The Deserving and the Undeserving Poor

The human race has an all-consuming need to categorise fellow humans, measuring their "worth" against an agreed set of values and principles.
Unfortunately this human need has been at the root of racism, religious intolerance, snobbery and discrimination of all kinds - ALL of which provides false "value" to those on the "right side" and unnecessary pain to everyone else.

The Model Workhouse at Southwell.  Picture by Greendead

Take, for example, the model workhouse of the 19th Century created by the Southwell Union of parishes and used as a pattern for workhouses throughout the UK.  The principle that the worthy clerics and burghers of Southwell were charged with was simple: Each parish had the duty to provide for its own poor.  Southwell did so by providing a place where punishment for being poor was balanced with sympathy and care for the old and infirm by categorising inmates as follows:

Males / Females / Children: All separated on entry and only mothers could see children on Sundays if both had been "good".
Old and Infirm / Idle and indolent (i.e of healthy body but just having decided to sponge off the Parish rather than earn money).  The old had days of rest but the idle were given boring repetitive tasks as a deterrent to sloth.

Of course, we can see parallels in our psyche and systems today but it is the judgement of the "elders and betters" that I want to focus on - The Mr Bumbles, Clerics and appointed clerks in each Parish.

But there's no time to elaborate here, I've got to go and mark some exams and then prepare for the exam board with my academic colleagues so that we can categorise another generation of students...