In 1834, the Speenhamland system was replaced by the New Poor Law, which confined relief to workhouses, under conditions sufficiently odious to force people back into the labour market.
The NCH may indeed prove "odious", as Eagleton thinks; if it further erodes the already fragile condition of UK humanities – and their availability to any able student regardless of financial means – I will oppose it as fiercely as anyone.
But they would still leave more people without insurance — and allow insurers to resume the odious practice of cherry-picking customers by withholding coverage for costly conditions.
What was on the table was a good step forward for about 20 countries, but it fell well short of our demands, failing to mention many of the world's most indebted countries, the conditions attached to relief, or the importance of dealing systematically with odious debt.
It bans the odious practice of denying your care or charging you more for having a pre-existing condition.
Generalisations are odious.
