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• THEME/TOPIC “Social policy” / “Welfare” policies / “Socio-economic adjustment measures”

These 2 first expressions were adopted because of their positive means. It's like “look, it's good, it's “social””. It's about what the Government has done to resolve the problem of poverty. It's not to help the poor, it's to fight the effect of poverty (like strikes, rebellion,...).

Council housing (= houses for the poorest of the population, “logements municipaux”).

The “welfare state”: to help people, to present a certain level of welfare, of well-being.

• During the 18^th C., the UK was the one single country where the system is urban-industrial, dominated by a capitalist form of organisation. The country was mainly industrial. In Spain too the industrialization was developping but it's only in Catalonia, and in Italy too but only on the North. The UK is the only country entirely industrialized.

• The need for welfare policies prove that this development wasn't positive for the population. The first industrialised place was Budapest, in Hongrie, but it was only a city. In UK the problem were that it was a national problem, the response of the issue had to be a national one.

• What successives Governments did in response for the problem of poverty ?

Two important figures in the 19^th c.:

• J. Bentham: principle of utility/the utility principle; utilitarianism

  By adopting a specific measure, government is going to produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Then that measure is useful. Government should adopt a measure only if they think that this is going to produce a better situation for a maximum number of people. What isn't said is that you do nothing for the smallest category of people. That philosophy gives a principle for the government to do nothing for the minorities. Politically speaking, not everybody has a voice. They only care about the ones who have the right to vote: so not the poor (because the right of vote was based on social position).

• E. Chadwich: “Workhouse policy”: the “new poor law” (1834)

  * A poor law was providing assistance to the poor. This principle change with the new poor law. The old system has no organisation, so the new one was designed to organise these things. A new kind of institution is created: the workhouses. People had to work in these workhouses, which were like prisons: the food was awful, the work difficult and not really useful. They were meant to be less eligible that the conditions which could be obtain than anything you could get with the lowest pay outside. If able-body workers were feeling comfortable in the workhouses, they would stay too long. If they can do the work in the workhouses, they have to go out and look for another job.

  * “Sanitation policies”: deals with the excrements in cities. If you have a few families in a large area, and there is not toilet, it's okay. If there is a lot of people in flats and there is no toilet: it's noooot okay. So people die of cholera, dysenterie,... So these sanitations policies were developed because the Government didn't want to lose workers, and so lose a profit potential. Man Hours = Profit potential. This is utilitarian philosophy.

• The period of the Liberal Governments: 1906-1914.

• H.H. ASQUITH

• David LLOYD GEORGE

• Winston CHURCHILL

• 1939-45-50-51: the Post-War Labour Government

• Cl. ATTLEE

• A. BEVAN

• Neo-liberalism

• Conservative:

  M. THATCHER: 79-90

  MAJOR: 90-92-97

• New Labour:

  BLAIR 97-2007

  G. BROWN 2007-10

  CAMERON & CLEGG 2010