From modest beginnings in the systematic analysis of social insurance
programs of advanced, industrialized countries, the scope of social policy
studies has expanded to encompass myriad programs that seek to
mitigate potential risks to employment, income, and economic security.1
At the same time, historical interest on policy development has extended
back further in time to contextualize the otherwise excessive concentration
on social policy developments of the twentieth century.2 Yet, as the
boundaries of epistemology broaden, there remains a curious tendency
among policy historians to maintain that what they are studying are the
origins of modern social policies.3 Perhaps this focus on modernity is the
outgrowth of a perceived need to have such research remain relevant to
contemporary social policy debates. Whatever the reason, it does raise the
question—What makes a social policy modern?4 To assume that particular
social policies are modern suggests that there may be social policies that are
not. Do there indeed exist social policies that might be thought of as premodern?
If so, do such premodern social policies differ from modern ones
not only in terms of particular historical epochs but also in terms of more
-substantive distinctions?