ABSTRACT
From the eighteenth century onwards, the effect of German agriculture's transition to capitalism on the social position of different groups in rural society, and the relationship between Agrarian capitalism and class formation have received very uneven treatment in the literature. Pauperism, the inability of people to meet their basic needs no matter how hard they worked, shaped the lives of broad sectors of the population during the transition from a feudal agrarian society to a capitalist industrial economy. The traditional economy of the Heuerlinge consisted of spinning or weaving, day labour and a family farm; its complex nature had guaranteed the family a certain amount of independence. Regional differences in prevailing forms of petty crime are also apparent in the penalties for wood theft. The condition and experiences of the lower stratum in rural class society led to that relative diffidence of the industrial working class emphasized by Barrington Moore.
