threads / economic system #274

12 newly added in the last 14 days mark read

1. 1793 new

   Friendly societies as insurance before the welfare state

   also in Service clubs and fraternal orders

   Britain's Friendly Societies Act gave legal recognition and protection to friendly societies, the mutual clubs whose members paid regular dues in exchange for sickness, funeral, and old-age benefits. Orders such as the Foresters, the Oddfellows, and countless local societies were the main safety net for working people before state insurance and pensions. Their role shows fraternal orders as practical mutual insurance, not only social clubs.

2. 1834 new

   Ancient Order of Foresters formed in England

   also in Service clubs and fraternal orders

   The Ancient Order of Foresters was organized in England out of an older Royal Foresters society, spreading as a friendly society that pooled members' dues to pay benefits in sickness, old age, and death. Friendly societies like the Foresters were a main form of working-class mutual insurance before the welfare state. The order later expanded to the United States and the British colonies.

3. 14 August 1834 new

   The New Poor Law is passed

   also in Production and labor, The Industrial Revolution

   The Poor Law Amendment Act cut cash relief and pushed the poor into workhouses with harsh conditions. It aimed to reduce costs but caused widespread hardship and anger.

4. 1880 new

   Bismarck's social insurance and its stated aim

   The aim of Otto von Bismarck’s social insurance legislation, as he himself put it in 1880, was ‘to engender in the great mass of the unpropertied the conservative state of mind that springs from the feeling of entitlement to a pension.

   

   • The aim of Otto von Bismarck’s social insurance legislation, as he himself put it in 1880, was ‘to engender in the great mass of the unpropertied the conservative state of mind that springs from the feeling of entitlement to a pension.

     The Ascent of Money
5. 1884 new

   Fabian Society comes into existence

   Gatto dates the founding of Fabianism to around 1884, named for the Roman general Fabius. He argues the Fabians became a potent force behind the modern welfare state and dumbed-down schooling.

   • Fabianism came into existence around the year 1884, taking its name from Roman general Fabius Cunctator

     The Underground History of American Education , p. 149-150
6. 1905 new

   Beatrice Webb joins the Royal Commission on the Poor Law

   Gatto cites Kitty Muggeridge's claim that the welfare state's first foundation was laid in November 1905, when Beatrice Webb was appointed to the Royal Commission on the Poor Law and drafted a cradle-to-grave plan.

   • a reasonable date to choose would be the last fortnight of November in 1905 when Beatrice Webb was appointed to the Royal Commission on the Poor Law

     The Underground History of American Education , p. 151-152
7. 4 March 1933 new

   Launch of the New Deal

   also in Capitalism, liberalism, and the isms, Keynesian economics: demand, depression, and the fight over full employment

   Franklin Roosevelt takes office amid the Depression and drives through a wave of relief, recovery, and regulatory legislation in his first hundred days. The New Deal redefines the state's role in a capitalist economy.

   • Great Depression Facts
8. 14 August 1935 new

   Social Security Act

   also in Anatomy of a superpower: the American state

   Franklin Roosevelt signs the act creating old-age insurance funded by payroll taxes, plus unemployment insurance and aid to dependent children. Social Security becomes the largest program of the federal government and the anchor of the American welfare state.

9. December 1942 new

   Beveridge Report published

   also in Capitalism, liberalism, and the isms

   William Beveridge's report proposes a comprehensive system of social insurance to defeat want, disease, ignorance, squalor, and idleness. It becomes the blueprint for the British welfare state.

10. 5 July 1948 new

    Founding of the National Health Service

    also in Capitalism, liberalism, and the isms

    Britain's Labour government launches the National Health Service, providing medical care free at the point of use. It becomes the centerpiece of the welfare state the Beveridge Report proposed.

11. May 1965 new

    African Socialism promises a Kenyan welfare state

    also in Kenya capitalism versus Tanzania Ujamaa, Neocolonialism: independence without economic freedom

    Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965, African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya, promised political equality, social justice, and freedom from want, disease, and exploitation, the language of a welfare state. Broad welfare spending stayed thin. Colin Leys and other critics argued the policy mainly opened a path for accumulation by a political elite around Jomo Kenyatta.

    • Underdevelopment in Kenya: The Political Economy of Neo-Colonialism
    • African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya
12. 30 July 1965 new

    Creation of Medicare and Medicaid

    also in Anatomy of a superpower: the American state

    Johnson signs the Medicare and Medicaid amendments to the Social Security Act at the Truman Library, handing the first Medicare card to Harry Truman. The programs give federal health coverage to the elderly and the poor and transform American medicine.