Ludwigism

Ludwigism is a term used to describe the political, social and economical convictions of the Nidwaldeser Prime Minister Ludwig Mann during his term 1904-1915 and the main philosophy of the Nidwaldeser political party Rechte between 1904 and 1943, period of time in which the party governed introducing a large social agenda, signing the Sankt Moritz Agreement together with the other political parties and electing the first two woman to the position of Prime Minister, Helle Johansen (1919-1926) and Christen von Hertling (1929-1933). Although for certain political analysts Ludwigism has represented social democratic policies in Nidwalden, others state that the philosophy is entranced with natural cultural elements not found in other regions of Lorecia. Historically, Ludwigism has opposed the privatisation and reduction of the welfare state and a strong advocation towards a liberal and progressive society.

The Nidwaldeser political system and society have resulted heavily influenced by the Ludwigist ideas and politics that carved the path of the Nidwaldeser welfare state. Together with an industrial revolution that had started at the end of the 19th century, Ludwigist administrations accompanied the processes of industrialisation of life through a set of policies and reforms that shaped the social life, labour market and economical scene of the nation; between 1904 and 1943, Nidwalden experienced the creation state-owned enterprises such as Nidwaldeser Bahn and NidEnergie and the inclusion of the progressive laws that permitted the civil divorce (1907), the ban of religious instruction in public schools (1907) that followed the total separation of the Church of Nidwalden from the state, the introduction of the pensions system, compulsory vacations with extra pay for all workers, the Vilhofen system and the tripartite negotiations introduced by Helle Johansen in 1920.

Nidwalden saw the decile of Ludwigism on its political system shortly after the Hildegard Mann administration. Jens Baunsgaard was elected Prime Minister in 1941, the difficult economic panorama with decreased welfare levels and a strong political campaign held by Die Demokraten forced Baunsgaard to call snap elections in 1943,during which Vilhelm Kristensen was elected Prime Minister. In parallel, the foundation of the Social Democratic Party years before had also a strong impact in the future of Ludwigists inside the Rechte, whose leadership started shifting towards the right of the political spectrum. Two Social Democratic Prime Ministers, Sabine Pieck (1963-1967) and Johanna Schweigaard (1973-1975), were considered Ludwigists due to their political formation and heritage. In recent times, Ludwigism continues having a powerful impact in Nidwalden, often recognised by all members of the society; inside the Rechte, the philosophy has been considered the pathway towards a liberal doctrine combined with a consolidated Nidwaldeser welfare state.

Overview

Nidwalden before Ludwig Mann as Prime Minister

Headquarters of Der Unabhängige, newspaper founded by Ludwig Mann from which he impulsed most of his progressive ideals.

Historians describe Nidwalden before Ludwig Mann and during the nineteenth century as an already plenty peaceful nation with a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, the first constitution of the Grand Duchy was signed on the 24th of July, 1815 recognising basic human rights, freedom of speech and expression and freedom of religion, although the Nidwaldeser Monarchy and State were largely linked to the Church of Nidwalden, an institution whose influence on the society was seen on public hospitals, cemeteries and schools; universal suffrage was not granted and the constitution allowed only taxpayers individuals with properties without distinction of gender but approaching the twentieth century, the group of Ludwig Mann started to reach important positions in the Rechte and the Parliament. Ludwig, who had already started his career in the party, founded the newspaper Der Unabhängige in 1867 from where he would promote his ideals in democratic values, gender equality, ideology and others. Being part of the executive and journalist, Ludwig was protagonist of several disputes with the Church of Nidwalden -he wrote for the first time in a Nidwaldeser newspaper, god in lower cases- causing polemic in the Nidwaldeser society and gaining the confidence of intellectuals. In 1885, the Rechte Prime Minister Max von Hertling, member of the faction of Ludwig Mann inside the party and journalist of the Der Unabhängige, impulsed and introduced the civil marriage and two years later, in 1887, the change in the administration of cemeteries and hospitals from the church to the state, two issues that caused a major breakup of the religious institution with the Rechte governments.

Cover of the Der Unabhängige of 5 May 1903. This edition is known in Nidwalden for serving as an ideological base for Ludwigism on its article 'Nidwalden: A Model Nation'.

