Memoir on Pauperism
This piece was written in 1835 immediately after Alexis de Tocqueville had completed the first volume of Democracy in America. It was based on his visit to England in 1833, where he found that one-sixth of the population had been reduced to reliance on poor relief at a cost approaching nearly one-fifth of the total national expenditure. Today, 17% of Britain's population are reliant on income support -- a strikingly similar proportion to Toqueville's 1833 estimate. In her introduction, Gertrude Himmelfarb, one of the foremost historians of the nineteenth century, shows the relevance of Toqueville's insights to the debates of today about welfare reform in both Britain and America.
Business & EconomicsEconomicsLawLegal HistoryPolitical SciencePublic Policy
RELEASED1997
PUBLISHERIEA Health and Welfare Unit
LENGTH39
LANGUAGEEN
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Alexis de TocquevilleFrench political thinker and historian, minister of Foreign Affairs (1805-1859)
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 1805 – 16 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville, was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist and historian. He is best known for his works *Democracy in America* (appearing in two volumes, 1835 and 1840) and *The Old Regime and the Revolution* (1856). In both, he analysed the improved living standards and social conditions of individuals as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. Democracy in America was published after Tocqueville's travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science. Tocqueville was active in French politics, first under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and then during the Second Republic (1849–1851) which succeeded the February 1848 Revolution. He retired from political life after Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 2 December 1851 coup and thereafter began work on *The Old Regime and the Revolution*. Tocqueville argued the importance of the French Revolution was to continue the process of modernizing and centralizing the French state which had begun under King Louis XIV. The failure of the Revolution came from the inexperience of the deputies who were too wedded to abstract Enlightenment ideals. Tocqueville was a classical liberal who advocated parliamentary government and was skeptical of the extremes of democracy. During his time in parliament, he sat on the centre-left, but the complex and restless nature of his liberalism has led to contrasting interpretations and admirers across the political spectrum. Regarding his political position, Tocqueville wrote "the word 'left' is... the word I wanted to attach to my name so that it would remain attached to it forever." **Source**: [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville) on Wikipedia.
Memoir on Pauperism
This piece was written in 1835 immediately after Alexis de Tocqueville had completed the first volume of Democracy in America. It was based on his visit to England in 1833, where he found that one-sixth of the population had been reduced to reliance on poor relief at a cost approaching nearly one-fifth of the total national expenditure. Today, 17% of Britain's population are reliant on income support -- a strikingly similar proportion to Toqueville's 1833 estimate. In her introduction, Gertrude Himmelfarb, one of the foremost historians of the nineteenth century, shows the relevance of Toqueville's insights to the debates of today about welfare reform in both Britain and America.
Business & EconomicsEconomicsLawLegal HistoryPolitical SciencePublic PolicySocial Services & WelfareSocial Science
RELEASED1997
PUBLISHERIEA Health and Welfare Unit
LENGTH39
LANGUAGEEN
Alexis de TocquevilleFrench political thinker and historian, minister of Foreign Affairs (1805-1859)
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 1805 – 16 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville, was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist and historian. He is best known for his works *Democracy in America* (appearing in two volumes, 1835 and 1840) and *The Old Regime and the Revolution* (1856). In both, he analysed the improved living standards and social conditions of individuals as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. Democracy in America was published after Tocqueville's travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science. Tocqueville was active in French politics, first under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and then during the Second Republic (1849–1851) which succeeded the February 1848 Revolution. He retired from political life after Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 2 December 1851 coup and thereafter began work on *The Old Regime and the Revolution*. Tocqueville argued the importance of the French Revolution was to continue the process of modernizing and centralizing the French state which had begun under King Louis XIV. The failure of the Revolution came from the inexperience of the deputies who were too wedded to abstract Enlightenment ideals. Tocqueville was a classical liberal who advocated parliamentary government and was skeptical of the extremes of democracy. During his time in parliament, he sat on the centre-left, but the complex and restless nature of his liberalism has led to contrasting interpretations and admirers across the political spectrum. Regarding his political position, Tocqueville wrote "the word 'left' is... the word I wanted to attach to my name so that it would remain attached to it forever." **Source**: [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville) on Wikipedia.
