Throughout the 1870’s Bismarck had followed the typically liberal economic policy of free trade. With stable economies throughout Europe it was a policy that proved extremely successful, boosting the German economy and complementing the rapid industrialization that Germany was witnessing. However with the great depression plunging Europe into recession, it was fast proving unsustainable, so in 1878 Bismarck chose to review the German position. It was over this issue that we saw a watershed in the Bismarckian tactics employed in the control of the Reichstag. We had seen a growing reliance on National Liberal support in the passing of his legislation through the Reichstag throughout the 1870’s, and worried by his own reliance on them and the pressure which they had started to put on him (for example their forcing of Bismarck to offer their leader Bennigsen a position in the Prussian cabinet) Bismarck decided that enough was enough. In 1878 he united the two conservative parties to form his Sammlung alliance (the coalition of Rye and Iron), thrusting the Liberals into the political cold, and introduced tariffs, which would protect the German economy he felt, from the evils of recession and depression. However despite the Sammlung pulling the conservative forces in Germany back onside, especially the Junkers, who now felt much more protected economically, the depression was not without consequence for Bismarck. The working classes felt the strain of depression most strongly, and felt that they were being neglected by Bismarck. His introduction of Tariffs had driven up the cost of food, and they began to vote more and more heavily for those striving most overtly for their removal, namely the Social Democrats. Bismarck had switched allegiance in parliament, rather than taking support from the Liberals, it now came from the conservatives, but as a man with no qualms about where his support came from, this is perhaps not as telling as it would appear. It is perhaps more appropriate to think of his moves in the late 1870’s as an attempt to reject liberalism, rather than an attempt to embrace conservatism. But whatever these significance of these changes, they would set a trend for the coming decade.
When reviewing Bismarckian policy it is vitally important to remember that everything he did he felt was in the national interest. He felt that introducing tariffs was in the national interest, and he felt that his retention of control of the Reichstag was in the national interest, and by strengthening the conservative parties all he was doing was stopping the Liberals becoming over-mighty and dominating the Reichstag. When he protected German agriculture it was not simply because of his own background, but because he felt a strong farming community would be vital in any future war. And because the conservatives supported the economic policy, which Bismarck chose to adopt,, is not to say that his introduction of this policy was a conservative move, they were simply the parties most keen to see the measures implemented, and hence the parties most willing to lend the policies their support.
Throughout the 1870’s Bismarck had persecuted the Catholics by promoting ‘the Kulturkampf’, in the 1880’s he identified a new evil, and the state attacked Socialism even more ruthlessly than it had Catholicism. When considering Socialism through Bismarck’s eyes one can see why, it was the antithesis of everything he stood for, strongly anti-monarchical by its very nature wholly democratic, and saw the current German system as a ‘shamocracy’. The Socialists talked the language of revolution and class-war, concepts which terrified all Germans with wealth and power, the very group with which Bismarck was most closely affiliated, and from the appointment of Puttkamer in 1879 we saw the onset of an era during which Germany became a police state for the socialists. From 1879 onwards the landed elite, magnates of industry, the military and the higher civil service came together in an attempt to crush social democracy, an attempt that was an unreserved failure. Puttkamer became to Socialists exactly what Falk had been to Catholics, little more than Bismarck’s puppet. In his role as Kulturminister for Prussia he reinforced religious tuition in schools and conservatism in universities, he removed liberalism and socialism from the civil service claiming that they were ideologically incompatible, and forced retirement on all judges seen to have liberal attitudes. Despite the fact that the SPD simply talked the language of revolution, and seemed to be willing to simply work through the current system of democracy, the concept was simply not acceptable to Bismarck. After two assassination attempts on the Kaisers life, and one on his own, Bismarck managed to have the party outlawed in 1878, to the pleasure of the conservatives, who had been pushing for this move since 1876. After the outlawing of the SPD, we saw the party galvanised into action. It became extremely organised, as it went underground, praying off the huge polarization of classes in German society. The SPD now went under the guise of many different clubs and choirs, cycling clubs and reading clubs sprang up all over the country, all devoted to the pursuing of socialist ideology. Bismarck’s attempts to make supporting the conservatives a patriotic decision were a largely unsuccessful, and the fact that he could not ban socialist candidates in Reichstag elections, only the party was a thorn in his side, and a sign that there was considerable resistance to him in the Reichstag itself. He became more and more short termist the further into his reign we look, holding single-issue Bonapartist elections to try and keep a hold of the Reichstag, and his frustration is epitomised by the fact he considered a coup d’etat several times later in his career. As a result he relies more and more heavily on the conservatives to push through his legislation, but again this was not because he himself felt a growing affiliation to them, but because his aims in the 1780’s were best served by their support.
Consideration of this period however seems to show Bismarck’s conservative reliance in a different light. Where it is possible to say for almost every occasion we see Bismarck use conservative support to pass legislation, whether that legislation be concerning tariffs or the suppression of socialism, that he was simply alienating another party, or reducing his reliance on the Liberals, or reinforcing his traditional belief in monarchy and army, eventually we must consider that coincidence and happenstance is not an adequate answer. I do not believe the 1880’s saw Bismarck become any more or less conservative, but rather that it showed exactly how conservative he was. After all, is there anything more conservative than those beliefs that he held so dear. Monarchy and army, the two institutions that are at their core utterly and undeniably conservative, and when Bismarck realised his policies were driving the workers into the hands of the socialists, he felt he needed to offer the proletariat an incentive to revert to the centre parties.
This incentive was State Socialism. A concept which appalled the SPD, they felt it was simply ‘crumbs from a rich mans table’. And saw it to be a cynical attempt to regain voter control. Whatever their views, it was the best and most comprehensive welfare scheme of any nation at this time. And though the measures were not overly generous, they set an international precedent that would be followed by the likes of Great Britain in twenty years time. Health insurance was provided to the amount of 11 marks per year, and pensioners would receive 155 marks per annum. But pacified the voters and forced those critics who regarded the chancellor as unconcerned with the masses. But again we are presented with the paradoxical nature of Bismarck, which makes him such a difficult character to sum up. Here we see him campaigning fiercely against socialists and liberals, and yet adopting their policies.
In summary I would argue that his principles have always been conservative, his belief in monarchy and military unshakeable, however he is not close minded, and his religion gives him a human touch which reflected most obviously in his introduction of State Socialism. When he utilises the Liberals in the 1870’s he is simply ensuring that the legislation he wants is passed, and his turning to the Conservatives in the 1880’s is not because of a sudden change in ideology, but simply a belief that they will better serve his interests and help him keep a grip on the Reichstag later on in his reign, though the means by which he hopes to achieve his ends may change, those ends never do.