With an important promotion of massive literacy by Rechte Prime Ministers, the culture saw an impressive impulse among the small Nidwaldeser population, the diary publications on opinion and cultural reviews in the newspaper played an important role moulding the vision forward of the workers and middle class of urban sectors in Nidwalden. In 1889, Max von Hertling retired from the politics and focused on the journalism and her activism inside the Rechte and following Ludwig's ideals, he encouraged her wife, Christen von Hertling to take active part in both Der Unabhängige and the Rechte; the same year, Ludwig and the presiding council of Der Unabhängige impulsed their biggest transformations in the structure of the newspaper releasing one of the first feminist magazines in Nidwalden and accepting to publish articles from readers with the headline:

In a real democracy, people should not acquiesce in electing their leaders, they must lead their elected ones (...) the public opinion, so respected and appealed, is nothing else than the people's opinion.

— Council of Editors of the newspaper, Statement, Der Unabhängige (10 July 1889)

In 1899, last year of the Wilhelm Luther administration, radical members of the Nationalist Party attempted an attack against the Parliament in Cologne, the radicalised Nationalists were rapidly immobilised by the police causing a shooting that concluded, among some more others, with the death of the Prime Minister in exercise. Ludwig assumed the position for a few days and called for elections that resulted with Lutz Brüning, also a member of the Rechte, being Prime Minister.

Ludwig Mann as Prime Minister

Ludwig Mann in his office during his last term.

Approaching the twentieth century, Der Unabhängige was the most read newspaper among workers and the middle classes in the cities of Nidwalden. The newspaper known for its progressive, radical and even transgressor to its time, was fundamental for the success of the Ludwigism and its rapid inclusion to the Nidwaldeser cultural roots; in 1903, the newspaper publishes a special edition called Nidwalden: A Model Nation in which Ludwig promulgated the road Nidwalden should take to reach an ideal society of middle classes with a large welfare state that could provide freedom and happiness to its inhabitants and direct democracy systems that could get closer the government to its people preventing an autocracy. The article enjoyed of wide acceptance even among the higher classes and intellectuals (that historically have been more aligned with the left and the Rechte) of Nidwalden; counting with a solid and large base of voters, Ludwig results as the elected candidate for Prime Minister and assumes his position in 1903, his cabinet was rapidly formed with the members of the Rechte that were later going to be the continuators of the Ludwigist thought, among them, the first woman to be part of the Executive in a Lorecian nation, Christen von Hertling, Prime Minister of Nidwalden between 1915 and 1919.

The first introductions in the Nidwaldeser politics made by Ludwig contemplated the universal secret suffrage (now without either distinction of gender nor having properties), the inclusion of the women to the labour market and the political life and the incentives to initial industrialisation and home-owning through the creation of the county banks. This first government encountered a stronger opposition of the conservative Nationalist Party, whose power was firmly linked with the Church of Nidwalden and landowners; in 1906 Ludwig and the Parliament passed an act eliminating references to God and the Gospel in public oaths and in 1907 the divorce law was introduced in Nidwalden with the peculiarity of contemplating the sole incentive of the woman, that same year the Nidwaldeser state and the Church of Nidwalden were officially separated after the constitutional reform that also contemplated among some others, the introduction of referendums, plebiscites and other direct democracy systems in towns and cities.

The relation with anarchists

In 1899, a group of anarchists from Noordenstaat set up in the city of Cologne. Attracted by a country that was starting its drive through a path of progressiveness with a Prime Minister that encouraged direct democracy, gender equality and mass education and culture, the anarchists rapidly became well-known by their newspaper Freiheit. The advanced social and labour legislation introduced by Ludwig during its first years of administration contemplated, among others, the right to strike and the creation of independent (and critical of governments) trade unions, both rights that existed de facto in Nidwalden. This legislation, still present in Nidwaldeser political life, resulted in an impulse on the creation of unions in all industries, which gained a key role in the society during the establishment of tripartite collective agreements.

