The Political Establishment Succeeded in Maintaining the Political Status Quo Through a Policy .Docx Uploaded Successfully
‘The political establishment succeeded in maintaining the political status quo through a policy of moderate reform’ How far do you agree with this judgement?
The political establishment in Germany succeeded in maintaining the political status quo through more than just the policy of moderate reform, I would argue. Certainly the policy of moderate reform helped placate and divide socialists and liberals, the groups demanding social and constitutional change, to an extent. However, it is clear that the inflexible constitution itself that kept the ultimate power always in the Kaiser’s hands succeeded in maintaining the political status quo to a much further extent. The nationalism and patriotism upholding the Kaiser’s constitutional powers were very significant, as the vast majority of the German population and the breadth of the political nation valued the Kaiser, so he did not face any serious challenges in this period. This nationalism and patriotism was particularly felt by the traditional elites, who the constitution favoured, and pressed for nationalist foreign policy to unite against threats to the status quo, which did soak up a lot of the tensions of the period. It should also be noted despite this attempt to present a united front against threats to the status quo, parties looking after sectional interests meant that a disunity of the parties in the Reichstag did little for the cause of significant political modernisation, unable to work together to make any coherent challenges.
The policy of moderate reform satiated socialist demand for social reform and kept the liberals divided, thus muting the demand for constitutional reform. The Old Age and Invalidity Law amendments and extensions of 1899 and 1900, amendment of the Sickness Insurance Law of 1903 and subsequent Imperial Insurance Code of 1911 that amended and extended all workers’ insurance provisions, and the 1908 law to reduce hours of factory work show that piecemeal social reform was being given
The political establishment in Germany succeeded in maintaining the political status quo through more than just the policy of moderate reform, I would argue. Certainly the policy of moderate reform helped placate and divide socialists and liberals, the groups demanding social and constitutional change, to an extent. However, it is clear that the inflexible constitution itself that kept the ultimate power always in the Kaiser’s hands succeeded in maintaining the political status quo to a much further extent. The nationalism and patriotism upholding the Kaiser’s constitutional powers were very significant, as the vast majority of the German population and the breadth of the political nation valued the Kaiser, so he did not face any serious challenges in this period. This nationalism and patriotism was particularly felt by the traditional elites, who the constitution favoured, and pressed for nationalist foreign policy to unite against threats to the status quo, which did soak up a lot of the tensions of the period. It should also be noted despite this attempt to present a united front against threats to the status quo, parties looking after sectional interests meant that a disunity of the parties in the Reichstag did little for the cause of significant political modernisation, unable to work together to make any coherent challenges.
The policy of moderate reform satiated socialist demand for social reform and kept the liberals divided, thus muting the demand for constitutional reform. The Old Age and Invalidity Law amendments and extensions of 1899 and 1900, amendment of the Sickness Insurance Law of 1903 and subsequent Imperial Insurance Code of 1911 that amended and extended all workers’ insurance provisions, and the 1908 law to reduce hours of factory work show that piecemeal social reform was being given