The Origins of British Social Policy

Originally published in 1978 The Origins of British Social Policy arose dissatisfaction with conventional approaches to the subject of welfare responsibilities in the state. This volume stresses the complexity of conscious and unconscious influences upon policy, which include such political imperatives as the wish to maintain social order, to maintain and increase economic and military efficiency and to preserve and strengthen the family as a central social institution. It suggests that the break between unsympathetic nineteenth-century Poor Law attitudes towards the poor and modern 'welfare state' approaches has been less sharp or complete than is often assumed.

Pat Thane

Preface 1. Introduction 2. Ratepayers and Social Policy 3. The Later Years of the Workhouse 1890-1929 4. 'Poplarism' 1894-1930 5. Non-Contributory Versus Insurance Pensions 1878-1908 6. Employers' Attitude to Social Policy and the Concept of Social Control, 1900-1920 7. 'Social Control' and the Modernisation of Social Policy, 1890-1929 8. Unemployment and Unemployment Policies in Glasgow 1890-1905 9. Family Allowances and Less Eligibility Notes on Contributors Index