ABSTRACT
Bismarck himself took an active and decisive part in the 'carrot and stick' policy: whether one views him as a great statesman or a manipulator of genius, workers' insurance is certainly considered to be his achievement. The attitudes of German industrialists towards Bismarck's workers' insurance were sharply divided. It is possible to make a rough distinction between two groupings: opponents and supporters of state social insurance. Bismarck and the leaders of heavy industry were agreed that repressive policies towards the Social Democratic workers' movement should be followed by positive measures. But neither 'free' contracts of employment nor the authority of the employer within his firm, nor the existing right of coalition and the authority of the state were to form part of these. Thus only a state insurance scheme which provided a paternalist blend of welfare and disciplinary elements could be envisaged.
