Join us for a panel discussion on conceptualisations of ‘the poor’ in the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, with Dr. Anna Plassart (Open University), Dr. Alexandra Ortolja-Baird (University of Portsmouth) and Dr. Niall O’Flaherty (King’s College London). Chaired by Dr. Robin Mills (St Andrews).

The problem of poverty first became a core theme of European political thought in the eighteenth century, being central to the controversies about sovereignty and representation, public and private charity, as well as questions relating to crime and punishment. Leading thinkers like the Scottish political economist Adam Smith, the French Physiocrats and the Milanese jurist Cesare Beccaria came to see the fate of the poor as a pressing political question in the middle decades of the century. The question became more urgent still in the wake of the French Revolution. The discussion will explore some of the most important contributions to these transformative discussions.

Join us in person for a panel discussion, Q&A, and drinks reception. Open to all!

Sign up here: https://buytickets.at/centreforearlymodernstudies/1183473

Schedule: 

17.30 Opening Remarks

17.45 Dr. Anna Plassart, on Montesquieu

18.10 Dr. Ben Dew

18.45 Dr. Niall O’Flaherty, on T. R. Malthus

19.10 Q&A

19.50 Refreshments in the Somerset Room