OF SOCIETY. 577 



masses of the people, whose position has been profoundly 

 altered through the industrial much more than through 

 the political developments of the age. If Germany 

 surprised the whole civilised world by her military 91. 



^ '' / Industrial 



successes and her consequent political ascendancy in ^®g^i°P' 

 the year 1870, she has still more surprised the world 

 by her industrial development ever since. 



It is only natural that this industrial development 

 which is still in full progress should exert its influence 

 upon the conception of the national history ; that an 

 attempt should be made to understand the economic 

 factors as they made themselves felt in the course of the 

 social and political progress of the nation. Karl Marx 

 had already urged this point of view in a one-sided and 

 extreme conception of historical progress as a conflict 

 of Capital and Labour. In his ' German History ' 

 Karl Lamprecht takes up this task more fully and 

 methodically. His work marks an epoch in modern 

 historiography as also in the philosophy of history. 

 From the latter point of view, Lamprecht's position has 

 been appreciated by Paul Barth in his important work 

 on the ' Philosophy of History as Sociology ' (1897). So 

 far we have from this author only a critical survey of 

 contemporary labours referring to this subject. 



The most important and interesting question to which 

 we hope to receive an answer is correctly defined by 

 Paul Barth : to explain " how the ideas originate which 

 influence the actions of a great personality. Does he 

 draw them out of himself in opposition to his environ- 

 ment, or must they be strongly represented in the environ- 

 ment in order to become firmly located in him ? I 



VOL. IV. 2 



