Paternalism and Politics

This text is about continuity and change in early-19th-century Britain. Against the background of an emerging industrial state, the popularization of liberal "laissez faire" principles and the rise of a class based society, it examines the revival of traditional paternal ideals and considers their influence upon the development of social policy. The poor laws, social distress, child labour and factory reform provide a focus for the analysis. The implications of the revival for the emergence of the collective or welfare state is also an important theme.