While newspapers with strong opinions, a government that impulsed culture, an increasing book publishing industry and an important tradition of intellectualism and liberal ideals, it was easy for anarchists in Nidwalden to sprawl their ideas. What was more, a key factor of on the heritage of Ludwigists was the idea of politicians that could listen to society's demands for rights and welfare. With this, trade unions grew during these years with an important anarchist base. Freiheit, which became a socially important newspaper among the worker class, saluted many times the social advances promulgated from the government. Ludwig Mann, a well-known reader of the anarchist newspaper, held several talks with Christiaan Nieuwenhuis, Noordenstaater anarchist and usual writer of Freiheit. The Ludwigist sense of social justice, unique humanism and avoidance of violence, is believed by historians to be taken or inspired by this dialogue exchange with Nieuwenhuis.

Rechte Ludwigists in power

• 

  Ludwig Mann
  Rechte
  1899-1899
  1904-1915

• 

  Otto von Bethmann-Hollweg
  Rechte
  1915-1919

• 

  Helle Johansen
  Rechte
  1919-1926

• 

  Tage Schlüter
  Rechte
  1926-1929

• 

  Christen von Hertling
  Rechte
  1929-1933

• 

  Gerwald Engelhardt
  Rechte
  1933-1936

• 

  Hildegard Mann
  Rechte
  1936-1941

• 

  Jens Baunsgaard
  Rechte
  1941-1943

• 

  Charlotte Mann
  Rechte
  2018-2022

Outside the Rechte

Sabine Pieck (right) and Johanna Schweigaard (left), two Social Democratic leaders that are considered to be Ludwigists outside the Rechte.

Outside the Rechte, Ludwigist heritage was continued by the Social Democratic Party, playing an important role during the administrations of Sabine Pieck (1963-1967) and Johanna Schweigaard (1975-1979), two female leaders that continued in the social democratic party the line of the latest Ludwigist administrations. During their terms, Sabine and Johanna found strong opposition to their platfroms from the majority of the Rechte, whose political line was aligned with a classical liberal ideal that crashed against most of the projects led by both Prime Ministers. During the last years of Schweigaard, Nidwalden saw the large national debate that aimed for the legalisation of euthanasia, after the case of a doctor that, though the use of medicines, fastened the death of a terminally ill patient that had asked him to do so. A bill presented by the Social Democratic Party was discussed in the Parliament, which faced the confrontation between the orthodox and liberal sectors of the party, the oppositions from the National Party and the Christian Democrats. However, a year later, it was took to a referendum in which the population voted in favour of legalising euthanasia, making Nidwalden one of the countries to create a judicial protection to doctors in such situations in Astyria.

Economic positions

Interventionism

...the public essential services must be always in hands of the State, this is the organism in representation of the society, of all social classes and above all disputes (...) the State must intervene in those places where the private capital is indecisive or fears losing money (...) the State is not motivated by the profit but by the public service...

— Ludwig Mann, 27 September 1905

In the economic aspects, the Rechte policies under Ludwigist leaders were completely opposite to the ones proposed by the Nationalist Party that sought platforms devoted to classical liberalism and later, one-nation conservatism, an issue that tensed the already difficult relations with both parties during the time. The Ludwigist thought is based around an important redistributor state that could prevent the market inequalities, a soft protectionism to create better conditions for national production in competition with foreign, and a large interventionism of the state through monopolies and state-owned companies specially in key industries like insurances, telecommunications, petrol and gas, water and electricity. During Ludwigist terms, the Nidwaldeser economy saw its most important industrialisation process that converted the small mainly agro-exporter economy of Nidwalden into one that could commercialise manufactured products. The interventionism of the state in the economy during Ludwigist administrations was done mainly through the creation of state-owned companies that in some cases, maintained monopolies in their industries (NidEnergie in the production of electricity and Nidwaldeser Telekom on internet and landlines services) while in others happened through the creation of financial incentives provided from the county banks. In many industries the state would help through financial aid those who would like to set up their enterprises but it would also compete with them, Nidwaldeser Bahn in the railway industry is an example. This Ludwigist vision of the economy is deeply rooted in the Nidwaldeser heritage of local entrepreneurship and family ownership in the so-called Nidwaldeser mittelstand enterprises that years later, under the social democrat administration of Helmut Talvi recovered importance.

