Download or read book Poor Law to Poverty Program written by Samuel Mencher and published by University of Pittsburgh Pre. This book was released on 2010-11-23 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The welfare state is a pervasive and controversial aspect of contemporary society. Samuel Mencher provides a historical and philosophical background on the growth of welfare policy through its sources, concepts, and specific programs. He covers a period from the English Poor Law of the sixteenth century through contemporary times-viewing changing attitudes toward poverty, new concepts on the nature of man and the influence of scientific thought-and also discusses mercantilism, laissez-faire, utilitarianism, liberalism, socialism, romanticism, social Darwinism, and modern capitalism as major influences on the growth of economic security policy.