ABSTRACT
The tendency to explain Wilhelmine politics in terms of pre-industrial ‘relations of domination’ instead of the disposition of forces within Wilhelmine society itself is particularly marked in discussions of ‘organized capitalism’. Wilhelmine society contained the most dynamic capitalism in Europe, and it is this rather than ‘feudal’ continuities which needs our primary attention. The definition of organized capitalism they produce is purely descriptive, and though causal relations are clearly attributed to the respective phenomena, J. Kocka specifically excludes the possibility of showing how they combine at the level of politics and the state. The symposium rather leaves the impression – as Gerald Feldman argues in his contribution – that the concept of organized capitalism is just too general to be very helpful without building into the definition some concrete suggestions about the political level. Monopoly capitalism promoted an entrepreneurial ideology of company self help in the area of welfare, which worked against the adoption of more elaborate schemes by government.