Critics of the Ludwigist model in Nidwalden argue that most of the economic benefits during their administrations happened on account of a special regional context, the Great Astyrian War, where neighbouring nations in the continent limited their exports to focus their industries in the production of armament. However, opponents to this idea say that Ludwigist s used the regional context but managed to set welfare state as a reality in Nidwalden that remained throughout the years and administrations.

Trade unions

Building of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

The Nidwaldeser economy and labour market is strongly based in a corporatist economic model culturally set during Ludwigist administrations, the model argues the importance of collective agreements where the state acts as a mediator between trade unions and employers to reach consensus and avoid conflicts, inequalities and at its extreme, violence. In 1907 Ludwig Mann created the Ministry of Employment and Social Security and a special office whose purpose was to control and inspect the compliance of the advanced labour normative. In 1923, under the administration of Helle Johansen, the government introduced inside the Ministry of Employment and Social Security the Salary Councils, instances of tripartite negotiations between employers and employees, where under a logic of consensus, wage increments are agreed. Ludwigists also introduced the Ghent system in trade unions as a solution for recession times and unemployment which benefits are added to those the State gives. Since its beginnings, trade unions in Nidwalden have enjoyed of large rates of membership, today it is one of the highest in the Lorecian Community with a 70.2% of the total workforce.

State owned companies in Nidwalden

• Nidwaldeser Bahn
• NidEnergie
• Nidwaldeser Telekom
• Herzoglich Nidwaldeser Allfinanz
• Kantonalbanken
• Nidwaldeser Zentralbank
• Post Nidwalden
• Herzoglich Nidwaldeser Gesundheitssystem

Social and domestic positions

...education, since the Protestant reform, has been in the base of the Nidwaldeser life (...) but during the nineteenth century, years of governments distant from the people and a society growing from conservative ideals were starting to erode an idealistic universal education, Ludwigists settled again a Nidwaldeser state primary, secondary and tertiary education that could provide its society with equal opportunities, regardless of sex, economic status, religion, cultural or social background.

— Annemarie Fitzgerald, 'Social Democracy and the Ludwigist Heritage in Nidwalden, 100 years'

Headquarters of Herzoglich Nidwaldeser Allfinanz

Ludwigists worked towards a state that could provide everyone with high-quality healthcare, education and social security, and a society that could put into practice solidarity, a factor usually found in the Lutheran heritage of the Nidwaldeser culture. Through his first administrations, Ludwig Mann was advocated, among many things, to the inclusion of women in education, politics and labour market; going against the traditional and rather conservative social practices of the era, Ludwig would write together with Christen von Hertling the feminist columns in Der Unabhängige and conscious of the difficulties his reforms could carry, during his administrations education saw an important focus in early infancy, building state kindergartens and nurseries. The Nidwaldeser welfare state was started to be built during his first administrations giving important steps in labour laws, giving the right to strike (1905), limiting the working time to eight hours (1903) and prohibiting underage to be working. After years of important advances, in 1920 the Prime Minister Helle Johansen signed the largest settlement in Nidwaldeser politics, the Sankt Moritz Agreement, in which all parties of Nidwalden compromised to protect the Nidwaldeser welfare state. The social security started to take shape in Nidwalden after the creation of the Herzoglich Nidwaldeser Allfinanz, a state-owned insurances bank that provided protection to employers, employees, entrepreneurs and general public.

Progressive politics

All the ones that are oppressed by the injustices are our protected ones. All the ones that blinded by the prejudices are waiting us.

— Ludwig Mann, 7 July 1903

Progressiveness is often seen as an important factor of the Ludwigism. The social agenda of the Rechte Prime Ministers during the period highlighted with a strong participation of women in social life and the conclusion of a secularisation process that started years ago in Nidwalden and concluded with the separation of the Church of Nidwalden from the state. Rechte Ludwigists gave important social advances in Nidwalden with this common agenda that had even radical instances in several issues, these social advances were seen in the election of the first two women Prime Ministers, Christen von Hertling (1915-1919) and Helle Johansen (1919-1923); in 1907, Ludwig Mann passed a law that permitted civil divorce by sole petition of the woman and in 1913 the prohibition of all sports that included animal cruelty. Years later, and inside the Social Democratic Party, Rechte factions voted again two women to be Prime Ministers of Nidwalden, one of which approved a bill that legalised euthanasia in Nidwalden (1978).