Pauperism

With pauperism (Latin pauper "poor" ) is defined as the structurally -related, long-term poverty of large parts of the population at the time of early industrialization, particularly about the situation in Germany at the transition between class society and industrial society in about the first half of the "long nineteenth century ". It is in the concept and a contemporary term.

The origin of this mass poverty is not a single cause to explain. Rather, there are a lot of factors that eventually lead to a broad segment of the population was no longer able to provide for their own livelihood. With this miserable situation social disintegration as riots, epidemics and neglect were among the affected hand in hand (→ Social Question ).

Pre-industrial population growth

From about 1750, the population has been increasing rapidly in Germany; from about 16-18 to 22-24 million people in 1800. This is especially the rural underclass increased. Became possible was the population growth through an expansion of the food game space through expansion of cultivated areas and improved management practices in agriculture. In particular, the introduction of the potato has the basic needs of the rural masses allows only; she asked in comparison to the cereal with the same acreage 3.6 times the food energy available. Furthermore, new jobs and thus livelihood opportunities have been created, mainly in the domestic industry. Also dropped off manorial bonds and thus restrictions on marriage. The ruling in parts of Germany Erbpraxis the real division in which the existing property was distributed equally among the male heirs, enabled all the children of a livelihood, albeit at a lower level. It found more and more people for themselves and their family to earn a living (although often only at the border of subsistence ) decreased the mortality rate. In the 19th century, this growth expanded into a veritable population explosion.

Population growth had enormous social consequences, because first the productivity of the economy could not keep up with the increased demands. Many people sought to make a living now in the business, especially in cottage industry and handicraft.

Emergence of wage earners

With the development of domestic industry from the late Middle Ages were significant sections of the population in some areas has in fact become too dependent wage workers: A publisher supplied the producers at their residence in raw materials and the finished product took off again. Due to the sharp division of labor in production the necessary operations were quick to learn; so that the workers were easily replaced. The overstaffing generated price pressure that the home worker sought to be compensated by overtime, thus they aggravated the situation more and more.

As other rural branch of industry in which wage workers were employed, there was the manufactory. This was a most centralized large-scale operation, was employed in the non-independent craftsmen, but also inmates of institutions of coercion.

With the liberation of the peasants were also from the former in the manorial often independently producing farmers salaried agricultural workers: Although they were now legally free, freedom, however, they had to buy from landlords only expensive. This forced many to then offer the men as wage laborers. Especially in the areas east of the Elbe, this process was actively promoted by the landowners because they had a strong interest in the country working class, which was not to provide it, in contrast to the gutsabhängigen farmers.

Even in the cities created many wage workers groups, in the number of factories. The relaxation of guild restrictions and overcrowding of the craft also had the consequence that many artisans also only found as a wage-worker employment. In addition, they now had to compete with industrial and home industrial production.

All these mentioned wage worker groups were the traditional system, for example, in the manor or guild, withdrawn. They were easily replaceable and out of their work force had no means of livelihood. This was their livelihood economic crises and abuse / exploitation of highly vulnerable to.

Attempts to explain

Emergence of the concept

The terms and pauper pauperism appear in the English language at the beginning of the 19th century, bringing a new form of poverty was designated: not an individualized poverty or one that is coupled with extraordinary circumstances such as bad weather conditions, but mass poverty, which, as it seems inevitable coupled with the development of industrialization and wealth. A French observer used the following revealing formulation: ' The pauperism, you want to define it by a single word, the epidemic of poverty ' ( Émile Laurent, 1865).

In his great work ' De la misère of classes laborieuses en Angleterre et en France ' (1840 ) asserts Eugène Buret that ' borrowed from England comprises the expression of pauperism the totality of all phenomena of poverty. This English word to mean misery for us in terms of social nuisance, public misery. '

The question raised by the Académie des sciences morales et politiques price question of the causes of poverty was taken up by Pierre -Joseph Proudhon and in the title of his Système set of contradictions économiques philosophy ou de la misère (1846 ).

The word " pauperism " is gradually fallen out of use.

Friedrich Engels

Friedrich Engels blamed in his study of the situation of the English factory workers early industrialization with the switch from manual labor to machines for mass poverty. You may only serve to exacerbate the contrast to the misery of the industrial proletariat to support the political demands of Engels. In fact, already noted contemporaries that the industry not only producing poverty, as Engels asserted, but she attracted too. The pauperism had a very place the worst from where no industry existed, so at the Silesian weavers who due to outdated production methods ( homework ) were no longer capable of industrial competition.

Wilhelm Abel

A very different proposition as Engels later brought before the agricultural historians Wilhelm Abel. In his view, pauperism was just the spur of the old pre-industrial poverty, exacerbated by the rapid population growth at even low productivity growth. In contrast to Engels he saw industrialization as a rescue from the Pauperismuskrise.

Pauperism as a result of the Prussian reforms

Furthermore, there is still the consideration that pauperism is the result of the Prussian reforms, which lifted restrictions on marriage and freedom of movement allowed. This population pressure have produced and pressed down the small farmers in the country working proletariat.

Pauperism and revolt

Although the history of the labor movement is usually recognized only to the first organization start-ups in the 1830s, some historians as Ahlrich Meyer in the strategies of the population against pauperism a root not only of the proletariat, but also the labor movement. These strategies included appropriations, which were often redefined after the fact to " theft " - such as gathering wood in manorial forests. But unrest and strikes were part of the first defense of the Pauper. They defended themselves on the one hand for existential distress and hunger, on the other hand, even against the previously unknown forced to capitalist factory discipline, the beginning through institutions such as workhouses of the 19th century was also enforced by the state.

Pauperism as a result of various developments

There is now a broad consensus in the research that there is no mono-causal explanation for the pauperism. Rather, it was the rapid population growth with stagnant productivity growth, which was a significant part of the population live at subsistence level. When then a crisis in agriculture with crop failures (cereals, potatoes) combined with the first novel overall economic recession, was the actual Pauperismuskrise. The cause therefore so was the coincidence of crises old pre- style and such, the newly emerging industrialization - the juxtaposition of different stages.

Religious pauperism in the Middle Ages

End of the 12th century originated in Europe as a protest against the increasing wealth of the Church also "voluntary" poverty movements. The idea behind these movements is also called pauperism, but said in this case a political idea and not a sociological phenomenon. The medieval pauperism saw the poverty of Jesus Christ, a desirable ideal. By eliminating the personal property the followers of this movement wanted to be near her Jesus in a special way. They provoked by their lifestyle many were powerful in the church and were therefore sometimes bloody Following ( Waldenses ). As a well-known representative of pauperism applies Francis of Assisi.