HISTORY From Poverty to Social Exclusion - Essay Example

HISTORY - From Poverty to Social Exclusion Poverty in Britain (1890 - 1914) This paper identifies the main causes of poverty in Britain in the period 1890 - 1914. Studies indicate that during this time, poverty was widespread. Some surveys show that by 1904, "15 per cent of the people in the urban working class households had income insufficient to meet minimal needs unable to meet minimum needs". Most of the poverty was concentrated amongst those with large families and those who were unskilled (GAZELEY & NEWEL 2003).

The extent of poverty in Great Britain during this time can also be seen by taking a look at news archives from the time, which show that it was reported that it 1909, "one in every 37 people in Britain and Wales was a pauper". (NEW YORK TIMES 1909)Causes of PovertyA wealthy businessman, Seebohm Rowntree is well known for his in depth analysis of poverty. When concentrating on this particular time period, he stated that in the 1890s, it was low wages that was the major cause of poverty in Great Britain (ROWNTREE 2008).

The problem of unemployment was especially important in bringing about poverty in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. "More than one-quarter of the years from 1834 to 1911 were plagued by high levels of cyclical unemployment". If a worker was unemployed for more than a couple of weeks, he would find himself in economic distress, and would have to look for government support. (BOYER 2004)Since the time period of our concern largely falls under the time period specified above, we can see that unemployment was a major cause of poverty from 1890 - 1914.

A very important factor that led to poverty was widowhood. In case of the death of a husband, women were generally left without any earning family member to support them. This problem arose because at the time, it was not as easy for women to get a job as it is today. The opportunity to get a job for women was easy in the textile centers of the country, but was negligible in the mining and industrial towns. In these areas, therefore, women became victims of acute poverty when left without husbands.

Moreover, given the high death rates during this time period, a large number of women were facing this problem, and hence poverty was aggravated. (PALLISER et al. 2000)Also, the very fact that women in industrial cities were kept from joining the workforce also lead to poor living conditions of British households during this time period. In the late 1800s, "a number of married working-class women were redefining themselves primarily as housewives - with paid employment as a second, and less desirable, option.

" As women were either forced, or chose to be housewives instead of being earning members of the family, the household was denied the wages that they would have earned otherwise. (BOURLE 1994)Even though workers during this time were working long hours, productivity in the late nineteenth century was falling. Workers were not performing, and the main reason for this has been identified as 'the "failure" of the British entrepreneur, represented by his seeming unwillingness to adopt the best available techniques of production'.

The falling productivity could also be one of the factors leading to a fall in National Income, and therefore to a rise in poverty. (HAUSMAN & HIRCSH 1982)Results of PovertyOne of the most crucial resultant phenomena of poverty is social exclusion; "being unable to access the things in life that most of society takes for granted." (AGE CONCERN 2008)The prevailing situation in Britain during the nineteenth and early 20th centuries set the stage for social exclusion. The industrial revolution and the resulting urbanization can be seen as causes for this phenomenon, as the rise of capitalism gave rise to inequality in the distribution of income.

As the poor became poorer and were increasingly exploited at the hands of the industrialists, they were excluded and denied access to goods and services which were available to those who were wealthier. Furthermore without the access to proper public care services, support from the government during the whole era, and basic financial services were all harbingers of the social exclusion for the people. These factors are all injunction with the definition given by the government of UK and Australia for social exclusion (AGE CONCERN 2008) which describes it as "the lack or denial of resources, rights, goods and services, and the inability to participate in the normal relationships and activities, available to the majority of people in a society, whether in economic, social, cultural or political arenas".

ConclusionThus, the main causes of poverty during 1890-1914 have been identified as follows:Low wagesUnemploymentWidowhoodLack of women in workforceFalling productivityIn early 1900s, the government started to take action against this poverty, as there was a "change in attitude" towards poverty during this time. Up until 1900, it was generally thought that poverty was the fault of the individuals themselves, but by 1900, politicians changed their attitudes, as people started feeling "the government should give some help to the poor instead of leaving it all to charity" (DERBY UNIVERSITY 2008).

Therefore, the Liberal Government introduced a number of social reforms in the early 1900s to alleviate the widespread poverty. The Liberal Reforms 1906-1914, for example, passed a number of Acts to improve financial conditions of the elderly, unemployed and the ill people of society. ReferencesAGE CONCERN. 2008. What is Social Exclusion [Internet] Available from: http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/social_inclusion_what.asp [Accessed 16 October 2008]BOURLE, JB. 1994. 'Housewifery in Working-Class England 1860 - 1914'.

Past and Present. No. 143. pp. 167-197.BOYER, GRB. 2004. 'The Evolution of Unemployment Relief in Great Britain'. Journal of Interdisciplinary History. Volume 34. Number 3. pp. 393-433DERBY UNIVERISTY. 2008. PAPER 2: Britain 1906-1918 - The Liberal Reforms. [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 19 October 2008]GAZELEY, IG. NEWEL, AN. 2003. Poverty in Britain in 1904. An Early Social Survey Rediscovered. [Internet] Available from: : [Accessed 16 October 2008]HAUSMAN, WJH. HIRCSH, BTH. 1982 Wages, Leisure and Productivity in South Wales Coalmining, 1874 - 1914: An Economic Approach.

[Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 16 October 2008]NEW YORK TIMES. 1909 British Pauperism is Still Increasing. New York Times [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 16 October 2008]PALLISER, DMP. CLARK, PC. DAUNTON, MJD. 2000. The Cambridge Urban History of Britain. Cambridge University Press.SEEBOHM ROWNTREE. 2008. [Internet] Available from: [Accessed 16 October 2008]