The Christian and Civic Economy of Large Towns

This influential three-volume work (1821–6) by the Scottish churchman and social reformer Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847) records his experiences and theories of Christian doctrine as applied to education, social care, charity and self-help in an industrial society. He focuses in particular on the importance of localism over government paternalism.

This three-volume study by the Scottish churchman and social reformer Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847) is a revealing work of Christian morality as applied to urban economic theory. Having moved to Glasgow in 1815, Chalmers was given a free hand in 1819 for an experiment in urban ministry at the new parish of St John's in the poorest district of the city. His reforms improved education and reduced the need for institutional poor relief by dividing the area into manageable 'proportions' that were closely looked after by parish elders and deacons, reviving a traditional community spirit and promoting self-help. Volume 3, published in 1826, was written after Chalmers left St John's to become Chair of Moral Philosophy at St Andrew's. It focuses on the relationship between labour, wages and poor relief, discussing how labouring classes should not depend upon welfare and wages to relieve want, but rather practise self-help to reform their condition from below.