State Corporatism and Proto-Industry: The Württemberg Black Forest, 1580-1797 (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time) [Paperback]

Sheilagh C. Ogilvie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2006 | Series: Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time (Book 33)

State Corporatism and Proto-Industry focuses on the WÜrttemberg worsted industry, an example of a "proto-industry" that arose in many parts of Europe preceding factory industrialization. It has been argued that these proto-industries broke down traditional society but this book suggests otherwise. With the help of the state, corporate institutions such as merchant companies and rural guilds, regulated every aspect of rural life and thus profoundly shaped early modern European economic, demographic and social development.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"State Corporatism and Proto-Industry...greatly advances our understanding of the development of the European economy in the crucial seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. ...a powerful new perspective on the fascinatingly diverse emergence of pre-factory industrialization." Robert S. DuPlessis, Canadian Jrnl of History

"...solidly argued study" Dennis Frey, Jr., German Studies Review

"...provocative and, ultimately, convincing. State Corporatism and Proto-Industry should be required for all economic and social historians of early modern Europe." Thomas Max Safley, Journal of Modern History

Book Description

State corporatism and proto-industry focuses on the WÜrttemberg worsted industry, an example of a 'proto-industry' which arose in many parts of Europe preceeding factory indutrialization. It has been argued that these proto-industries broke down traditional society but this book suggests otherwise. With the help of the state, corporate institutions, such as merchant companies and rural guilds, regulated every aspect of rural life and thus profoundly shaped early modern European economic, demographic and social development.

Product Details

• Paperback: 540 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (April 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521025842
• ISBN-13: 978-0521025843
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,598,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sheilagh Ogilvie grew up in the western Canadian city of Calgary, but has since lived in Scotland, Germany, England, the USA and the Czech Republic. She is currently based in the UK, where she is Professor of Economic History at Cambridge University. She explores the lives of ordinary people in the past and tries to explain how poor economies get richer and improve human well-being.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read about early modern European history, July 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: State Corporatism and Proto-Industry: The Württemberg Black Forest, 1580-1797 (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time) (Hardcover)

In this book, Sheilagh Ogilvie combines painstaking empirical research about a small region in Germany, with a lucid application of economic theory, to a field of social history that hasn't seen much progress since the early 1980's. This book is a model of clarity, and of interest not only to students of early modern Europe, but to anyone interested in how institutions constrain human behavior. While the empirical part is based on a case study, Ogilvie spells out the larger implications for economic development in early modern Europe, based on the concept of 'State-corporatism', i.e., the symbiotic relationship between the state and privileged groups, e.g., guilds and local communities. She discusses the role of institutions, mentalities and the impact of early modern institutions on economic development. This is a must read for anyone interested in early modern European history and should be of interest not only to social historians, but also to economists interested in empirical studies of how institutions affect human behavior, past and present.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! Something new and interesting about proto-industry!, July 20, 2000

By 

"axelaxe" - See all my reviews

This review is from: State Corporatism and Proto-Industry: The Württemberg Black Forest, 1580-1797 (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time) (Hardcover)

Proto-industry attracted a lot of attention in the 1970-80's. Soon, however this line of research about early modern European social and economic history came to consist of a confusing plethora of disparate case studies, that lacked any coherence and theoretical underpinning, although all writers used the term proto-industry. Finally, however, there is this great book, that provides a unified, and thoughtful analysis, not only of the concept 'proto-industry', but also provides an excellent empirical study of a proto-industrial region in Germany. This is not yet another descriptive study about 'proto-industry', paying only lip service to the original literature. If you are to read one book about what is called 'proto-industry' this is it. The book is well structured, the arguments clearly put, and frankly, this is the book, that finally will turn the proto-industrial debate into an interesting conversation about early modern European economic development. Read and enjoy!