Social Question and Role of the State in Belgium in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

The aim of the essay is to analyse how the role of the State experienced a marked expansion in Belgium in the last decades of the 19th century. In particular, some key themes of public interventionism will be addressed, such as the strengthening of communication routes, education, border defense, administration of justice, and insurance for workers. Attention will also be paid to the development of economic policy in Brussels where, as in other countries, the two historic parties, Catholic and Liberal, competed with the growing influence of the socialist movement.