The Political Calculus of Capital

Banking and the Business Class in Prussia, 1848–1856

Bibliographic Data

ID9645320
AuthorsJames M Brophy (0000-0001-8049-6875, University of Delaware, corresponding author)
Year1992
Volume25
Issue2
Pages149-176
Publication date1992-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCentral European History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-9389 • E-ISSN: 1569-1616
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0008938900020306
OpenAlexW2041393559
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited13

The emergence of commercial investment banks after the revolution of 1848 was an institutional breakthrough for modern capitalism and one of the central factors in the accelerated development of the Industrial Revolution in Germany between 1848 and 1871. The accumulation and mobilization of capital in concentrated and accessible forms was indispensable for underking such large-scale projects as railroads, coal mines, and iron works. Long-term promotional loans that enabled entrepreneurs to start up new business became a self-evident necessity in the growth of modern business. As one bank director noted, “capital, more than water, steam, or electricity, put the machines into motion.”

Ancient history · Business · Capital (architecture · Capitalism · Economic system · Economics · Economy · Electricity · Geography · Industrial Revolution · Investment (military · Market economy · Political science · Politics · Scale (ratio · Engineering · European Political History Analysis · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law

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