This book examines social policy on poverty and unemployment in Edwardian England as exemplified in the conflict of ideas between two husband-and-wife teams of social theorists: the Fabian socialists, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, and the spokespersons of the Charity Organisation Society, the philosopher Bernard Bosanquet and his wife, Helen. Based on official sources, personal papers, and primary published material, Professor McBriar gives full account of a rousing Edwardian tournament that culminated in the lengthy inquiries of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws of 1905-1909.