Welfare systems are increasingly returning to 19th century ideas in a bid to encourage individuals to participate in thelabour market

Christina May places current debates on welfare reform within their historical context. Looking back to approaches from the 19th century, she concludes that we are now witnessing a return to the ideas of the past, where the key aim of a welfare system was to make individuals fit to participate in the labour market, rather than to aid the victims of imperfect social structures.