tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19962237.post65835419082431362..comments2024-03-04T16:39:30.609+13:00Comments on Lindsay Mitchell: Some historyLindsay Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04437693272797130833noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19962237.post-83874146369974164442017-02-08T09:52:02.254+13:002017-02-08T09:52:02.254+13:00There are a lot of misconceptions regarding the ge...There are a lot of misconceptions regarding the general welfare of people prior to the modern welfare state. In England, obligations on the aristocracy, the church and the landed gentry to take care of the poor in their parishes dated from before the Norman Conquest and worked highly effectively - to the point where Alexis de Tocqueville observed on a visit to England in the 1830s that "the English poor appear almost rich to the French poor."<br /><br />Ironically, the New Poor Law of 1834, which replaced the ancient obligations with state-managed aid, made things much worse for England's poor. Many who were taken care of by the ancient local relief system, such as unmarried mothers and those who refused to be accommodated in the appalling poor houses, were excluded from the generosity of the state system, with the result that actual deprivation increased markedly in the decades following its enactment.Kiwiwithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10507667837257013301noreply@blogger.com