Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardSocialist, Communist, and Reformist Reactions to Industrialization

Source: Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, speech to the German Reichstag, 1881

"I have set it as my goal to resolve the social question... If the state will show a little more solicitude for the workingman, then I believe that the social democrats will pipe their song in vain, and that their support will melt away as soon as the people see that the government and the parliament are genuinely concerned with improving their lot. The anxiety of the workingman regarding his livelihood in old age or in case of injury is the primary source of his susceptibility to revolutionary ideas. By providing him with a state-sponsored pension and disability insurance, we can bind him to the state and foster a spirit of conservative loyalty."

Which of the following best explains the primary historical objective of the social policies advocated by Bismarck in the passage?

  1. To mitigate class conflict and weaken the appeal of revolutionary socialist movements by establishing state-led welfare reforms.Answer
  2. B
    To transition the German Empire toward a state-controlled socialist economy aligned with Marxist principles of wealth redistribution.
  3. C
    To return the German economy to mercantilist principles by restricting industrial production and prioritizing the accumulation of gold reserves.
  4. D
    To accelerate the transition from the steam-powered textile industry of the First Industrial Revolution to the chemical and steel industries of the Second.

Answer

To mitigate class conflict and weaken the appeal of revolutionary socialist movements by establishing state-led welfare reforms.
The correct answer is correct because Chancellor Otto von Bismarck aimed to preserve the existing political and social order of the German Empire. By introducing state-sponsored social security, pensions, and accident insurance, he sought to address the immediate material grievances of industrial workers. This strategy was designed to weaken the appeal of the outlawed Social Democratic Party and prevent a socialist revolution by demonstrating that the state could look after the welfare of the working class.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus passage for the speaker's main concerns and proposed solutions.
The speaker identifies working-class anxiety about livelihoods as the main reason workers support the 'radical schemes of the Socialists' and proposes 'state-sponsored pension and disability insurance' to 'bind' the worker to the state.
Understanding the core argument is essential to identifying the primary objective of the policy.
2
Evaluate the historical context of late 19th-century Germany under Bismarck.
Germany was undergoing rapid industrialization, leading to a growing working class and the rise of socialist political parties like the SPD. The state sought ways to maintain social stability and political control.
Contextualizing the reform within the broader reactions to industrialization helps identify its defensive nature.
3
Analyze the options to find the one that matches the speaker's defensive reform goals while eliminating options that mischaracterize his motives or the economic context.
The option advocating the mitigation of class conflict and weakening of socialist appeal aligns perfectly with the text and context. Options suggesting Marxist transformation, mercantilism, or direct technological engineering of industrial phases are historically inaccurate or irrelevant to the text.
Comparing options against the evidence in the source ensures the selection of the correct, most historically accurate answer.

Key Concept

State-sponsored social reforms as a defensive reaction to industrialization and socialist movements.
Rate this question

Topics

Socialist, Communist, and Reformist Reactions to Industrialization

More questions from this topic