of Population and Access His Contribution to the Reform of the Poor Laws in 1834.

In the conceptualization of the predominant 19th century political thought process, none- if any- were more influential than John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx. Both were philosophers, sociologists, economists and political thinkers, but each held unique views towards the ideal government, to freedom, and to the impact of the industrial revolution. Each discussed some of the ramifications of the industrial revolution, and the ways in which the government can be re-aligned for greater social prosperity. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) advocated for Liberalism, a system in which liberty and equality would remain at the forefront of all political proposals, and representative interests. Mill celebrated individuality, and the ability to not conform to a higher power. In contrast to Mill, Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a revolutionary socialist who advocated for a complete social revolution throughout society, in an effort to counter the ill perceived effects of capitalism. Marx’s central tenet relied upon the fact that he sought to abolish private property, and monopolies, so as to enable all individuals to acquire an equitable means of living. Marx’s belief was that capitalism forces the economy into constantly being exploited, which in turn leads to recessions. Mill believed that all power should be allocated to the individual; whereas Marx believed that bestowing such power within a socialist regime would allow for the creation of a truly egalitarian society. This paper will analyze how

The basic principles of the Elizabethan Poor Laws of 1601 were “local investigation and administration of relief, work as a component of all assistance, and categorization of the poor into three groups: the able-bodied poor, the impotent poor, and dependent children” (Day & Schiele, 2013, p. 104). Basically, creating a welfare system to help assist the poor, implementing programs to get people working, and categorizing the poor as worthy or unworthy poor. Examples of this in the present social welfare system are TANF, unemployment insurance, Social Security, SSI, and SDI. Within the TANF and unemployment program, there is a job search requirement to encourage people to find work. Also, much like the Elizabethan Poor Laws, people are categorized to receive specific benefits based on whether they can work or not, like SSI, which is for people who are currently unable to work because of old age or disability.

Those who did not engage in illegal behavior and received aid were seen as lazy and unwilling to work for money, when it could be handed out to them. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, in a 1531 decree to the Netherlands, stated that if begging was universally permitted, "Many errors and abuses will result, [as the poor] will fall into idleness." Only those who were incapable of work should receive aid, the proclamation mandated. The town council of Rouen, France, however, disagreed with the Emperor: "Those who are unwilling to work should indeed be expelled," while those who could work should be given jobs by the civil government. Those who did not work, according to the minutes of the council session, were not to be considered poor, and therefore not helped. William Turner, an English doctor, agreed with this view of the worthlessness of the idle poor: "They would much rather be sick [and idle]...than be well" and work to honestly earn a living. A poorhouse in Suffolk County, England, published regulations in 1588 that advocated the harsh treatment of its residents. "Every strong rouge...shall have 12 stripes with the whip," whilst the younger poor or idlers were to receive six. The poorhouse used repression and physical measures to force the poor into submission, supposedly for their own good.

K.H. Connell, in his paper “Land and Population in Ireland, 1780-1845”, describes and explains the significant population growth in Ireland prior to the famine of 1845 and how the uses of the Irish land changed with the population growth.

Different attitudes to social welfare reforms from the 19th century onwards depended on what lifestyle a person was living in. If a person was wealthy, they enjoyed an easy life. However, on the other hand, if the person was poor then that would make their life harder and difficult to live. Any able-bodied poor person able to work did not receive help from the authorities. They only entered the workhouse because they were desperate. People within the workhouses lived in terrible conditions, overcrowded, poor hygiene. Another name given to the workhouse was ‘’the slums’’ (Tom, 2016). Strict rules were put into place. If rules were broken severe punishment would follow. Inmates of the workhouse were treated harshly. They all worked long hours

In 1834 the Poor Law act amendment was made whereby the poor were to follow the new order discipline. Workhouse conditions were reduced to be worse than the lowest paid jobs to discourage requests for help. Regardless of these conditions numbers within workhouses more than doubled by 1843 (Kirby et al., 2000).

Change is in the inevitable byproduct of society. As societies evolve they change according to the life style of the people who inhabit them. Without change, society would never progress and thus would be frozen in a single moment in time. Thomas Hobbes and John Lock were two English philosophers who observed tremendous changes in English politics between the years of 1640 and 1690. In closely examining the views of both of these philosophers in subject areas such as the nature of man in society, the relationship between a society and its government, and the affect that both philosophers’ novels had on the government, it can be concluded that both Hobbes and Locke’s philosophies created prominent change in the methods of government.

