The Subsistence Production Societies

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The Subsistence Production Societies (German about the subsistence -Gemeinschaften in short SPS ) were produced a project that various in-house products and for that hired the unemployed. It existed in the 1930s at two locations in Cwmavon in South Wales and in Up Holland near Wigan in England . The project was headed by Peter Scott and the An Order of Friends community he founded and which emerged from the Quakers .

The employed unemployed received no cash payments as wages, but could take the products back home with them. The project was heavily criticized from various sides, but found several supporters , including Labor Minister Ernest Brown .

background

After the end of World War I , the UK experienced a major recession for a variety of reasons . This has resulted in numerous company closings and layoffs in the Welsh basic industries , for example . The government did little; however, it was possible to get government funds through National Insurance if means could be presented. This evidence severely limited the receipt of funds and was therefore often criticized, as well as on other points such as regionally different standards. Funds have also been cut over the years. For the uninsured, there were also funds from the so-called poor law , which, however, was frowned upon by the population, also because one ran the risk of being sent to a poor house . Help was provided by a number of aid initiatives from various organizations. Among the major initiatives to create paid work included, for example the so-called Brynmawr Experiment in Welsh Brynmawr that of a Quaker was led group to Peter Scott.

history

Peter Scott distanced himself from the Quakers in the mid-1930s and founded the An Order of Friends community in 1934 , which he made a society in 1936 . The so-called An Order Holdings Limited became the new parent company of the Brynmawr experiment. During this time, Peter Scott received an inquiry from the British government as to whether he would be willing to set up five companies with 500 employees each across the country with the appropriate subsidies. Scott declined the request and the associated financial support as it would have been overwhelming for him. A short time later, however, he received financial help of £ 30,000 from William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield , an entrepreneur ( Morris Motor Company ) and philanthropist (including: Nuffield College ). With this financial aid, Scott was able to realize two of these projects. One SPS was established in Up Holland near Wigan in 1934 with several offices in Lancashire and financial support from the Nuffield Trust , the other in 1935 in the small village of Cwmavon south of Blaenavon and west of Brynmawr . The latter SPS established a branch in Brynmawr in 1936. The SPS were part of the corporate structure of An Order Holdings Limited . After a restructuring, the two SPS had become subsidiaries of An Order Holdings Limited , just like Order Holdings Ltd , which in turn included Subsistence Production Societies, Ltd. as a subsidiary. However, the SPS assesses Pamela Manasseh as a separate topic and therefore not part of the Brynmawr experiment, even if Brynmawr benefited from the SPS through the production of seeds and fertilizer. Manasseh sees the strict separation of the two topics in An Order as an argument for this . In June 1939 at least the SPS in Cwmavon was closed.

purpose

Secretary of Labor Ernest Brown (created 1940)

The Wiliam family of authors assess the SPS as a further developed version of Scott's utopias. These utopias included the formation of an independent community of people by moving families to the countryside outside of settlements and building a community there with crafts as the most important element, because " capitalism would fail." In this community, cars should be banned and "Actually" among other things, various types of betting and games of chance as well as beer and tobacco "lose influence". The PLC in Cwmavon was set up as a "universal factory". It consisted of a wide variety of crafts such as weaving , tailoring , baking and furniture making, as well as livestock and agriculture . There were also shoemakers , a butcher shop and people who were involved in wood processing . In 1935 200 people found work in Cwmavon, after the opening of the Brynmawr branch and the purchase of a farm and a colliery in 1936, six more people were able to work. In 1937, a good 280 families benefited from the products made. In 2020, Steve Wyler put the number of workers in both plants at a total of 900 workers. The workers remained as recipients of the unemployment benefits, as they did not receive any financial means as wages from the SPS, but could take the produced items with them as needed.

