This chapter introduces the development of the Poor Laws in British. The Poor Laws not only supported the poor but paved the way for the peace of society and the growth of the economy in British.
The Poor Laws were essential for a country. The poor, among those, include beggars and vagabonds, they are jobless and homeless. Beggars and vagabonds could undermine society and increase criminality. The Poor Laws helped this group to find jobs to earn wages and provided houses to them. However, the Poor Laws system was a double-edged sword. It had a problem in practice which was it encourages idleness, leading to the lack of laborers. For this situation British government had a solution, that was the rich should contribute to poor relief for the good of society, and the poor should be organized into the workhouses. The poor laws not only solved the problem of beggars and vagabonds but established a legal framework that paved the way for building a civilized society.
In some points, the Poor Laws shifted those who undermined the society to those who contributed to Industrial Revolution.