One line of industry after another, where until recently the small manufacturers predominated, are being taken hold of by capitalistic enterprise. The competition of the capitalists among themselves compels them constantly to seek new realms to be exploited. Capital goes about “like a roaring lion seeking something to devour.” The small men are ruined, and if they do not succeed in finding some other field of activity—which is becoming increasingly difficult—they sink down into the class of wage-workers. All attempts to prevent the decline of handicraft and the middle class by means of laws and institutions that have been taken from the shelves of the past, prove useless. They may deceive one or another for a little while in regard to his true position, but soon the delusion is dispelled by the force of facts. The process of absorption of the small ones by the great ones is becoming clearly evident to all with the unrelenting force of a natural law.
In what manner the social structure of Germany has been transformed during the brief period of twenty-five years—from 1882 to 1895 and from 1895 to 1907—that may be seen by a comparison of the census figures from these years, as shown by the following table:
| Persons gainfully employed in principal calling | Increase (+) or decrease (−) since 1882 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1882 | 1895 | 1907 | ||
| Agriculture | 8,236,496 | 8,292,692 | 9,883,257 | + 1,646,761 = 19.89 |
| Industry | 6,396,465 | 8,281,220 | 11,256,254 | + 4,859,789 = 75.98 |
| Commerce and Traffic | 1,570,318 | 2,338,511 | 3,477,626 | + 1,907,308 = 121.46 |
| Domestic service | 397,582 | 432,491 | 477,695 | + 74,113 = 18.63 |
| Public service and learned professions | 1,031,147 | 1,425,961 | 1,738,530 | + 707,383 = 68.56 |
| No occupation | 1,354,486 | 2,142,808 | 3,404,983 | + 2,050,497 = 151.40 |
| Total | 18,986,494 | 22,913,683 | 30,232,345 | +11,245,851 = 53.95 |
| Persons gainfully employed including their families | Increase (+) or decrease (−) since 1882 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1882 | 1895 | 1906 | ||
| Agriculture | 19,225,455 | 18,501,307 | 17,681,176 | − 1,544,279 = 18.18 |
| Industry | 16,058,080 | 20,253,241 | 26,386,537 | +10,328,457 = 64.25 |
| Commerce and Traffic | 4,531,080 | 5,966,836 | 8,278,239 | + 3,747,159 = 82.69 |
| Domestic service | 938,294 | 886,807 | 792,748 | − 145,546 = 15.57 |
| Public service and learned professions | 2,222,982 | 2,835,014 | 3,407,126 | + 1,184,144 = 53.33 |
| No occupation | 2,246,222 | 3,327,069 | 5,174,703 | + 2,928,481 = 130.36 |
| Total | 45,222,113 | 51,760,284 | 61,720,528 | +19,878,066 = 34.27 |
These figures show that during the twenty-five years referred to, a considerable shifting of the population and its occupations has taken place. The population employed in industry, commerce and traffic has increased at the expense of the agricultural population. Almost the entire increase in population—6,548,171 from 1882 to 1895, and 9,950,245 from 1895 to 1907—has been absorbed by the former. Although the number of persons gainfully employed in industry as their principal calling has increased, this increase has not kept pace with the general growth of the population, and the number of the members of the families of persons so employed has even decreased by 1,544,279 = 8 per cent.
Industry (including the building trades and mining), commerce and traffic, present a different aspect. Here the number of persons gainfully employed and their families have considerably increased; in fact, they have increased more rapidly than the population. The number of persons employed in industry exceeds the number of persons employed in agriculture by 1,372,997 = 15 per cent. The number of the members of their families exceeds the number of the members of families of persons employed in agriculture by 8,705,361 = 49 per cent. The numbers of persons employed in commerce and traffic, together with their families, show a still greater increase.
The result is that the agricultural population, which is the real conservative portion of the population and forms the mainstay of the old order of things, is being repressed more and more and overtaken by the population engaged in industry, commerce and traffic. That the number of persons engaged in learned professions and their families have increased likewise, does not alter these facts. The strong increase in the number of persons having no occupation and their families is due to the growing number of persons living on their rents, including accident, invalid and old-age insurance, the greater number of persons dependent on charity, students of all sorts, and inmates of poorhouses, hospitals, insane asylums and prisons.
Another characteristic fact is the slight increase in the number of persons employed in domestic service and the direct decrease in the number of servants. This shows, firstly, that fewer persons can afford to employ domestic help; it shows furthermore that proletarian women who strive for greater independence, like this profession less and less.
In 1882 the number of persons engaged in agriculture as their principal calling constituted 43.38 per cent. of persons gainfully employed; in 1895, 36.19 per cent., and in 1907 only 32.69 per cent. The agricultural population—including the families of those gainfully employed in agriculture—in 1882 constituted 42.51 per cent. of the entire population; in 1895, 35.74 per cent., and in 1907 only 28.65 per cent. Those employed in industry as their principal calling constituted, in 1882, 33.69 per cent. of the entire population; in 1895, 36.14 per cent., and in 1907, 37.23 per cent. Including their families, they constituted 35.51 per cent. in 1882; 39.12 in 1895, and 42.75 in 1907. The following figures show the percentage of persons employed in commerce and traffic: