The precariousness of voluntary contributions to funds : the case of mutual assistance societies in the first wave of liberalism in relation to widows’ and orphans’ funds set up by lawyers

Abstract

The regulation of the widows’ and orphans’ fund of the bar of Valencia in 1825 was characterised both by corporate values of the Old Regime and the economic pragmatism of the Illustration; it later adapted to the individualism and commercialism of burgeoning liberalism. With regard to the treatment of widows and orphans, an adjustment was made in the light of the new liberal mentality. The subsequent reform of the mutual assistance societies was parallel to the changes that took place at trade unions and professional collegiate bodies. However, the administration treated the orphans’ and widows’ funds differently, as there were different interests at stake in each corporate body. There was competition between the exclusive interests of their individual members and the public interest to regulate a profession; the legal profession called for a direct political transformation of the system.