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"A very high proportion of Edwardian convicts were in prison for offences that would have been much more lightly treated or wholly disregarded by law enforcers in the late twentieth century. In 1912-13, for example, one quarter of males aged 16 to 21 who were imprisoned in the metropolitan area of London were serving seven-day sentences for offences which included drunkenness, 'playing games in the street'; riding a bicycle without lights, gaming, obscene language, and sleeping rough. If late twentieth century standards of policing and sentencing had been applied in Edwardian Britain, then prisons would have been virtually empty; conversely, if Edwardian standards were applied in the 1990s then most of the youth of Britain would be in gaol."
Dr Jose Harris, Public Lives, Public Spirit - Britain 1870-1914
Review
"A splendid book. It's a devastating critique of the welfare state. A page-turner, yet also extensively sourced. Demonstrates how attempts to achieve good intentions have led to horrible results -- increasing crime and violence, worsened conditions of the very poor, an extraordinary deterioration in the quality and character of British life.
Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winner.
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Read The Book
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Before the welfare state
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The Greycoat Hospital
The Greycoat Hospital was once a workhouse. It has since been a hospital and a school. It has a very long welfare history. It has now been taken over by the state.
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The Greycoat Hospital
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Education and State
Recommended Links
- Adam Smith Institute
- Adam Smith Institute blog
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- Once more unto the breach
- Pensions Policy Institute
- Reason
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- Samizdata.net
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- Stephen Pollard's Blog
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Licence
Stats
Britain – the angry country
Returning to Britain after two weeks on a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, I was struck by how the some of the stories making the headlines were the same as when I left. Controversy still raged over the … Continue reading
The myth of the ‘great’ Attlee government
Peter Oborne is a journalist I admire. He has written some terrific articles and talked well on radio and TV. However I recently heard him debating whether Margaret Thatcher should get a state funeral when she finally, like everybody else, … Continue reading
The Spirit Level – “trash social science”
If you want a quick guide what may be misleading about the influential book, The Spirit Level, it worth listening to this interview with Peter Saunders, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Sussex University. This debate is highly important. If it … Continue reading
Interview in Sweden
Here is an interview I did earlier this year in Sweden. http://www.axess.se/tv/program.aspx?id=2666
The growth of welfare state dependency in the USA
From an article produced by the NCPA: An index of dependency developed by the Heritage Foundation found that the metric increased from 19 in fiscal year 1962 to 272 in fiscal year 2009. The Heritage researchers found that in 1962, … Continue reading
Here is an idea for the London School of Economics
I have just been visiting the Warsaw School of Economics. In the hall – which is of traditional vast, Socialist planning size, there is now a TV carrying live prices from the Warsaw stock exchange and share indices for other … Continue reading
Power politics, Germany and the EU
On the overnight train from Amsterdam to Warsaw, I met a Polish man who apparently advises a parliamentary committee in Poland on foreign policy. Naturally we talked a little about the British veto of a EU treaty on fiscal control … Continue reading
Why Britain used its veto
The extraordinary turn of events that have taken place in Europe this week has led to a certain amount of antagonism towards Britain in other parts of Europe. About a third of the visitors to this site are from outside … Continue reading
Democracy makes you happier – now viewable online
The article can now be seen online. Here is an excerpt: Why does democracy make you happier? There are two possible reasons. One is that you get a better government, or one more in accordance with your views. The second … Continue reading
Democracy makes you happier
I have an article on this in the new edition of the Spectator. I can’t link to it yet. After writing it, someone remarked to me that there could be Europe Union referenda. That would certainly be a radical way … Continue reading