19世纪英国的社会保障与工人运动

Social Security and the Labour Movement in Nineteenth-Century England

19世纪早期,英国实行的新济贫法作为一种最低限度的社会保障,饱受争议,引起工人强烈不满与反对,但其作为最后一道防线,在避免英国工人激进主义运动走向暴力革命方面发挥了重要作用;19世纪中期的经济繁荣缓解了劳资矛盾,工会世界诞生了以维持工会会员最低生活水平为原则的“新精神”,这一“新精神”推崇与资本家谈判、调解、仲裁、公断等和平方式,进一步推动了工人阶级改良主义的发展;19世纪后期,特别是1973年的经济大萧条使许多工人失业,陷入贫困,生活水平严重下滑,新济贫法的兜底作用失去效用,工人罢工运动此起彼伏,推动英国现代社会保障制度逐步建立。

In the early 19th century, the new poor Law, as a minimum social security, was highly controver-sial and caused strong dissatisfaction and opposition among workers. However, as the last line of defense, it played an important role in preventing the radical movement of British workers from becoming violent revolution. In the middle of the 19th century, the economic prosperity eased the labor-capital conflict, and the “new spirit” was born in the trade union world based on the principle of maintaining the minimum living standard of trade union members. This “new spirit” advocated peaceful means such as negotiation, mediation, arbitration and arbitration judgment with capitalists, which further promoted the development of the working class. In the late 19th century, especially the Great economic depression in 1973, many workers lost their jobs and fell into poverty, and their living standards fell seriously. The backstop effect of the new poor Law lost its effect, and workers' strike movements emerged one after another, which gradually promoted the establishment of modern social security system in Britain.