Capital, Wealth and Control

Abstract

The predominant trend of the later nineteenth century had been towards the creation of a unified propertied class, and by the first world war this process was well under way. The landed, commercial and manufacturing classes were rapidly becoming assimilated to one another in terms of market situation, social standing and life-style. Although the provincial manufacturers were perhaps the least assimilated, the tendency towards class unification was clear. The inter-war years saw the completion of this process, but the emergent propertied class was subtly transformed into what might most appropriately be termed ‘a business class’. The trend towards the joint-stock company as the predominant form of business seemed to suggest that the market situation of the propertied rentier would predominate in land, commerce and industry. However, property in all these sectors underwent a series of transformations, which meant that the actual outcome was rather different. These fundamental economic changes meant that the class as a whole could not adopt the stance of the rentier. Active participation by the propertied in the use of capital became central to the perpetuation of this privileged social class.