19世纪英国济贫院制度评析

Analyses on the Workhouse System of Britain in the 19^(th) Century

济贫在英国有着久远的传统,从17世纪开始,济贫院在英国逐步发展起来,1834年后,“院内救济”成为新济贫法体系的核心。济贫院遵循“劣等处置”和“济贫院检验”两个原则,济贫法委员会希望通过济贫院的威慑作用,促使贫民自力更生,减少济贫开支。济贫院在英国社会保障制度和福利国家形成过程中起到不可忽视的作用。学术界对济贫院的评价存在较大的争议,本文拟对这一制度进行评析,希望引起学术界对这一制度的更多关注。

There exists a long tradition of the poor relief in Britain. The seventeenth century witnessed the gradual evolution of the workhouse. After 1834, ＂indoor relief＂ had become the center of the New Poor Law system. Following two principles of ＂less eligibility ＂and the ＂workhouse test ＂, the Poor Law commissioners intended to make the workhouse a deterrent institution. By this way they could encourage the poor to be self-reliant so as to reduce the relief expenditure. The workhouse played a great part in the shaping of the Welfare State and the Social Security in British history. There are many disputes on the evaluation of the workhouse. The paper wants to analyse the system and hopes that scholars will pay more attention to this field.