Introduction

Having completed the description of welfare work in the Golden Age of capitalism in the four countries under examination, I will now compare these four countries, briefly, in a more systematic way with respect to the most important aspects of paternalistic corporate welfare work and its development. These are: (a) inspirational origins; (b) relevant economic, social, and political context; (c) precursors and the unfolding of welfare work; (d) traditional paternalism and employer motives; (e) neo-paternalism and Taylorism/Fordism; (f) performance and worker satisfaction; (g) significance of product quality and applied arts for welfare work; (h) the 1930s and beyond; and finally, (i) conclusions with respect to systemic differences and similarities between the four countries under examination.

In advance, it is important to realize that this book is based on various interrelated scientific approaches and notions, such as: the history of industrialization in North-Atlantic countries; the history of paternalistic welfare capitalism; labour and industrial relations; social history; transnational social and labour policy; business history; and, finally, business and management theories. Together, these approaches constitute the building blocks of the history oriented sociology of work approach I have intentionally tried to apply here. This contrasts with the currently fashionable a-historical mainstream HRM approach.

In combination with the introductory chapter, this chapter can also be read as a compact and comprehensive summary of the book. In the last chapter, chapter 8, the question of what can be learnt from past experience, will be dealt with by comparing welfare work at the time of enlightened capitalism with post-Second World War developments with respect to work and employment.

Country comparison of welfare work

As has been noted, the period 1880-1930 has been an important period of intensive policy learning across national borders and across the North- Atlantic world with respect to welfare work. It was not uncommon for Europeans to travel to America and Americans to Europe to see what kind of welfare work innovations employers had introduced in their enterprises. Foreign experiences were subsequently emulated. An outstanding example is Cadbury's romantic workingman's village constructed adjacent to its new factory near Birmingham.