Capitalism, democracy, and the welfare state are terms that characterize much of what we think of as the modern world. But, as we’ve seen in the past decade, they do not so easily fit together. A democracy may demand social payments and social services that don’t fit with the needs of a market economy; a market economy might demand a strong state free from democratic influences in order to ensure its proper functioning; and advocates of both democracy and capitalism might fear that too much of a welfare state undermines the principles of free self-determination.This book uses West Germany as a case study to understand how capitalism, democracy, and welfare states can fit together.