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But the British ruling class, in its flexible and informal way, was in a better position than its French counterpart to adapt to demands for social betterment – to bend rather than break in the winds of change.
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The Georgian state operated in a peculiarly piecemeal way. There were laws to protect the poor, but no real safety net to catch them when they fell into destitution. The police force hadn't yet been established, but penalties for crime grew increasingly draconian as the 18th century progressed. The fashionable rich cried sentimental tears for helpless children, but rejected the mothers who gave birth to them.
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Part of the problem was that towns and cities had mushroomed but without any mechanism for political representation. Encouraged by the revolution that had thrown the aristocracy out of power in France, radical thinkers such as Tom Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft agitated for an end to inequality and exploitation. Hundreds of reform societies were also set up. However, the Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800 made it illegal for workers to organise themselves into unions to fight for higher wages or shorter hours.
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