Liberal Reforms
JAMES LAND
History – To what extent were the social reforms of the Liberal Government between 1905 and 1914 a response to fuller knowledge about the extent and intensity of poverty?
During the late nineteenth century the British government, under the Liberal party, acted according to the principle of laissez faire. This term refers to an economic doctrine that opposes governmental regulation of or interference in commerce beyond the minimum necessary for a free-enterprise system to operate according to its own economic laws or simply, the non-interference in the affairs of others.
Individuals were solely responsible for their own lives and welfare. The government did not accept responsibility for the poverty and hardship that existed among its citizens. A popular point of view at the time was that poverty was caused by idleness, drunkenness and other such moral weaknesses on the part of the working classes. The poor were seen by the wealthy as an unfortunate but inevitable part of society. At the dawn of the twentieth century there were no old age pensions, unemployment benefits or family allowances. If the main wage-earner died or could not work, a whole family could be plunged into terrible poverty. The state would not interfere. During this period, the accepted role of the government was very limited. It was simply expected to maintain law and order and protect the country from invasion.
Two social surveys were published that not only shocked the British public but changed popular opinion on the causes of poverty. They helped pave the way for a whole range of government-led welfare reforms. Independently of each other, two wealthy businessmen, Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree, sponsored major investigations into the extent and causes of poverty in British cities. Booth and Rowntree's findings agreed on two key points: up to 30% of the population of the cities were living in or below poverty levels the conditions were such that people could not pull
History – To what extent were the social reforms of the Liberal Government between 1905 and 1914 a response to fuller knowledge about the extent and intensity of poverty?
During the late nineteenth century the British government, under the Liberal party, acted according to the principle of laissez faire. This term refers to an economic doctrine that opposes governmental regulation of or interference in commerce beyond the minimum necessary for a free-enterprise system to operate according to its own economic laws or simply, the non-interference in the affairs of others.
Individuals were solely responsible for their own lives and welfare. The government did not accept responsibility for the poverty and hardship that existed among its citizens. A popular point of view at the time was that poverty was caused by idleness, drunkenness and other such moral weaknesses on the part of the working classes. The poor were seen by the wealthy as an unfortunate but inevitable part of society. At the dawn of the twentieth century there were no old age pensions, unemployment benefits or family allowances. If the main wage-earner died or could not work, a whole family could be plunged into terrible poverty. The state would not interfere. During this period, the accepted role of the government was very limited. It was simply expected to maintain law and order and protect the country from invasion.
Two social surveys were published that not only shocked the British public but changed popular opinion on the causes of poverty. They helped pave the way for a whole range of government-led welfare reforms. Independently of each other, two wealthy businessmen, Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree, sponsored major investigations into the extent and causes of poverty in British cities. Booth and Rowntree's findings agreed on two key points: up to 30% of the population of the cities were living in or below poverty levels the conditions were such that people could not pull