Regulating the social : the welfare state and local politics in imperial Germany / George Steinmetz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Steinmetz, George, 1957-

Series:

Princeton studies in culture/power/history.

Princeton studies in culture/power/history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public welfare--Germany--History--19th century.

Public welfare.

Germany--Social conditions--1871-1918.

Germany.

Germany--Social policy.

Germany--Politics and government--1871-1918.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (393 pages)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1993.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Why does the welfare state develop so unevenly across countries, regions, and localities? What accounts for the exclusions and disciplinary features of social programs? How are elite and popular conceptions of social reality related to welfare policies? George Steinmetz approaches these and other issues by exploring the complex origins and development of local and national social policies in nineteenth-century Germany. Generally regarded as the birthplace of the modern welfare state, Germany experimented with a wide variety of social programs before 1914, including the national social insurance legislation of the 1880's, the "Elberfeld" system of poor relief, protocorporatist policies, and modern forms of social work. Imperial Germany offers a particularly useful context in which to compare different programs at various levels of government. Looking at changes in welfare policy over the course of the nineteenth century, differences between state and municipal interventions, and intercity variations in policy, Steinmetz develops an account that focuses on the specific constraints on local and national policymakers and the different ways of imagining the "social question." Whereas certain aspects of the pre-1914 welfare state reinforced social divisions and even foreshadowed aspects of the Nazi regime, other dimensions actually helped to relieve sickness, poverty, and unemployment. Steinmetz explores the conditions that led to both the positive and the objectionable features of social policy. The explanation draws on statist, Marxist, and social democratic perspectives and on theories of gender and culture.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABBREVIATIONS

MAP OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE, 1871-1914

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE: SOCIAL THEORY, SOCIAL POLICY, AND THE STATE

PART TWO: THE PRUSSIAN-GERMAN STATE AND ITS SOCIAL POLICY

PART THREE: THE LOCAL STATE AND ITS SOCIAL POLICIES

APPENDIX. Table of Complete Regression Models for Poor-Relief Spending and Unemployment Insurance: German Cities

NOTES

REFERENCES

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [309]-367) and index.

ISBN:

9786612751738

9781400807642

1400807646

9781282751736

1282751735

9781400820962

1400820960

9781400813506

1400813506

OCLC:

705526947