All highly developed nations and even most underdeveloped nations grant state pensions — what we call Social Security — to their senior citizens. The first time a fixed finish line at a certain age was established for such a stipend took place in Germany in 1889 under the tight-fisted conservative leadership of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. He famously proclaimed a nation can become a world power not through uplifting political speeches or a ruler’s diplomatic maneuvering, but only through the power and sacrifice of “iron and blood.”
The cagey leader of the Second Reich (1871-1933) also recognized the importance of tossing a few bones and wiener schnitzel with tankards of Bavarian beer to the peasants and proletariat. Easing people’s anxiety over how to lead a decent life deep into old age staved off and neutralized the increasing appeal of socialist policies beyond those on the Left. An ancient proverb captures the chancellor’s artful statesmanship: Bismarck wielded “a magic spear which heals as well as wounds.”
