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Sattler, F., Boyer, C. (Eds.) (2009). European Economic Elites. Between a New Spirit of Capitalism and the Erosion of State Socialism. Duncker & Humblot. https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-53181-3
Sattler, Friederike and Boyer, Christoph. European Economic Elites: Between a New Spirit of Capitalism and the Erosion of State Socialism. Duncker & Humblot, 2009. Book. https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-53181-3
Sattler, F, Boyer, C (eds.) (2009): European Economic Elites: Between a New Spirit of Capitalism and the Erosion of State Socialism, Duncker & Humblot, [online] https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-53181-3
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European Economic Elites
Between a New Spirit of Capitalism and the Erosion of State Socialism
Editors: Sattler, Friederike | Boyer, Christoph
Schriften zur Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte, Vol. 84
(2009)
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Abstract
Since the beginning of the 1970s, democratic capitalist Western Europe as well as state-socialist Eastern Europe faced the double challenge of the third industrial revolution and the second globalization. The accelerated political, social, economic and cultural change did not lead to a crisis "of capitalism" or "of communism", instead challenging European industrial society as such. In 1989, after a long erosion process, state socialism failed at the task of solving the manifold problems of adjustment; yet a lasting solution is also not conceivable within the context of a neo-liberal "new spirit of capitalism".The present volume, which arose from the interdisciplinary cooperation of historians and social scientists, discusses the consequences of this "great transformation" for the economic elites in both "West" and "East": for their qualification profiles and their social composition, their options and their room for maneuver, their value systems and legitimization strategies, their self-perception and their public image. Economic elites in both systems saw themselves forced to adopt new strategies which very often seem quite different at the surface; looking deeper, they exhibit clear similarities. After 1989, the consolidation of the post-socialist economic elites has, all in all, been completed according to the Western example. The emerging convergences, which are being supported by the process of European integration, contributed to the internationalization of the European economic elites. The volume discusses the problem how strong this tendency was and if it has already created truly transnational economic elites more or less separated from the national context.The contributions, which are embedded into a coherent interpretative framework, are penned by internationally renowned experts and junior researchers from a wide array of countries, from Britain to Poland and from Norway to Portugal. The innovative value of the volume lies in its Europe-wide scope and, above all, in its comparative East-West perspective. A genuinely European community of researchers tackles a topic which is indisputably current for history as well as for the social sciences.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acknowledgements | 5 | ||
| Contents | 7 | ||
| Abbreviations | 10 | ||
| In Lieu of an Introduction: Big Structures, Large Processes and Huge Comparisons – A Frame of Interpretation | 17 | ||
| Friederike Sattler / Christoph Boyer: European Economic Elites between a New Spirit of Capitalism and the Erosion of State Socialism | 19 | ||
| I. European economic elites under current public criticism | 19 | ||
| II. The socio-economic transformations of late 20th century Europe | 22 | ||
| 1. The two macro-models of post-1945 European history | 24 | ||
| 2. The emerging crisis of the macro-models during the 1970s | 26 | ||
| a) The “West” | 26 | ||
| b) The “East” | 28 | ||
| c) Comparative perspective | 32 | ||
| III. Economic elites and socio-economic transformation in the late 20th century | 33 | ||
| 1. Elite concepts | 33 | ||
| 2. European economic elites: some “long lines” of development | 37 | ||
| 3. Economic elites in the context of the two early post-war macro-models | 42 | ||
| a) The Western macro-model | 42 | ||