However, the SPS met with criticism from the Labor Party , the trade unions and shopkeepers, who sometimes pelted workers with stones on their way to work, while others praised this project in the highest tones. The conflict is also reflected in a request from Labor politician Ellen Wilkinson to national liberal politician Ernest Brown , at the time Minister of Labor in the Chamberlain's War Administration: While Wilkinson criticized the "ruthless waste of public money", Brown defended the project "to develop an original idea well-intentioned attempt [...]." Previously, as had replied to a question Wilkinsons that the government until the end of March 1938 around 100,000 Brown sterling on on order have paid as support for the PLC.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mary, Eurwyn and Dafydd Wiliam: The Brynmawr Furniture Makers: a Quaker initiative, 1929-40 . 1st edition. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst 2012, ISBN 978-1-84527-402-3 , p. 10 ff . Pamela Manasseh: Brynmawr experiment 1928-1940: Quaker values ​​and arts and crafts principles . University of Plymouth, Falmouth October 2009, p.
     70 ( plymouth.ac.uk [PDF; 19.5 MB ; accessed on August 3, 2020]). Pamela Manasseh:     Brynmawr experiment 1928-1940: Quaker values ​​and arts and crafts principles . University of Plymouth, Falmouth October 2009, p.
     90 ( plymouth.ac.uk [PDF; 19.5 MB ; accessed on August 3, 2020]).
  2. ↑ Mary, Eurwyn and Dafydd Wiliam: The Brynmawr Furniture Makers: a Quaker initiative, 1929-40 . 1st edition. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst 2012, ISBN 978-1-84527-402-3 , p. 14 . Pamela Manasseh: Brynmawr experiment 1928-1940: Quaker values ​​and arts and crafts principles . University of Plymouth, Falmouth October 2009, p.
     76 f . ( plymouth.ac.uk [PDF; 19.5 MB ; accessed on August 3, 2020]).
  3. ↑ Mary, Eurwyn and Dafydd Wiliam: The Brynmawr Furniture Makers: a Quaker initiative, 1929-40 . 1st edition. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst 2012, ISBN 978-1-84527-402-3 , p. 24 .
  4. ↑ Mary, Eurwyn and Dafydd Wiliam: The Brynmawr Furniture Makers: a Quaker initiative, 1929-40 . 1st edition. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst 2012, ISBN 978-1-84527-402-3 , p. 6 .
  5. ↑ a b Pamela Manasseh: Brynmawr experiment 1928-1940: Quaker values ​​and arts and crafts principles . University of Plymouth, Falmouth October 2009, p. 107 ( plymouth.ac.uk [PDF; 19.5 MB ; accessed on August 3, 2020]).
  6. ↑ Pamela Manasseh: Brynmawr experiment 1928-1940: Quaker values ​​and arts and crafts principles . University of Plymouth, Falmouth October 2009, p. 101 ( plymouth.ac.uk [PDF; 19.5 MB ; accessed on August 3, 2020]).
  7. ^ A b c d Mary, Eurwyn and Dafydd Wiliam: The Brynmawr Furniture Makers: a Quaker initiative, 1929-40 . 1st edition. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst 2012, ISBN 978-1-84527-402-3 , p. 47 .
  8. ↑ a b c d Steve Wyler: Community responses in times of crisis . Local Trust, April 2020, p. 30th f . ( org.uk [PDF; accessed on August 21, 2020]).
  9. ↑ Mary, Eurwyn and Dafydd Wiliam: The Brynmawr Furniture Makers: a Quaker initiative, 1929-40 . 1st edition. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst 2012, ISBN 978-1-84527-402-3 , p. 48 .
  10. ↑ a b Pamela Manasseh: Brynmawr experiment 1928-1940: Quaker values ​​and arts and crafts principles . University of Plymouth, Falmouth October 2009, p. 94 ( plymouth.ac.uk [PDF; 19.5 MB ; accessed on August 3, 2020]).
  11. ^ Steve Wyler: Community responses in times of crisis . Local Trust, April 2020, p. 29 ( org.uk [PDF; accessed on August 21, 2020]).
  12. ↑ a b SUBSISTENCE PRODUCTION SOCIETY, MONMOUTHSHIRE. api.parliament.uk, accessed on August 30, 2020 .