Title Apostles of inequality : rural poverty, political economy, and the Economist, 1760-1860 / Jim Handy

Published Toronto ; Buffalo ; London : University of Toronto Press, [2022]

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Description 1 online resource Contents Introduction: The Multiplication of Wretchedness -- "The Yoke of Improvement" -- "The Enchantment of Property" -- "A Rooted Hatred between the Rich and the Poor" -- Political Economy and the Rural Poor -- Nassau Senior and the New Poor Laws -- The Economist: "The Most Elementary Truths" -- Bad Farming: The Ghost of a Dead Monopoly -- Ireland: "They Lie beyond the Pale" -- Cooked Land, Cotton, and Slavery -- Conclusion: "The Home-Civilization of the Rural English" Summary "Between 1760 and 1860, the English countryside was subject to constant attempts at agricultural improvement. Most often these meant depriving cottagers and rural workers of access to land they could cultivate, despite evidence that they were the most productive farmers in a country constantly short of food. Drawing from a wide range of contemporary sources, Apostles of Inequality argues that such attempts, driven by a flawed faith in the wonders of capital, did little to increase agricultural productivity and instead led to a century of increasing impoverishment in rural England. Jim Handy rejects the assertions about the benefits that accompanied the transition to "improved" agriculture and details the abundant evidence for the efficiency of smallholder, peasant agriculture. He traces the development of both economic theory and government policy through the work of agricultural improver Arthur Young (1741-1820), government advisor Nassau William Senior (1790-1864), and the editors and writers of the Economist, as well as Adam Smith and Thomas Robert Malthus. Apostles of Inequality demonstrates how a fascination with capital--promoted by political economy and farmers' desires to have a labour force completely dependent on wage labour--fostered widespread destitution in rural England for over a century."-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on May 11, 2022) SUBJECT Economist (London, England : 1843) Subject Rural poor -- England -- History -- 18th century Rural poor -- England -- History -- 19th century Agriculture and state -- England -- History -- 18th century Agriculture and state -- England -- History -- 19th century HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / General. Agriculture and state Economic history Rural conditions Rural poor SUBJECT England -- Economic conditions -- 18th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85043296 England -- Economic conditions -- 19th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh88000010 England -- Rural conditions Subject England Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9781487563554 1487563558 148756354X 9781487563547

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