| b) The Eastern macro-model | 44 | ||
| c) The comparative perspective | 45 | ||
| 4. Economic elites between a new spirit of capitalism and the erosion of state socialism | 46 | ||
| a) Economic elites and the crisis of the Western macro-model | 46 | ||
| b) Economic elites and the crisis of the Eastern macro-model | 54 | ||
| c) The comparative perspective | 64 | ||
| 5. Transnational business elites? | 67 | ||
| Economic Elites in the Twentieth Century: Overviews from Western and Eastern Perspectives | 71 | ||
| Dieter Ziegler: Business Elites in the Twentieth Century – Germany and its Western Neighbours | 73 | ||
| I. The overall picture: high rates of self-recruitment in the European business elite | 73 | ||
| II. The main causes of self-recruitment within different Western European countries | 74 | ||
| 1. Britain | 74 | ||
| 2. France | 75 | ||
| 3. Spain | 76 | ||
| III. The German business elite in the 20th century | 77 | ||
| 1. High stability, but long-term changes in social composition | 77 | ||
| 2. Changing educational profile | 80 | ||
| 3. Patterns of socialization within the bourgeoisie and the educated classes | 81 | ||
| IV. Conclusion: New tendencies during the second half of the 20th century? | 83 | ||
| Ágnes Pogány: Hungarian Economic Elites in the Twentieth Century | 85 | ||
| I. Introduction | 85 | ||
| II. The Hungarian business elite between the two world wars | 86 | ||
| 1. Composition and recruitment | 88 | ||
| 2. Education and competence | 90 | ||
| 3. Puritanism and luxury consumption | 90 | ||
| 4. Business elite and economic anti-Semitism | 91 | ||
| III. The Hungarian economic elite after the Second World War | 93 | ||
| 1. The worker-director | 94 | ||
| a) Recruitment composition and education | 94 | ||
| 2. Cadre-managers | 96 | ||
| a) Recruitment | 96 | ||
| b) Education | 97 | ||
| 3. Red barons | 97 | ||
| 4. The “New Entrepreneurs” | 98 | ||
| IV. Conclusion | 100 | ||
| Formations and Profiles in Western Europe: Between Cohesion and Fragmentation | 103 | ||
| Hervé Joly: Die bemerkenswerte Persistenz der staatlichen grands corps bei der Rekrutierung der Wirtschaftseliten in Frankreich | 105 | ||
| I. Die Tradition der grands corps | 105 | ||
| II. Die allgemeine Entwicklung der pantouflage im 20. Jahrhundert | 107 | ||
| 1. Die Positionen vor den Verstaatlichungen | 107 | ||
| 2. Die Diversifizierung der grands corps außerhalb der traditionellen Branchen | 112 | ||
| 3. Die Vorteile der Verstaatlichungen für die grands corps | 113 | ||
| 4. Privatisierungen ohne größere Auswirkungen für die grands corps | 116 | ||
| III. Die privilegierte Position der grands corps: Erklärungen und Folgen | 121 | ||
| Fabio Lavista: Business Elites in Italy and the Failure of the National Planning Policies as a Vision of Development | 129 | ||
| I. Introduction | 129 | ||
| II. Post-war economic plans | 131 | ||
| III. The managerial roots of national economic planning | 136 | ||
| IV. National economic planning | 144 | ||
| V. Economic crisis, planning crisis and the fragmentation of the business elites | 149 | ||
| VI. Conclusion | 152 | ||
| Manuel Loff: Elites and Economic Modernization in Portugal (1945–1995): Authoritarianism, Revolution and Liberalism | 153 | ||
| I. Salazarist authoritarian regime | 154 | ||
| II. A traditionally elitist society | 156 | ||
| III. A time for change: economic development and social tension in the 1960s and 1970s | 164 | ||
| IV. Elites and Revolution | 174 | ||
| V. Post-Revolution (new?) elites | 186 | ||
| Thomas David et al.: The Swiss Business Elite between 1980–2000: Declining Cohesion, Changing Educational Profile and Growing Internationalization | 197 | ||
| I. Introduction | 197 | ||
| II. The disintegration of the Swiss company network (1980–2000) | 199 | ||
| 1. 1910–1980: The heyday of the “Fortress of the Alps” | 199 | ||
| 2. 1980–2000: The decline of the network | 201 | ||
| a) Actor centrality | 202 | ||
| III. 1980–: The decline of organized capitalism | 204 | ||
| 1. Changing strategies of Swiss banks: investment banking and decreasing involvement in industrial companies | 205 | ||
| 2. Consequences of the strategic reorientation of Swiss banks and companies for the domestic company network | 207 | ||
| IV. The changes within the business elite in Switzerland: 1980–2000 | 207 | ||
