Rev Dr Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), eminent churchman and political economist, was a keen social reformer and played an instrumental role in the voluntary principle in Scottish poor relief during the changes associated with industrialization and urbanization of the early nineteenth century.
Chalmers was also pioneer of a comprehensive vision of society so organized that, in the midst of the changes of his age, it would recover a sense of individual and communal responsibility. The selections from his writings included in this set illustrate both his role as a social theorist and a practical exponent of innovative programmes of social reform.