Synopses & Reviews
Immediately after completing the first volume of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote his Memoir on Pauperism. It was inspired by a visit to England two years earlier and was surely in his mind while he was writing Democracy. In the Memoir, Tocqueville seeks to understand why the most impoverished countries of Europe in his time have the fewest paupers, while the most opulent country, England, has the most. He finds that England s public charity possible because of its successful economy has produced a pauper class: the unforeseen and unfortunate consequences of good intentions. By removing the necessity for work, public charity breeds other miseries. Here in book form for the first time, Tocqueville s Memoir still resonates in our postindustrial society. As Gertrude Himmelfarb notes in her introduction, We can see the shadow of our chronically dependent 'underclass in Tocqueville s description of the pauper class . We can also, today more than ever, appreciate Tocqueville s criticism of public charity as a legal right an 'entitlement, as we now say. This cogent Memoir on Pauperism is a notable contribution to the idea of civil society.
Synopsis
Inspired by a visit to England, Alexis de Tocqueville composed a Memoir on Pauperism in an effort to understand why the most impoverished countries of Europe in his time had the fewest paupers while the most opulent country, England, had the most. It was England's public charity, he found, that had produced a pauper class. This charity had been made possible by a successful economy, but good intentions had produced unforeseen and unfortunate consequences. By removing the necessity for work, Tocqueville argued, public charity bred other miseries - "an idle and lazy class.... If you closely observe the condition of populations among whom such legislation has long been in force, you will easily discover that the effects are not less unfortunate for morality than for public prosperity, and that it depraves men even more than it impoverishes them". This cogent Memoir on Pauperism is a telling reminder of Tocqueville's political perception and a notable contribution to the idea of civil society. It is here in book form for the first time.