ABSTRACT
Of the two sides of the social question whose transformations we will explore, that of social assistance can least be said to have enjoyed a distinctive history. It is organized according to formal characteristics whose equivalents will undoubtedly be found in every historical society. “To assist” includes an extraordinarily diverse group of practices, which are inscribed in a common structure determined both by the existence of certain categories of disadvantaged populations and by the necessity of caring for them. In the first place, then, a tentative effort must be made to bring to light those characteristics that compose the very essence of assistance.
