Immigration and laissez-faire

Interesting, Bogart, I have only a vague memory of this - recall a discussion with the author of this book, think this was discussed in his book, briefly, actually. When were you there? Any further info on this migration?

(Ziblatt's book is a great little book, by the way, Bogart. Tight argument, very compelling, on a rarely-made comparative study - German and Italian nation-state development; Germany as a federal model, Italy as a "unitary" model. I'd guess you'd enjoy it quite a bit).

 

I was over there on a break from college just before the Berlin Wall came down. I remember reading a book complaining about the Silesian Pole immigration just before WW1. The complaints were chiefly that the Poles working in the Ruhr were driving up the price of agricultural land in Silesia by sending money home to purchase land.

 

Very interesting. I'd love to see more, particularly as the social coalitions - Bismarck's "iron and rye" of Junkers and industrialists, others that followed - were so important in the leadup to the war.

 

150,000 inhabitants of the Ruhr Area (out of roughly 5 millions) are of Polish descent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrpolen

Bismarck was instrumental in maintaining peace. The Franco-Russian Alliance that was concluded after Bismarck resigned made WW1 inevitable.

 

Agreed. I lay it at his idiot emperor's feet, although I think it would have come eventually regardless. The powers were playing in colonial fields for which there was only a zero-sum game, and Germany, as a unified state, sludged up the works - the state system that depended on a Germany of broken principalities as bargaining chips was destroyed in 1864-71, I'd say.