Causes of Poverty in England - Essay Example

The paper tells about the time when foreign colonization and the establishment of colonies to satiate imperialistic interests became the priority of Britain.

It was in the late 1880s, that the economists came up with the fact that about one-third of London was below the ‘poverty line’. This was when the awareness of the fact that poverty existed in Britain came to light. The main causes for this poverty are elucidated below:

Firstly, Britain, in her pursuit to retain her imperialistic power status, began concentrating completely on colonization. The result of this turned out to be that the socio-economic divide became wider in the country. While the British looked overseas for exploitation of their imperialistic interests, the working class in Britain suffered in the bargain, due to lack of any economic measures for them.

The class-bound society did not permit infiltration and this social structure was largely responsible for an impoverished condition of the working classes. One could not work one’s way to the top and things began to stagnate for the working class. This led to workers' unions and other activities that recognized the poverty that existed in the lower strata of British society. It also led to an increase in violence in the society. “The ‘cultural grammar’ of any society provides numerous opportunities to breach social rules” (Violence and Crime in Nineteenth Century England: The Shadow of our Refinement, J. Carter Wood, Routledge; 1 edition (June 17, 2004)

The distribution of resources was largely unequal and the inequality of income made the situation all the more worse. While countries like Germany and the United States possessed fast-paced developing industries and an abundance of natural resources yet to be exploited, Britain had none of these and had to look overseas for these resources. This worsened the situation.

The threat of an upcoming war that engulfed numerous countries of the world, meant that Britain had to get her war strategies and preparation right. This in turn meant a huge amount of expenditure, which is another reason that led to the neglect of a portion of the society, that remains impoverished.

It was later that the Government recognized these facts and to appease the dissatisfied working class, introduced welfare reforms and wage hikes. “Amid fears of declining relative international position and a possibly ‘degenerating’ race, the ameliorative social policy became a major political issue, especially after the Anglo-Boer war debacle.” (Gender, Health, and Welfare, Anne Digby, Routledge; first edition, March 27, 1996). Thus, these causes led to the existence of poverty in a section of British society.