| 1. The changes in the educational background | 208 | ||
| 2. The internationalization of the business elite in Switzerland | 215 | ||
| V. Conclusion | 219 | ||
| Formations and Profiles in Eastern Europe: Between Erosion and Transformation | 221 | ||
| Zsuzsanna Varga: The Agrarian Elite in Hungary before and after the Political Transition | 223 | ||
| I. Introduction | 223 | ||
| II. Historical background since the inter-war period | 224 | ||
| III. Collectivization Hungarian style: new mediators and informal bargaining in the early Kádár-era | 227 | ||
| IV. Political power and the agrarian elite in the 1970/1980s | 233 | ||
| 1. Conflict between the heavy industrial lobby and the agrarian lobby | 233 | ||
| 2. Changes in the socialist agrarian elite | 237 | ||
| V. The agrarian elite after the political transition | 239 | ||
| 1. Compensation, privatization | 239 | ||
| 2. “Green Barons” and family farms in agricultural production | 244 | ||
| VI. Conclusion | 248 | ||
| György Lengyel: Social Factors Conditioning the Recruitment of the Hungarian Economic Elite at the End of the 1990s | 251 | ||
| I. Introduction | 251 | ||
| II. The Hungarian economic elite at the end of the 1990s – in comparison with the general population | 253 | ||
| 1. Schooling and social background | 253 | ||
| 2. Gender and social background | 256 | ||
| 3. Competence and loyalty | 258 | ||
| 4. Career patterns | 261 | ||
| 5. Combined effects | 262 | ||
| III. Conclusion | 264 | ||
| Marcel Boldorf: Elitentausch? Die betrieblichen Führungskräfte in Ostdeutschland seit den 1980er Jahren | 265 | ||
| I. Einführung | 265 | ||
| II. Konkurrierende Problemfaktoren | 267 | ||
| III. Gewicht und Rolle der DDR-Führungskräfte im vereinigten Deutschland | 270 | ||
| IV. Prägende Sozialisationsmerkmale der ostdeutschen Manager | 273 | ||
| V. Längerfristige Ursachen für die betrieblichen Defizite | 277 | ||
| VI. Schlussbemerkung | 280 | ||
| Libuše Macáková / Eduard Kubu: Transformation of Economic Elites after the Fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia | 281 | ||
| I. Introduction | 281 | ||
| II. Czech economic elites in state socialism | 282 | ||
| 1. Economic elites after the establishment of the Communist dictatorship in 1948 | 283 | ||
| 2. Economic elites before the “velvet revolution” – the 1970s and 1980s | 284 | ||
| III. The disintegration of the pre-November economic elites in Czechoslovakia and the formation and development of elites during the social transformations | 286 | ||
| 1. The formation of economic elites in the first half of 1990s | 286 | ||
| 2. The formation of economic elites in the second half of the 1990s | 291 | ||
| 3. The fragmented, yet consensually united economic elite after 1989 | 296 | ||
| IV. Conclusion | 296 | ||
| Challenges and Responses: Strategies during the Third Industrial Revolution | 299 | ||
| Manuel Schramm: Wirtschaftseliten und Wissenstransfer in der DDR und Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1949–1990: Beispiele aus den „wissensbasierten Industrien“ | 301 | ||
| I. Einleitung | 301 | ||
| II. Die Einstellung der Wirtschaftseliten zu Hochschulen und Wissenschaft in den 1950er/60er Jahren | 302 | ||
| 1. DDR | 302 | ||
| 2. BRD | 305 | ||
| 3. Vergleichsaspekte | 309 | ||
| III. Neue Technologien (1970er/80er Jahre) | 309 | ||
| 1. CNC-Steuerungen | 309 | ||
| a) DDR | 310 | ||
| b) BRD | 312 | ||
| 2. Biotechnologie | 314 | ||
| a) DDR | 314 | ||
| b) BRD | 318 | ||
| 3. Vergleichsaspekte | 319 | ||
| IV. Ergebnisse | 320 | ||
| Kim Christian Priemel: Dispiriting Decade. Structural Crisis, Managerial Failure, and the Fall of the House of Flick, 1975–1985 | 323 | ||
| I. Crisis? Whose crisis? | 323 | ||
| II. What’s happened so far, 1952–74 | 325 | ||
| III. From bad to worse: Daimler and the aftermath, 1975–78 | 332 | ||
| IV. Disillusion and dissolution, 1978–85 | 336 | ||
| V. Conclusive remarks: slow learners and path dependencies | 343 | ||
| Christian Dirninger: Der politische Unternehmer – Ein österreichisches Beispiel | 347 | ||
| I. Der politische Unternehmer im Transformationsszenario | 347 | ||
| II. Der Beispielfall | 349 | ||
| III. Vom Beispielfall zum Modell | 353 | ||
| IV. Exemplarisches Entwicklungsmuster | 356 | ||
| 1. Formierung (bis Ende der 1960er Jahre) | 356 | ||