As interpreted in “The Manse, The Manor and the Market: New Perspectives on the Medieval Agricultural Revolution” Grantham was more focused on agricultural development rather than any other innovation. Moreover, Clark believes that during the 1800s in Europe considered a nation that trapped under the Malthusian idea, which meant that new technology was being introduced, along with new ways of productivity. The constitutional point that George Grantham believes that the fundamental reason for the lack of market incentives was because Europe lacked proper political practice in the 1800s is more prevalent. In the early 19th century, Europe was not capable of having a stable monarchy, which led to less productivity. As the monarchy did not provide

In order to consider the problem of income inequality from Mill’s perspective, it is of imperative importance to first grasp an understanding of what factors contributed to the development of his key ideas. Known as one of the most influential figures in classical economics, Mill is more commonly described as a philosopher and socialist than an economist due to his obstinate strive for progressive social reform throughout his

Social policies the fundamental principles in which a society is based. Created to tackle poverty, protect society addressing issues such as social welfare, justice and individual wellbeing. By 1834 the government were under fierce criticism due to rising and mounting costs of looking after the poor, it became clear a change was needed to fix problems in society. The government brought in an amendment act titled the Poor Law (1834) which was designed to reduce the cost of looking after the poor, passed by parliament this new law meant anyone seeking relief from poverty had to now enter a workhouse (BBC-Bitesize, 2017). In the early 1800's the population was rapidly rising, an industrial revolution, the development of towns and the first experience of modern unemployment caused problems within British society (Spicker, 2017). There was suspicion from middle and upper-class taxpayers that their money encouraged the poor to be lazy and avoid work, Squandering money on alcohol and tobacco. In addition, this encouraged the poor to have more children in which they could not afford to support causing resentment and dividing society (Murray, 2013).

It is difficult to examine the question of the division of labor within the household in Malthus’ writings as it seems to be entirely outside the scope of his work. Though his conclusions are predicated on the relationship between men and women, from reading his writing one has the distinct impression that women are not really a factor. In spite of this, an examination of the implications inherent in Malthus’ analysis is revealing of some basic assumptions he makes regarding the economic role of women. With particular regard to the question of agency within the marriage, Malthus’ arguments and conclusions are in opposition to the arguments put forth by

What do John Maynard Keynes, Richard Norgaard, and Fred Block and Margaret Somers have in common? They all challenge widely accepted economic thinking and support thoughtful, progressive government action in the midst of social crises. In the 1930s, Keynes debunks a rationale for a laissez-faire system that was perpetuating large-scale human suffering and made a strong recommendation for government intervention. Norgaard then broadens Keynes’s critique of assumptions underlying free-market ideology to include all widely unquestioned and accepted economic beliefs-- which he terms economism-- and urges a transformation of this belief system toward discursive democracy to enable effective environmental regulation and economic redistribution (lecture). Adopting Keynes’s focus on empirics while using a similar explanation as Norgaard, Block and Somers criticize a study of late eighteenth-century British poor laws that is commonly used to oppose welfare policy while explaining that its widespread, unquestioning citation in academia and policy analysis points to the pervasiveness of conservative assumptions about the poor and what is natural. Altogether, these authors urge us to reconsider dominant economic stories that lack a circumspect, factual basis as we consider various social, environmental, and economic policy alternatives.

According to the University of York Social Policy is the "Study of the causes of social problems and what Governments attempt to do about them." The Poor Law that was introduced in 1834 was a Law that was put in place to support the poor. The law was introduced because it was getting increasingly expensive to look after the poor so parliament introduced it in hopes it would diminish the cost of looking after the poor and to get the poor out of the streets and into workhouses. Parliament promised that this new law was to give the poor Clothes, free education, food and a place to stay.

Turgot's preceding ideas are largely in accordance with Physiocrat teaching. The Physiocrats were a group of enlightened economic reformers whose theories of loosening government restriction and imposing a single land tax became popular in the 1760's. While Turgot is largely in agreement in this area, it is important to notice, in passing, that in other economic spheres Turgot often breaks with and improves Physiocrat doctrines. To label him just another land-productivity theorist in the mold of the Physiocrats is a grave injustice. However, for our purposes, one may make that connection.

In addition to the controversies surrounding his principle of population, Malthus became embroiled in important debates with Ricardo over British Poor Laws and Corn Laws, the benefits of free trade, and the possibility of gluts or insufficient demand for goods.