Disputed quantification. Criticisms of a statistical survey on the causes of poverty in post-War Switzerland

By examining the controversies that arose from a social survey conducted shortly after the Second World War in Switzerland, this paper shows how different interpretations of the causes of poverty coexisted in the public assistance sector. In 1946, the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Assistance organised a statistical survey on the “causes of poverty” and asked municipal public assistance authorities to classify each welfare case according to one of the causes of poverty. In a process of expansion of the welfare state, some officials expected this survey to provide arguments to prove to the public the importance of public assistance in the post-War period. However, these hopes were dashed by a controversy fuelled by a number of criticisms. This paper examines these criticisms and traces back their historical origins, thereby contributing to a historical sociology of the science of public assistance.