Writings on the Poor Laws

In the essays presented in this volume Bentham lays down the theoretical principles from which he develops his proposals for reform of the English poor laws in response to the perceived crisis in poor relief in the mid-1790s.

In 'Essays on the subject of the Poor Laws' Bentham seeks to justify the principles on which entitlement to relief should be grounded, while in 'Pauper Systems Compared' he presents a sustained comparison between home relief and institutional relief.

The polemical 'Observations on the Poor Bill' is a lively critique of the Bill introduced into the House of Commons by William Pitt in 1796.

The ideas advanced here by Bentham were a significant influence on Edwin Chadwick, and through his mediation on the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.

The essays are based almost entirely on manuscript sources, and published here for the first time in definitive form.