The Two German Books

In a twelve-year period of Germany (1855, 1867).....two highly significant books were written by two Germans.  Both went into massive publication.  One is remembered....one is forgotten.

So let's talk about the first one....Debit and Credit, written by Gustiv Freytag.  It was designed like Uncle Tom's Cabin....to be a highly fictional piece, but to lay out the pitfalls of economics....namely debit, and credit.

This came out as a series originally (in magazine format) and later, a publisher (1855) brought all of the stories together.  Germans bought the book in massive numbers and it was one of the most published books of the 2nd part of the century.

It was basically a long discussion over investments, bad planning, evil speculation, bad Jews, a changing society, loans, and corrupt business practices.

A lot of Germans bought into the book because they sought wise advice that you typically couldn't get off the street.

When the casino operations in Wiesbaden were tossed by the Prussians.....the local Hotels sought Freytag, and brought him into town to give lectures.  For the wealthy and elite.....he was a 'breath' of fresh air.

Yeah, he was a antisemitic.   His advice might be not be that great in today's atmosphere, but he was something that simply didn't exist in that time period.  And the advancement of his book was simply because there wasn't that much in terms of competition in this time period.

So twelve years pass, and Das Kapital comes out by Marx.

The key to the Marx point is that work-production, not ownership of the product or company, was matched up to service or product.  Profits (assuming there were profits) should be a worker controlled thing.

Das Kapital went out and became the working man's book....unlike Debit and Credit by Freytag.

Did Das Kapital match up with the theme of the mid-1800s?  More or less.  The problem with this is that brand names, more technology-driven products, services imagined in the 1800s, and creativity....went on to make the book less of value.

By the time you get around to the WW I period....Das Kapital is marginally fitting into the market-place of Germany, yet still often referenced. 

Credit and Debit by WW I?  Almost completely forgotten.  An odd situation to ponder upon.