The Career of Otto von Bismarck
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The career of Otto von Bismarck (b.1815, d.1898) - nobleman, count, prince - chancellor, diplomat, self-identified non-statesman - followed a path of such contradictory influences that it is possible to view his actions as both conservative and progressive at the same time. The standard historical judgement is to adopt a perspective of moral superiority in regard to Bismarck's accomplishments. An understandable position: within the Germany he was so instrumental in forging festered the psychology of aggression that led to two World Wars. Yet Bismarck himself warned against such dangers - "Twenty years after my death the great crash will come if things go on as they are going" - his was not a personal philosophy that allowed self-destructive tendencies to grow. Rather, in pursuing a course of "Realpolitik" as opposed to blind ideology, Otto von Bismarck set a course in opposition to the major trends of his era, trends that he was ultimately unable to control beyond his own lifetime. The prevailing wave of European nationalist sentiment was the greatest factor at work in influencing the purpose of Bismarck's career - or counter-purpose, as will be demonstrated. Nationalism was nothing new in Europe, England and France had long since consolidated their regional interests into centralized national power focus in the turbulent 17th century. It was fanned into renewed fire in the years just prior to Bismarck's birth. Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Revolution were th
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southern Bavarian states and enjoy a democratically-oriented political environment - while the state of Prussia followed a rigid, Junker-dominated political path more to Bismarck's (and his king's) personal liking. Despite the internal autonomy of the German states, in regard to tariffs, international relations, military organization and general principles of law, the Reich was in control - and the Reich was controlled by Prussia. This control was built-in to the Bismarck-choreographed federal constitution: the king of Prussia was designated hereditary emperor, or "kaiser," of the German empire, while the Prussian state itself was in possession of a dominant bloc of votes in the Federal Council and the "Reichstag" (parliament). Constitutionally, the kaiser exercised his power through his chancellor. Bismarck was that chancellor.
It was an excellent fit of personality to position. although the several kaisers he served complained often enough of Bismarck's readiness to absorb and utilize their power and authority - indeed, given the poisonous assertions of Bismarck's in-court enemies, the kaisers may frequently have had suspicions of more treasonous designs on the chancellor's part - Bismarck's personal agenda was always
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Approximate Word count = 4448
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)
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