> Post-1871 Germany thus presents a curious paradox. It was economically,
> technologically, and scientifically, the most advanced country in the world,
> but at the same time politically backward, a quasi-parliamentary democracy
> and a quasi-autocracy all at once.
I seem to recall that the UK had the highest living standards at the time, while the US was building a vastly bigger and more productive industrial base (which is why millions of Germans were emigrating from Europe to the US). Are there historians on the list who can affirm/deny this?
-- DRR