Consumer Policy as a Countervailing Power? On the Failure of a West German Grass-Roots Consumer Movement in the 1960s

Abstract

In recent research, Hugo Schui’s “German Consumers’ Association” (GCA, Deutscher Verbraucherbund) has been called an outstanding example of a “more activist approach” on West German consumer politics in the 1960s. Scholars have pointed out that Schui’s early success suggests that a grass-roots consumer movement such as in France might have been possible in Germany, too. However, this never happened and Schui’s success was short-lived. Only a few years after founding the GCA he had not only lost his job at the Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry, but also his faith in consumer sovereignty and the power of the people. Unlike contemporary mainstream, in his point of view consumers should practice their power foremost through strikes and boycotts. Nevertheless state initiatives and state funded consumer organizations proved more successful than any attempt of forming a consumer countervailing power. Exploring what exactly caused the GCA’s failure only after a few years, this paper examines leading concepts and institutions of West German consumer politics in the 1960s.