| 2. Der Finanz- und Wirtschaftspolitiker (1970–1981) | 357 | ||
| 3. Der politische Banker (1981–1988) | 363 | ||
| 4. Der strategische Berater (1988–1994/95) | 365 | ||
| 5. Der politische Investor (ab 1994) | 368 | ||
| V. Zusammenfassung des analytischen Ansatzes | 371 | ||
| Trygve Gulbrandsen: Private Business Lobbying in a Corporatist Society – The Case of Norway | 375 | ||
| I. Introduction | 375 | ||
| 1. Background and research questions | 375 | ||
| 2. Theory and hypotheses | 378 | ||
| a) “Inner circle” and lobbying | 378 | ||
| b) Owners versus managers | 380 | ||
| c) The significance of previous experiences in the political system | 381 | ||
| II. Contexts | 382 | ||
| 1. The economy: Norwegian capitalism | 382 | ||
| 2. Politics: The state and Norwegian corporatism | 385 | ||
| III. Lobbying in Norway | 388 | ||
| 1. Lobbying during the latest decades | 388 | ||
| 2. The Norwegian Leadership Study | 391 | ||
| a) Data and methods | 391 | ||
| b) Findings | 392 | ||
| c) Discussion | 399 | ||
| IV. Conclusions | 402 | ||
| Change of Values, Interpretations and Legitimations | 405 | ||
| Peter Hübner: „Sozialistische Manager“ und betriebliche Sozialpolitik in der DDR und Polen. Anmerkungen zu einem Vergleich | 407 | ||
| I. Einleitung | 407 | ||
| II. Zum Verhältnis von staatlicher und betrieblicher Sozialpolitik | 410 | ||
| III. Soziale Erwartungen und Forderungen | 413 | ||
| IV. Konflikte und Konfliktverhalten | 417 | ||
| V. Soziale Wertorientierungen des Managements | 422 | ||
| VI. Fazit | 424 | ||
| Krzysztof Go ata: The Problems of a Business Elites’ Image and Reputation. The Example of Poland | 427 | ||
| I. Introduction | 427 | ||
| II. The evolution of the concept ‘entrepreneur’ | 428 | ||
| III. The entrepreneur, a stock character in business scandals | 433 | ||
| IV. Economic growth and the entrepreneur’s image | 435 | ||
| V. The ten most hated (Newsweek Poland 2004) | 437 | ||
| VI. ‘Wild capitalism’ or ‘political capitalism’? | 439 | ||
| VII. “Business in search of a persona” | 444 | ||
| VIII. Synopsis | 446 | ||
| Asta Vonderau: Enterprising self. Neue soziale Differenzierung und kulturelle Selbstdeutungen der Wirtschaftselite in Litauen | 449 | ||
| I. Einführung | 449 | ||
| II. Transformationen des Selbst | 450 | ||
| 1. Der sozialistische Mensch | 451 | ||
| 2. „Der neue Mensch“ nach dem Sozialismus | 453 | ||
| III. Neue soziale Differenzierung | 455 | ||
| 1. Die Verlierer | 456 | ||
| 2. Die Wirtschaftseliten als Gewinner | 458 | ||
| IV. Erfolgsbiographien | 460 | ||
| 1. Konstruktionen biographischer Kontinuitäten zwischen Ost und West | 462 | ||
| 2. Die symbolische Verortung im nationalen und europäischen Kontext | 465 | ||
| 3. Zum kapitalistischen Erfolg durch (post-)sozialistische Erfahrungen | 468 | ||
| V. Schlussfolgerungen | 469 | ||
| On the Way towards a Transnational Business Elite? | 471 | ||
| Matthieu Leimgruber: Bringing Private Insurance Back In. The Geneva Association as a Transnational Insurance Think Tank (1973–2000s) | 473 | ||
| I. Introduction | 473 | ||
| II. Transnational business networks and think-tanks during the 1970s | 474 | ||
| III. At the origins of an International of insurers | 477 | ||
| IV. The “most prestigious assembly of world insurance” | 479 | ||
| V. Social policy from an insurer’s perspective | 484 | ||
| 1. The “three-pillar doctrine” as a model for pension reform (1975–1985): save now ... | 484 | ||
| 2. ... or work tomorrow: adding a fourth pillar to the retirement temple (mid 1980s–2000s) | 488 | ||
| VI. Conclusive remarks | 490 | ||
| Appendix: Tables and figures | 492 | ||
| Leslie Sklair: The Transnational Capitalist Class – Theory and Empirical Research | 497 | ||
| I. Introduction | 497 | ||
| II. Conceptualizing the transnational capitalist class | 499 | ||
| III. The four fractions of the TCC | 503 | ||
| 1. TNC executives | 503 | ||
| 2. Globalizing politicians and bureaucrats | 504 | ||
| 3. Globalizing professionals | 508 | ||
| 4. Consumerist elites (merchants and media) | 509 | ||
| IV. Case Studies | 516 | ||
| 1. Tobacco industry | 516 | ||
| 2. Ecological crisis | 518 | ||
| 3. Contemporary architecture | 520 | ||
| V. Conclusion | 521 | ||
| Appendix | 523 | ||
| Bibliography | 525 | ||
| List of Authors | 581 | ||
| Index of Persons | 585 | ||
| Index of Companies | 590 |