Hans Wilhelm Alexander Graf von Kanitz-Podangen (17 April 1841 – 30 June 1913) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

politician and

Junker Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...

. Kanitz was born in Mednicken, East Prussia (Drushnoye, Kaliningrad Oblast). In 1894 he proposed the Kanitz Plan: an import monopoly for grain, whereby all grain imports would be made on the government's account and resold on the home market at a price calculated from the average price of the last 40 years.Michael Tracy, ''Government and Agriculture in Western Europe, 1880–1988'' (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989), p. 96. If import prices were below this level, the profits would go into a reserve fund that would be used to subsidise imports when the price rose above the average. As grain prices at that time were lower than they had been for most of the previous 40 years, the effect of the Kanitz Plan would been considerable price rises. The Chancellors

Leo von Caprivi Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (English: ''Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli''; born Georg Leo von Caprivi; 24 February 1831 – 6 February 1899) was a German general and statesman who served as the cha ...

and

Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst Chlodwig Carl Viktor, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Prince of Ratibor and Corvey (german: Chlodwig Carl Viktor Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Prinz von Ratibor und von Corvey) (31 March 18196 July 1901), usually referred to as the P ...

both opposed the scheme, with the latter condemning it as a dangerous step to

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

. August Bebel, the Chairman of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, replied that a policy to make one class wealthier at the nation's expense, especially at the expense of the working class, was anything but social. The Kanitz Plan was adopted in modified form by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

and by the Federal Republic.Tracy, p. 97, p. 191, p. 269.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanitz, Hans von 1841 births 1913 deaths German Empire politicians People from Kaliningrad Oblast People from East Prussia Prussian politicians Von Kanitz family