According to my most respectful opinion, the German Reich government ought to follow these events and, in particular, make a start with a thorough survey of its own. Here, I would have to assume, of course, that developments in this field would be given the utmost degree of publicity. Additionally, with respect to the selection of persons to be questioned, it would be necessary to base the findings on a broad foundation and to listen to those people who are justly regarded as thorough researchers in this field. [ . . . ]
Considering all the experiences of history, it would be hopeless to want to fight a powerful idea merely with material means, and, with respect to the extremely powerful Catholic-clerical idea, there is currently only one idea that can be used as a political counterweight with any prospect of success – and that is the social idea. Thus, without claiming to anticipate events, I believe that the next phase of European history will unfold in the matrix of mutual interaction between these two ideas.
The practical measures I would propose to begin with are as follows:
1. Establishing a commission following the American example, with the purpose of
preparing and initiating legislation in this field;
2. Supplementing the questioning of experts already begun by the Ministry of Trade,
aiming at the broadest possible extension and publicity;
3. Practical action with the Institute of Factory Inspectors or – if another designation might
be more acceptable – the employment offices.
In the expansion of the latter institution, in particular, there is the possibility of establishing an organization that, in political terms, would not only be a match for the Catholic Church, but would also be superior to it. With respect to the material currents of the present day, the “social Kaiser” has a stronger position than even the “social Pope.”
[ . . . ]
At the moment, the mass of the population is wavering, unsure of the direction in which to turn. So far, the international agitation has not gained a broader basis, although here and there one can detect the intention to create opportune martyrs for it.
Where the masses turn, however, will be of crucial significance not just for politics and parliament, but also for the character of the army. The army will only be completely and permanently reliable if the workers, who make up the main contingent [of it], are won over and bound to the idea of the Reich through its very benefits and performance.
Source: Hermann Wagener, memorandum [Denkschrift] on the social question, written for Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, January 29, 1872, printed in Horst Kohl, ed., Bismarck-Jahrbuch [Bismarck Yearbook] 6 (1899), pp. 209-14.
Original German text reprinted in Ernst Schraepler, ed., Quellen zur Geschichte der sozialen Frage in Deutschland. 1871 bis zur Gegenwart [Sources on the History of the Social Question in Germany. 1871 to the Present], 3rd rev. ed. Göttingen: Muster-Schmidt, 1996, pp. 51-54.
Translation: Erwin Fink
print version
return to list
previous document