ABSTRACT
The concept of the Social Market Economy In the period of reconstruction, ideas on the economic order of a future West German state differed widely. In 1947 there was a widespread consensus that relying on self-regulatory market forces and the self-responsibility of the individual would not provide a remedy for the current economic and social problems. The consequence of unpleasant experiences with “black markets” and the dependence of many citizens on public assistance led many politicians to the conviction that a speedy economic reconstruction and an even distribution of proceeds and burdens could only be achieved by government control of the economy.1 Not only the Social Democrats but also the Christian Democratic Party in its Ahlen Programme of February 1947 opted for a nationalisation of “enterprises of monopoly character” like the coal and iron industries. At that time many CDU members were convinced that private capitalism had failed and that the nationalisation of key economic sectors would be more conducive to general welfare. In Hesse the state assembly adopted a constitution containing a nationalisation clause.2
