Pauperland: Poverty and the Poor in Britain

by Jeremy Seabrook

In 1797 Jeremy Bentham prepared a map of poverty in Britain, which he called "Pauperland." More than two hundred years later, poverty and social deprivation remain widespread in Britain.Yet despite the investigations into poverty by Mayhew, Booth, and in the 20th century, Townsend, it remains largely unknown to, or often hidden from, those who are not poor. Pauperland is Jeremy Seabrook's account of the mutations of poverty over time, historical attitudes to the poor, and the lives of the impoverished themselves, from early Poor Laws till today. He explains how in the medieval world, wealth was regarded as the greatest moral danger to society, yet by the industrial era, poverty was the most significant threat to social order. How did this change come about, and how did the poor, rather than the rich, find themselves blamed for much of what is wrong with Britain, including such familiar-and ancient-scourges as crime, family breakdown and addictions? How did it become the fate of the poor to be condemned to perpetual punishment and public opprobrium, the useful scapegoat of politicians and the media? Pauperland charts how such attitudes were shaped by ill-conceived and ill-executed private and state intervention, and how these are likely to frame ongoing discussions of and responses to poverty in Britain.

Genres: History

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Jeremy R. Seabrook was an English author and journalist who specialised in social, environmental and development issues. His book The Refuge and the Fortress: Britain and the Flight from Tyranny was longlisted for the Orwell Prize.

Reviews

[Denni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the hardback edition (from the library). The title is a bit misleading as, though this is an excellent history of poverty in Britain, with loads of info I didn't know, it is also a fine analysis of where we are--globally--today, with ever increasing consumerism, inequality, and the headlong destruction of our planet that is the result of this. I didn't agree 100% with all of Seabrook's comments, but pretty much so, and many readers might find it--especially towards the end--a bit too preachy (I didn't but I can easily see how this might be the response). And I do wholeheartedly recommend it, both for the history and for the analysis of where we are today and how we got here. There are loads of passages I'd love to quote, but you'll have to read the book.

[Jakub Fiala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seabrook's work masterfully hovers somewhere between a dense historian's account and a heartfelt sociology essay. This book presents a whole different cosmic view of poverty, and is valuable to the literary world in several distinct ways: First, it gives an overview of changing attitudes towards poverty throughout post-medieval British history. Second, it attempts to collect scarce historical accounts of poverty specifically from outside of the ruling classes. Third, it draws very well-supported continuities between the endlessly discussed poverties of the 18th and 19th centuries, and poverties found in the post-welfare state era. Last, it challenges the pervasive materialistic definitions of poverty and arrives at a much more revolutionary definition itself.

The only drawback of the book is that I feel it may not captivate every reader enough at the beginning, so as to reach the more "juicy" philosophical chapters towards the end.

[Rice Krispies · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The purpose of the poor is to show what happens to economic dissidents in rich societies."

[Brian Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The publisher's summation is an accurate summation of the book. It's an academic read. Although UK-centric and the experiences and conditions are unique, you can see the attitudes by the merchant, academic and political classes reflected in the America. A solid read for anyone who is interested in the topic of the poor and hopefully eye-opening for those willing to actually reflect on the text.