ndustry and trade depressions were not considered when the Act was passed.10The Concise Oxford Dictionary (9th edition) defines poverty as:1.The state of being poor; want of the necessities of life2.Inferiority, poorness, meanness3.Renunciation of the right to individual ownership of property.I would argue further that poverty is not only material, nor only social, but is also experienced on an emotional and existent level.The ruling classes of the Victorians, in blaming the poor for their condition, violated the poor person in failing to provide a source of employment. The framework of the political system (previously empowered to care and protect its citizens) failed miserably in providing gainful employment to enable the poor person to survive and provide for himself and family. The political structure failed to provide an expected right to employment; they were excluded from the employment structure and thus rendered to poverty and total helplessness. The poor person is, in fact, abandoned.The reality of being trapped in poverty meant there was no escape, and there was no likelihood of escape, while the systems in power, remained in power, with the opinions and belief systems that were present.I believe that the new Poor Law Act was a total disaster, and in my opinion, the Act did not address the issues that it was intended - it made it worse and according to Thomas Attwood the Act created ‘more misery, poverty, discord, more of everything that was catastrophic to the nation.’A century before this, when life was mostly agricultural, the poor were actually better off. Rural societies needed huge amounts of labour for planting and harvesting. Anyone in that situation would be fed during lean times to make sure they would be available for harvest. Before the industrial revolution, starvation level poverty was virtually unknown. It was only after industry created thousands of displaced rural people that poverty began ...
