The Blameless and the Feckless: The Enduring Stereotypes of the Deserving and Undeserving Poor in Britain’s Past and Present

Since the onset of the Early Modern era, which unleashed forces of unprecedented economic growth while also engendering considerable social instability, Britain has faced increased risks of mass poverty. Originally understood as a natural social condition and mostly spared from judgment, poverty gradually began to be seen as a social problem and a financial burden as the state assumed the role of the provider of poor relief in the form of so-called Poor Laws. To determine eligibility while keeping relief costs manageable, the categories of the deserving and undeserving poor were developed, based on the claimants’ ability and willingness to work. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this categorization took on strongly moralizing overtones, with poverty seen as individual moral failure rather than the result of systemic forces. Combining the historical approach with Critical Discourse Analysis, the article examines the remarkable resilience of the deserving-undeserving narrative in Britain’s public debate and policymaking across time. It demonstrates that the tendency to blame the poor for their plight has not disappeared but continues taking on new forms as political actors seek to justify ongoing or planned social spending cuts.