Walther Rathenau (1867-1922) was an industrialist and politician who played a leading role in the reconstruction of Germany after World War I. As head of the electrical goods corporation AEG, Rathenau was Germany's wealthiest man. He was appointed Minister for Reconstruction in 1921 and then in 1922 he became Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was assassinated by the Nazis in June 1922, and has the tragic distinction of being their first high-profile victim. Even so, followers of Rathenau and his ideas continued to be prominent in German government circles through the rest of the decade, and, ironically, the Nazis would later adopt many of his ideas on the relationship between government and the state. Rathenau's influence spread outside Germany as well. He is believed to be the first person to define the concept of the separation of ownership and control. The set opens with "The New Economy" (1919). This book, now very rare, is Rathenau's manifesto for economic reform; it calls for greater employee ownership and a new relationship between capital and society. Volume 2, "In Days to Come" (1921) is Rathenau's best-known book and the one with the widest circulation outside Germany.
It sets out his vision for a post-war world, including the need for professional management and more worker-controlled enterprises. Volume 3, "The New Society" (1921), was written during the "hard year" of revolution in Germany following the collapse of the imperial regime; this is Rathenau's clearest statement of his socialism, and sets out many of the ideas later adopted by his enemies, the Nazis. The final volume, "Gesammelte Reden" ("Collected Speeches") is a collection of approximately 30 public addresses by Rathenau during the three years leading up to his death.
- ISBN10 1843710463
- ISBN13 9781843710462
- Publish Date 15 January 2003
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 10 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Thoemmes Continuum
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 1032
- Language English