Rich Law, Poor Law Topic 1 Property part 1 (add remaining lectures and notes later for property)

What is Marx's critique of Enlightenment progress ideology?

It suggests that progress ideology masks dispossession and exploitation in market society.

What drives history according to Marx's historical materialism?

History is driven by material relations of production, specifically who owns productive resources and who must sell their labor.

How must law be understood according to Marxism?

Law must be understood within the material conditions of life, linking legal relations to economic relations of production.

What does legal realism critique about the 'laissez-faire' economy?

It critiques the treatment of law as neutral, objective, and determinate, emphasizing that legal rules reflect policy choices with distributive impacts.

What is the focus of legal realism?

Legal realism focuses on 'law in action' rather than 'law in books', asserting that legal reasoning is shaped by social context.

How does legal realism view the market?

It views the market as not natural, but shaped by state coercion and legal rules that act as a form of 'private government'.

What is the land enclosure movement?

A legal-political transformation of property relations from feudalism to capitalism, facilitated by property law through parliamentary acts.

What was the impact of the land enclosure movement on subsistence farmers?

Subsistence farmers were forced into wage labor as their means of production were taken away.

What does Hale's 1943 argument about markets suggest?

Markets involve mutual coercion through the allocation of legal entitlements that may be unequal.

What justification did Locke provide for land enclosure?

Locke argued that labor improves land and prevents waste, giving individuals a property right in their labor and its products.

What is Marx's concept of 'primitive accumulation'?

It refers to the historical process of separating producers from the means of production, forcing them to sell their labor to survive.

How does law support land enclosure according to David Harvey?

The state plays a crucial role in backing and promoting dispossession and exploitation, influencing capitalist development.

What are the distributive effects of legal rules?

Legal rules narrow individual choice and structure bargaining power, often reinforcing existing power relations.

How does land enclosure make the poor poorer?

It dispossesses peasants of their means of subsistence, forcing them into wage labor and creating an oversupply of labor with poor rights.

How does land enclosure benefit the rich?

Bourgeois landowners gain access to consolidated farms and cheap labor, increasing profits without incurring labor costs.

What does the phrase 'law makes rich and makes poor' imply?

It suggests that legal rules and frameworks can create wealth for some while impoverishing others.

What role do legal rules play in market function?

They involve mutual coercion necessary for markets to function, delimiting agents' liberty through contracts.

What does the term 'background constraints' refer to in legal contexts?

Background constraints are the conditions that structure bargaining power and limit individual choices in legal transactions.

What does Hale's 1952 statement about legal rights imply?

It implies that law not only protects transactions but also reinforces unequal power dynamics among participants.

What is the significance of the 5000 parliamentary enclosure acts?

These acts enclosed 6.8 million acres of land, facilitating the transition from feudalism to capitalism.

What does the phrase 'the law of property coerces individuals into wage-work' mean?

It means that legal frameworks around property rights force individuals to sell their labor to survive.

What is the relationship between legal doctrine and legal outcomes?

Legal doctrine does not fully determine outcomes; law is indeterminate and shaped by ideology.

What is the distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor?

The deserving poor receive protection and assistance, while the undeserving poor are often punished or denied help.

How do street-level decision-makers influence homelessness policy?

Their prejudices about who is deserving or undeserving significantly affect individual housing decisions.

What are the implications of being classified as undeserving or deserving poor?

This classification can determine access to housing and benefits, affecting individuals' chances of receiving assistance.

What historical laws targeted the undeserving poor in England?

Early homelessness laws, such as the Ordinance of Labourers 1349, aimed to compel the poor to work and punish those deemed idle.

What was the purpose of the Ordinance of Labourers 1349?

To prevent able-bodied individuals from refusing work and to maintain a workforce after the Black Death.

How did the Black Death affect labor laws in England?

It led to higher wages for surviving laborers, prompting landowners to seek laws to limit these wages and compel work.

What is the societal perception of the idle rich compared to the poor?

The idle rich are not labeled as undeserving despite not working, while the poor are often judged for not working.

How do charities contribute to the stratification of the poor?

Charities often distinguish between those who can work and those who cannot, reinforcing the deserving/undeserving dynamic.

What modern comparison is made regarding the treatment of the homeless?

Night shelters may turn away individuals based on substance abuse, reflecting a distinction not based on need but on personal choices.

What was the two-pronged approach to homelessness in the 16th century?

To repress vagrancy while simultaneously providing for the deserving poor to prevent starvation.

What was the focus of poor relief before the Poor Laws?

It aimed to prevent voluntary unemployment and begging, primarily assisting the deserving poor like orphans and the disabled.

What did the Poor Law Act of 1601 establish?

It required parishes to punish vagrants, employ the unemployed, and relieve the impotent poor through local property taxes.

What was the significance of the 1662 Act of Settlement?

It was part of the Poor Laws that formalized local welfare provisions in the UK.

What are the consequences of resource scarcity on the deserving poor?

In times of limited resources, individuals deemed deserving must compete for assistance, potentially losing out to others.

How did early homelessness laws reflect societal attitudes towards labor?

They enforced the notion that to not work was to be defective, labeling those who could work but did not as undeserving.

What role did local authorities play in housing decisions for the poor?

Local authorities had discretion in deciding housing assistance based on their perceptions of deservingness.

What is the impact of internal prejudices on housing outcomes?

Internal prejudices can lead to significant differences in who receives housing and benefits.

How does the concept of deservingness shift over time?

Deservingness can change based on available resources, affecting who is prioritized for assistance.

What is the relationship between homelessness and urbanization in early laws?

Early laws aimed to manage homelessness in the context of increasing urbanization and labor demands.

What is the legacy of the undeserving poor concept in modern policy?

The concept continues to influence how assistance is allocated and who is deemed worthy of help.

What did Charles II hope to achieve with the laws he passed regarding the poor?

He hoped to produce reformation concerning the multitude of beggars and poor people in the kingdom.

What was required of a person applying for residence in a new area during this period?

They had to prove they had enough money saved or had work, controlling the movement of the poor.

How did land enclosure contribute to homelessness?

Enclosure privatized common land, removing the poor's access to necessities and forcing them to work for survival.

What were the Poor Law Acts designed to do?

They aimed to ensure the serving poor had enough money for necessities while punishing vagrants and the undeserving poor.

What significant legislation was introduced in 1824 regarding vagrancy?

The 1824 Vagrancy Act, which included offences like begging and sleeping rough, and granted police significant powers of arrest.

What powers did the police gain under the 1824 Vagrancy Act?

They could arrest individuals for loitering and suspicious behavior, classifying certain groups as suspicious.

What does the term 'less eligibility' refer to in the context of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment?

It refers to the principle that relief for able-bodied poor should be less desirable than conditions faced by the working poor.

How did 'less eligibility' serve as a deterrent for the poor?

It created hostile conditions in workhouses to discourage voluntary entry, forcing applicants to prove their desperation.

What was the impact of the treatment of military veterans after WW2 regarding housing?

Initially conciliatory, the government intervened when veterans squatted in luxury apartments, enforcing class boundaries.

What proposal did Bentham make regarding pauper management?

He proposed privatizing pauper management, subsidized by the government, similar to the East India Company model.

What was the outcome of the push for housing after WW1?

Local authorities were urged to build homes for returning soldiers, resulting in over 1.3 million council dwellings by 1939.

What critique did Cowen offer regarding the development of the welfare state?

He suggested that neoliberal ideas persisted, and the principle of less eligibility continued to influence welfare policies.

What was the National Assistance Act of 1948?

It was part of new social welfare legislation but still reflected the un/deserving claimant distinction from the Poor Law.

How did the National Assistance Act affect welfare distribution?

Administrator evaluations of applicants' deservingness influenced the distribution of benefits, echoing previous poor law practices.

What does the film 'Cathy Come Home' illustrate about the welfare state?

It reflects the misery of the homeless and suggests that the 1948 Act extended the Poor Law rather than alleviating poverty.

What shift occurred in the explanations for homelessness in the post-war years?

There was a shift from individual to structural explanations for the causes of homelessness.

How did a TV drama about a homeless family influence perceptions of homelessness?

It prompted a shift to structurally oriented accounts, showing that the family's homelessness was attributed to structural factors in the labor and housing market.

What argument did neoliberals use to justify the dismantling of the welfare state?

They claimed that declining worker productivity and welfare dependency were responsible for economic recession.

How did popular perceptions of welfare recipients change over time?

Perceptions have changed with circumstances and legislation, but the separation of the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor persists.

What was a significant trend in the welfare state during the 1980s?

There was a general shrinking of the welfare state, with neoliberals asserting that too much security produced national economic inefficiency.

How are veterans viewed in the context of homelessness assistance?

Veterans are often seen as the deserving poor and are prioritized for housing assistance due to their service.

What does the 1996 Housing Act state about former members of the armed forces?

It includes 'vulnerable former members of the armed forces' in the priority need categories for housing assistance.

What special provisions are made for veterans in accessing housing?

Veterans are exempted from local connection rules that apply to accessing social housing.

What is the Veterans' Nomination Scheme?

A program that partners with housing associations to help veterans find affordable social housing in England.

What is a requirement for veterans to access the Veterans' Nomination Scheme?

Veterans must be referred by a third party, such as a local authority or charity, as they cannot self-refer.

What legislation placed a duty on local authorities regarding veterans?

The Armed Forces Act 2021 requires local authorities to consider the unique obligations and sacrifices made by armed forces members.

What did the Roadmap to End Homelessness Among Veterans identify?

It identified that the gap between military and civilian life is widening, increasing the risk of homelessness among veterans.

What percentage of households owed a statutory homelessness duty were veterans in 22/23?

0.7% of all households owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty had a member who was an armed forces veteran.

What trend was observed in the number of veteran households with additional support needs?

There was an increase from 1,860 households the previous year to 2,110 households in 22/23.

What challenges do veterans face in the context of neoliberalism?

Veterans face lesser resources and compete with other deserving groups, such as migrants and refugees, for assistance.

What is the impact of the cost of living crisis on veterans?

It exacerbates the widening inequality in society, increasing the risk of homelessness among veterans.