ABSTRACT
The growth of industry in Germany during the forty-three years from the inauguration of the Empire to the outbreak of the Great War was extraordinarily rapid, and presented certain features which were new. In England and America, industrialism was a haphazard affair, created by individual enterprise. In England until 1846, and in America until 1861, the government was more favourable to agriculture than to industry. The principle of laisser faire led to an absence of central direction as regards economic life: it was thought that the most profitable enterprises were the most socially beneficial, and that enlightened selfishness was a better guide than governmental interference.
