Nassau William Senior and the Poor Laws: Why Workhouses Improved the Industriousness of the Poor

Satoshi Fujimura

History of Economics Review, 2018, vol. 70, issue 1, 49-59

Abstract: The New Poor Law of 1834 was criticized for sending many poor to workhouses where conditions were designed to be harsh and degrading. N.W. Senior, one of the authors of the 1834 Poor Law Report, argued that the poor would become industrious if paid labour was clearly more attractive than the conditions of the workhouse. Senior argued that all people desire to better themselves, and they desire variety and distinction as their income rises. Although the poor lacked diligence and abstinence, entering paid employment would be a step towards their material and ethical improvement.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1080/10370196.2018.1488509

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