Page 55 - The Making of the German Post-war Economy

28 THE MAKING OF THE GERMAN POST-WAR ECONOMY

Furthermore, for this study on political decision-making and the
formation of public opinion, it is vital to have fundamental background
information on the various socio-political and economic concepts. These
provide the framework for political objectives, and influenced the
programmes and policies of the existing political parties. The theories
were also popularised and instrumentalised for political communication
and the manipulation of public opinion. Thus an understanding of these
academic and political conceptions served as an approach to the
evaluation of the economic and socio-political debate of that particular
time. The following chapter is a critical assessment of the principal
ideological and economic concepts, which formed the foundation of the
emergent economic policy regime in post-war West Germany, and their
communication to the public.