Factory Acts
Paternalist conservatism has its origins in the industrial revolution, which had caused widespread inequality, poverty and social discontent. In Britain, Tory politicians such as Richard Oastler, Michael Thomas Sadler and Lord Shaftesbury combined their elitist responsibility and a strong humanitarian element with their involvement on the Factory Acts. Critical of individualism and classical economics, they also disliked the 1834 New Poor Law and believed in the role of the state in guaranteeing decent housing, working conditions, wages and treatment of the poor.