ABSTRACT
Bismarckian social policies enjoy considerable prestige in debates and publications about the origins of the welfare state. Historians both inside and outside Germany rank the social legislation of the 1880s as a decisive turning-point in modern social history. Bismarck's chief adviser on social questions, the Under-Secretary in the Trade Ministry, Theodor Lohmann, was also sceptical about the effectiveness of some of the new compulsory funds. He suggested the creation of arbitration courts and workers' chambers to protect the interests of the employees. The chapter suggests that the social legislation of the 1880s has been greatly overrated, that its impact was limited. It also argues that one may well wonder whether the legislation of the 1880s was only an episode in the century-long struggle of the Prussian state and establishment to come to terms with the social impact of industrialisation. The academics basically supported the idea of compulsory insurance provided that it was part of a larger social legislation package.
