1. Definition
The term Social Question was coined in the political discussion of the 1830s (Vormärz); the German Soziale Frage antedated the French question sociale. It denoted a new perception of mass poverty and impoverished or potentially impoverished social groups whose existence and living conditions now appeared to threaten the social cohesion of society (Society [community]) and its political and moral order [2. 17]. The term is thus related to the …