The four million Rhinelanders and Westphalians were reinforced, first, by four million Germans annexed through the North German Alliance directly, and then by six million annexed indirectly.In 1870, however, eight million southwest Germans were added, so that, in the "new monarchy," the fourteen and a half million old Prussians (all the six East Elbian provinces, among them, two million Poles) were opposed by twenty-five million who had long outgrown the old Prussian junker feudalism.So it happened that the very victories of the Prussian army displaced the entire foundation of the Prussian State edifice; the junker dominance became ever more intolerable, even for the government itself.At the same time, however, the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the workers made inevitable by the impetuous growth of industry, relegated to the background the struggle between Junkers and bourgeoisie, so that the inner social foundations of the old State suffered a complete transformation.Ever since 1840, the condition making possible the existence of the slowly rotting monarchy was the struggle between nobility and bourgeoisie, wherein the monarchy retained equilibrium.From the moment, however, when it was no more a question of protecting the nobility against the onslaught of the bourgeoisie, but of protecting all propertied classes against the onslaught of the working-class, the absolute monarchy had to turn to that form of state which was expressly devised for this specific purpose -- the Bonapartist monarchy.This change of Prussia towards Bonapartism I have discussed in another place (Woknungsfrage).What I did not stress there, and what is very important in this connection, is that this change was the greatest progress made by Prussia after 1848, which only shows how backward Prussia was in point of modern development.It is a fact that the Prussian State still was a semi-feudal State, whereas Bonapartism is, at all events, a modem form of state which presupposes the abolition of feudalism.Thus Prussia must decide to do away with its numerous remnants of feudalism, to sacrifice its junkerdom as such.This, naturally, is being done in the mildest possible form, and under the tune of the favourite melody, "Always slowly forward." An example of such "reform" work is the notorious Organisation of districts, which, removing the feudal privileges of the individual junker in relation to his estate, restores them as special privileges of the big landowners in relation to the entire district.The substance remains, it being only translated from the feudal into the bourgeois dialect.The old Prussian junker is forcibly being transformed into something akin to the English squire.He need not have offered so much resistance, because the one is just as foolish as the other.
Thus it was the peculiar feat of Prussia not only to culminate, by the end of this century, her bourgeois revolution begun in 1808-13 and continued in 1848, but to culminate it in the present form of Bonapartism.
If everything goes well, and the world remains nice and quiet, and we all become old enough, we can still perhaps live to see -- about 1900 -- the goverrunent of Prussia actually relinquishing all feudal institutions, and Prussia finally reaching a point where France stood in 1792.
Speaking positively, the abolition of feudalism means the introduction of bourgeois conditions.In the measure as the privileges of the nobility fall, legislation becomes more and more bourgeois.Here, again, we meet with the chief point at issue, the attitude of the German bourgeoisie towards the government.We have seen that the govemment is compelled to introduce these slow and petty reforms, but in its relation to the bourgeoisie, the govemment portrays these small concessions as sacrifices in favour of the bourgeoisie, as concessions yielded by the crown with difficulty and pain, and for which the bourgeoisie must, in return, yield something to he government.
The bourgeoisie, on the other hand, though quite aware of this state of affairs, allows itself to be fooled.This is the source of the tacit agreement which is the basis of all Reichstag and Chamber debates.On the one hand, the government reforms the laws at a snail pace tempo in the interests of the bourgeoisie; it removes the impediments to industry emanating from the multiplicity of small states; it creates unity of coinage, of measures and weights; it gives freedom of trade, etc.; it grants the freedom of movement; it puts the working power of Germany at the unlimited disposal of capital; it creates favourable conditions for trade and speculation.
On the other hand, the bourgeoisie leaves in the hands of the government all actual political power; it votes taxes, loans and recruits; it helps to frame au new reform laws in a way that the old police power over undesirable individuals shall remain in full force.The bourgeoisie buys its gradual social emancipation for the price of immediate renunciation of its own political power.Naturally, the motive which makes such agreement acceptable to the bourgeoisie is not the fear of the government but the fear of the proletariat.
