Overview
- Discusses the ideas of key historical figures including Plato, Aristotle, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill
- Documents an alternative and almost totally ignored discourse of leisure
- Traces the development of social and philosophical thinking on leisure
Part of the book series: New Directions in Welfare History (NDWH)
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About this book
Tracing the evolution of social thought on leisure in Britain from the industrial revolution to the present day, this book documents an alternative and almost totally ignored discourse of leisure as a field of welfare. Investigating evolving understandings of leisure in social philosophy, the nascent social sciences and welfare economics, it explores the ways in which leisure became a field of individual and social welfare in terms of personal growth, cultural democracy and social citizenship. While the social philosophy of ancient Athens remained a reference point, new modern meanings of leisure were forged in the intellectual and political cross-currents of late Victorian and Edwardian political economy, the 'new' liberalism and social ethics. In terms of welfare economics, the book's pivotal figure is John Hobson, a self-declared economic heretic, who adopted Ruskin's idea of intrinsic value as the basis of a new political economy in which leisure would be crucial to individual and social well-being. Providing a unique contribution to the historiography of leisure and welfare and to current debate around wellbeing and work, this is a timely and interdisciplinary book.
Keywords
- Leisure
- Social welfare
- Policy
- Citizenship
- Philosophy
- History of ideas
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Robert Snape is Emeritus Professor of Cultural History at the University of Bolton, UK. He has taught leisure studies and leisure history in UK Higher Education institutions for over thirty years. From 2001 to 2007, Robert was the Secretary of the Leisure Studies Association and from 2013 to 2017, Chair of the Association. He has published extensively in the history of leisure.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Leisure and Welfare in Britain from the Industrial Revolution to the Second World War
Book Subtitle: Welfare Economics for a Post-work Society
Authors: Robert Snape
Series Title: New Directions in Welfare History
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-12123-4Due: 22 September 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-12124-1Due: 22 September 2024
Series ISSN: 2730-7662
Series E-ISSN: 2730-7670
Edition Number: 1