Schmoller claimed that the basic principle of social reform was acontemporary version of Aristotelian “justice”. On the onehand Schmoller defends the necessity for social reform…
Abstract
Schmoller claimed that the basic principle of social reform was a contemporary version of Aristotelian “justice”. On the one hand Schmoller defends the necessity for social reform against conservative attacks whilst at the same time denying the legitimacy of Socialist demands for income distribution. The Schmoller approach to justice is re‐examined not only as an important contribution to the history of economics, but of surprising contemporary relevancy.
Details
Keywords
IReheis' observations claim the following essentials as Schmoller's points of view:
The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the development of industrial relations (IR) in Germany since the end of the Second World War and discusses the current challenges…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the development of industrial relations (IR) in Germany since the end of the Second World War and discusses the current challenges posed by economic globalisation und European integration.
Design/methodology/approach
Combining a political economy, identifying Germany as a coordinated market economy (social market economy), and actor-centred historical institutionalism approach, outlining the formation and strategies of the main social actors within a particular institutional setting, the paper draws on the broad range of research on IR in Germany and its theoretical debates, including own research in the field.
Findings
The legacy of the key institutional settings in the post-war era – primarily the social market economy, co-determination at supervisory boards, works councils and sector-based non-ideological unions with their analogously organised employer counterparts, as well as the dual system of interest representation – has shaped the German IR and still underlie the bargaining processes and joint learning processes although trade unions and employers’ associations have been weakened because of loss of membership. In consequence the coverage scope of collective agreements is now somewhat reduced. Despite being declared dead many times, the “German model” of a “conflictual partnership” of capital and labour has survived many turbulent changes affecting it to the core.
Originality/value
The paper presents an original, theoretical informed reconstruction of the German IR and allows an understanding of the current institutional changes and challenges in the light of historical legacies. Additionally the theoretical debates on path dependence and learning processes of collectivities are enriched through its application to the German case.