Week 3: Mutual Aid and the State in Nineteenth Century Europe CLASS DISCUSSION POINTS We hope the answers to these questions will become apparent as we move through our presentation.  What organisations offered help to sick unemployed or elderly workers before 1914?  What type of organisation dominated in Britain, France, Germany?  What were the effects of official subsidies (pre 1939)? 1

Intervention took on different guises in different countries. 2

 In Britain the Poor Law Act of 1834 sought to encourage the population to fend for itself.  Social stigma associated with pauperism pushed all sections of the British working population into self help.  Mutual policies taken out entirely voluntarily.  Workhouse regimes austere and vicious.  Paupers viewed by Government as victims of their own indolent circumstance.  A liberal system of mutuality on the back of a laissez faire doctrine. 3

Edwin Chadwick one of the 1832 Poor Law Commissioners 4

 Germany’s mutuality and state welfare were administered by means of compulsory legislation.  Workers subscribed to Mutual Societies as did the British.  Subscriptions made compulsory by legislation in  Compulsory legislation saw the inclusion of all industrial workers.  The Elberfield system.  Hilfenkassen or Help Funds were state intervened to ensure their solvency.  The 1850’s saw the expansion of provident funds and mutual benefit funds. 5

mocratic_Party_of_Germany&h=920&w=800&sz=466&tbnid=p8xEEznaBKffoM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=78&zoom=1&usg=__xQvgAHqLlLMVJT___GcisgnujCk=&docid=_TqONukNEtGJ0M&sa= X&ei=0rtdUtLnMsuJhQeduYDgBg&sqi=2&ved=0CGAQ9QEwCQ The German Social Democratic Party 6

 France had no national system of poor relief.  The Catholic Church supported the monarchy.  Solidarity was based upon the remit of repaying social and central to the republican way of life.  Familialism.  Ones social debt would be all the greater if you produced no children to safeguard the future. 7

Napoleon III 8

 Friendly Societies in Britain date back to the late 18 th century.  Women too complicated.  Friendly Societies were funded by contributions from the workforce.  Collectives like the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows had considerable wealth  Members comprised mostly skilled workers initially since poorer workers could not afford to pay subscriptions.  Term Oddfellows coined as workers from unguilded trades collected together. 9

 In Germany the left wing social democratic party helped create Mutual funds.  Unions were not all about strikes and demands.  SPD did lean towards strike action.  Timing was perhaps unfortunate.  Reichstag was introduced in  Strike pay was not permitted.  Free trades unions were supressed altogether in the 1880’s 10

 France had no discernible trades unions or mutual aid societies.  Mutuelles were set up.  Centrally registered and run by notables; ratified in Paris.  Mutuelles provided wide ranging help for the poor and less well paid.  Measures were despised by the ‘commune ists’.  Mutuelles evolved and in 1898 central control was abolished in favour of community based Mutualities.  Today the Mutuelles have over 35 million members. 11

crc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=mxVJj0d6p2EzgM%3A%3BeLCPzGuEMDWtzM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fgcalers.files.wordpress.com%252F2011%252F01%252Fworkhouse.jpg%3Bhttp%2 53A%252F%252Fgcalers.wordpress.com%252Fcategory%252Fhistory%252Fhistory-of-ireland%252Fpage%252F4%252F%3B320%3B292  Britain promoted the laissez faire approach to welfare, free of state intervention and promoting independence and self help with workhouses as a deterrent to being poor. Trades Unions grew and became more militant as time progressed. 12

66&bih=622&dpr=1#q=german+social+democratic+party&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=S0T3sgoNuAgP8M%3A%3BUqhGabIxLwmI- M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.dw.de%252Fimage%252F0%252C%252C _302%252C00.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.dw.de%252Fgermanys-spd-party- celebrates-150th-anniversary%252Fa %3B460%3B259  Germany used social benefits to build a power base but with the Social Democratic Party being quashed by Bismark before they became too militant. 13

 France became revolutionary. They wanted solidarity, to promote self help and to help each other. 14

 All three countries picked up and refashioned mutuality in one form or another, which became embedded into the roots of the welfare state 15