ISBN:
9780226251738
Language:
English
Pages:
1 Online-Ressource
,
Illustrations (black and white)
DDC:
306.0944
Keywords:
Geschichte 1800-
;
Sozialpolitik
;
Soziale Situation
;
Bedürfnis
;
Basic needs History 19th century
;
Basic needs History 20th century
;
Frankreich
;
France Social conditions 19th century
;
France Social conditions 20th century
Abstract:
What constitutes a need? Who gets to decide what people do or do not need? In modern France, scientists, both amateur and professional, were engaged in defining and measuring human needs. These scientists did not trust in a providential economy to distribute the fruits of labour and uphold the social order. Rather, they believed that social organisation should be directed according to scientific principles. They grounded their study of human needs on quantifiable foundations: agricultural and physiological experiments, demographic studies, and statistics. The result was the concept of the 'vital minimum' - the living wage, a measure of physical and social needs. In this book, Dana Simmons traces the history of this concept, revealing the intersections between technologies of measurement, such as calorimeters and social surveys, and technologies of wages and welfare.
Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index
DOI:
10.7208/chicago/9780226251738.001.0001/upso-9780226251561
URL:
http://chicago.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7208/chicago/9780226251738.001.0001/upso-9780226251561
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