Concluding Remarks

Abstract

Was poverty less in 1960 than 1900? There are compelling reasons to believe so. Average weekly earnings increased nearly tenfold between 1900 and 1960, double the increase in consumer prices, and the state had taken considerable responsibility for citizens’ welfare by the latter date.⁷⁷¹ Of course, this conclusion implies that the term ‘poverty’ equates with the inability of individuals or families to attain certain basic needs. Once the definition of poverty moves away from this narrow definition, it is not as obvious that poverty was less in 1960 than it had been in 1900, though I would wish to support this contention as well.