The educational initiative of Ferrante Aporti stems from a similar belief: education begins right from kindergarten. Writing to James Savarese, from Naples, Aporti says: “The poverty of people, as you yourself have pointed out with supportive proof, stems from the lack of education which renders a human being 'lazy' and 'imprudent'. Poverty will be removed by means of a public and well-organised education program offered people from childhood onwards within institutions created for this purpose. Beggary which is the source of so many other vices for both sexes, is a shameful vice stemming from poverty, and it was completely got rid of through the efficient means of schools for children, repeating principles such as these day after day. A human being is born to work; every person should provide for his own livelihood, with his own work, and should not live off the fruit of someone else’s work. This is what is demanded by the principles of natural justice and religion”. 42
Finally, C. Cattaneo, a moderate Progressive, offers a synthesis which contains political, social and educational features, all seen from a perspective which is positively ‘preventive’ and social welfare- minded. Cattaneo analyses the different positions held by theorists and legislators about the causes of and possible remedies for misery and beggary. His personal option is for foresight, prevention and social welfare.
In the midst of all these discordant debates, some clearer truths arise. The following truths undoubtedly seem useful: the education of the poor; the removal of all kinds of beggary; the foundation of ‘savings banks’ and of ‘mutual aid societies’; deductions from employees salaries which would be given back later on in pension form, and other societies of similar nature. All of this helps a private person to provide for himself, saving the means needed for an honorable retirement. 43
REMARK: In reference to problems of the poor, we might recall the terms 'repressive' and 'preventive' as used by the Anglican ecclesiastic, Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834). These terms are found in his famous work “Essay on the principle of population as it affects the future improvement of society”.44
According to Malthus, poverty is destined to grow because the production of subsistence means is slower than population growth. The only possible way for us to improve upon the condition of the poor is “to lower the population to the level of the poor”.45 Now, the obstacles which constantly react more or less forcefully with every society and keep the population at the subsistence level can be reduced to two main categories: some are preventive, others are repressive.46 Repressive obstacles are wars, famine, plagues and the many effects of misery and vice. The main obstacle or preventive means is “moral restraint, which is to say postponing marriage, abandoning the idea of marriage if someone is not sure that he can support his offspring, or sexual voluntary continence and keeping the virtue of chastity”.47
miglioramento de’ costumi nella classe de’ lavoranti [especially item 5 Del contentarsi delle classi laboriose; and item
8 Del lavoro considerato come mezzo di educazione]; Chap. 6. Influenza della religione sulla morale e sul benessere
della classe laboriosa.
42 Letter, 5th April 1842, in A Gambaro, Ferrante Aporti e gli asili del Risorgimento, 2, (Turin: Grafica Piemontese
1937), 479-480
43 C. Cattaneo, Della beneficenza pubblica, in Opere edite ed inedite by Carlo Cattaneo, . 5 Scritti di economia pubblica,
. 2, (Florence:Le Monnier 1988), 305
44 The first edition is 1798, but the following are authoritative, beginning from an edition in 1803, completely re-worked,
followed by other editions as far as the sixth in 1826.
45 Th. R. Malthus, Saggio sul prinipio di popolazione, (Turin:, Utet 1949), Book 4. Chap. 3, 464
46 Th. R. Malthus, Saggio sul prinipio di popolazione, (Turin: Utet 1949), Book I. Chap. 2, 9
47 Cf. Th R. Malthus, Saggio sul principio di popolazione, 9-11, 452, 454, 460. Chapters I and 2 of Book 4 tend to show
the possibility, reasonableness and religious value of moral restraint: Della restrizione morale e del nostro dovere di
praticare questa virtù (445-452) and Effetti della restrizione morale sulla società. 453-459).