The Problem of Mental Deficiency
Eugenics, Democracy, and Social Policy in Britain, c.1870-1959
Series: Oxford Historical Monographs;
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89 171 Ft
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Product details:
- Publisher OUP Oxford
- Date of Publication 12 March 1998
- ISBN 9780198206927
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages360 pages
- Size 224x145x24 mm
- Weight 563 g
- Language English 0
Categories
Short description:
This is the first full study of the great alarm about `mental defectives' in Britain between 1870 and 1959, and the resulting policies of segregation, community care, and sexual sterilization. Mathew Thomson examines the origins of these policies in central government and shows how they were put into practice by health professionals and local authorities. He reveals how policy-makers avoided extremist measures such as compulsory sterilization (introduced in Germany and parts of the US during this period), not for reasons of liberal principle but because of the socially conservative and anti-interventionist nature of British political culture.
MoreLong description:
This is the first detailed assessment of the development and implementation of social policy to deal with the problem of the `mentally deficient' in Britain between 1870 and 1959. Mathew Thomson analyses all the factors involved in the policy-making process, beginning with the politics of the legislature and showing how the demands of central government were interpreted by local authorities, resulting in a wide and varied distribution of medical, institutional, and community care in different parts of the country. The efforts of health professionals, voluntary organizations and the families themselves are considered, alongside questions about the influence of changing concepts of class, gender, and citizenship. The author queries the belief that the policy of segregation was largely unsuccessful, and reveals a hitherto unrecognized system of care in the community. He reframes our understanding of the campaign for sterilization and examines why British policy-makers avoided extremist measures such as the compulsory sterilization introduced in Germany and parts of the US during this period. Thomson shows that the problem of mental deficiency cannot be understood simply in terms of eugenics but must also be considered as part of the process of adjusting to democracy in the twentieth century.
This text clearly stands as the most significant account to-date of the social policies developed for those labelled as mentally and socially deficient.
