| The Weimar Republic is not only the first democratic state but also the first welfare state in German history. It had pushed forward the reform of social policy, which began from the Bismarck-period, such as the social insurances and other guarantee systems. Besides these actions, the Weimar government had also presented some plans to change the power-relationship inside factories, in order that the so-called 'enterprise democracy' and 'economy democracy' could be built. What this article discuss about is such the reform process in the Weimar Republic.The Works Council Law (Betriebsrategesetz) in 1920 is the most important law for the reform of the relationship between employer and employee in the period of Weimar. It had inherited all the achievements since the early period of industrialization and pushed forward the reform based on the new spirit, confirming the right for working in Germany for the first time and constructing the new power relationship between employer and employee inside enterprises, in other words, ' co-determination'(Mitbestimmung), under which labors could have more rights to take part in the managing-process and moreover they could be protected better.The Works Council Law is also the important transitional law in the history of the reform of relationship between employer and employee in Germany. Although it failed for many reasons after the NSDAP snatched the power, such the practice could be considered as the basement of 'partnership' in Germany after the WWII. Co-determination has been therefore the most important aim in the reform of the relationship between employer and employee, from which a harmonious economic and political condition appeared and then the federal German republic developed very fast since 1950.This article presents the questions on the reasons and processes of the appearance of the Works Council Law, from which the author ponders over the historical significance of such the law in the development of the relationship between employer and employee in Germany and then the meanings and lessons of 'economic democracy' in the Weimar Republic for the development of the German society.Such the case-study is not only the reconsideration on the history of the Weimar Republic, but also tries to explain the process of the German history. Moreover, the author hopes that the research could benefit for the reform of the enterprise system in modern China.Based on many documents and archives, this article uses the new researchmethod - -political cultural history' — to discuss about the concrete process of the political decision on the reform of the relationship between employer and employee.There are five chapters in this articles, which are based on the historical process.The first chapter takes attention to the discusses and practices on the reform of the power-structure inside enterprises before 1918 in Germany. From the beginning of the industrialization, the social problems hade been found and pondered over, in which social reform thinking was the most important one. Many thinkers hoped to develop the co-determination between employer and employee in order to release the class contradiction. On the other side, the Marxism presented the revolution as the other solution after 1860s. However, influenced by the WWI, one part of the socialists had given up the thinking of revolution and began to pursue the so-called 'work community'(Arbeitgemeinschaft) Meantime, not only the state governments before 1871 but also the central governments after the unification, all the laws based on the utilitarianism, which was not for protecting the right for working or the thinking of the economic democracy but for the old social system or for the war economy. Of cause the reform had also gone forward in this period, especially under the war economy, the co-determination between employer and employee had been built in some war factories.Chapter two analyses kinds of the ideas of the reform before and after the 1918/19 revolution in Germany. Under the press of the revolution, the German reform was forced to face with the crossroad. The interests groups, including the union and employer-union, hoped to push forward the practices in the Reich and the co-determination under the war economy with 'the agreement between Stinnes and Legien', then realize the class-cooperation in economy. SPD insisted on the peace and stabilization so that it refused the revolution and radical reform in the field of economy. The capitalist and conservative parties and groups were forced to give up the thinking of 'sir-in-factory'(Herr-in-Haus) under the pressures of the 1918/19 revolution and agreed to the reform of the relationship in enterprises. On the other side, USPD welcomed the socialization and supported the radical reform in the field of the economy, in other words, employees would be the leaders of factories. The Spartakusgruppe hoped to build the proletarian dictator under the leading of the worker party after the political and economic revolution. The Revolutionargmppe pursued the enterprise democracy and economy democracy with the socialization under the so-called 'pure council system ' idea. They both wished to push forward theeconomic revolution in the 'worker society' and built the new relationship between employer and employee in the meaning of the revolution then protect their power of the economy leading.The next chapter reexplains the process of the 1918/19 revolution with a new view, in which the relation between the council movement and the reform of the power construction beside factories could be pondered over. The revolution presented the new type of organization and the new object for the reform. In the political revolution, the council appeared and the idea of the direct democracy aroused the participational enthusiasm in the German society, in which the political and economic status of workers had been raised. However, such the political revolution finally failed and turned to the economic revolution. In the economic council movement, the contradiction between the 'absolute control' and the 'co-determination' appeared and developed, under which the government and kinds of interest groups and parties were all forced to consider the hope of the 'economy democracy'. In such the sense, the Works Council Law was just the direct result of the 1918/19 revolution.The forth chapter is the stress part of this article, in which the concrete decisional process of the Works Council Law would be analyzed. On the last period of the revolution, the mass democracy disappeared and the capitalist democracy was stabilized. Then the object and method of the reform of the relationship between employer and employee had been written into in the constitution and the Works Council Law. The item of 'council' had presented a system of the economy democracy, which coved from the factories to country. The Works Council Law aimed to protect employees' rights for working and economy peace inside enterprise. The works council therefore had the rights of the co-determination in the welfare and economic decision.Last chapter introduces the practice of the works council and answers the reasons for the failure of such the reform. The development of the works council was not bad but did not still realize the original idea. On one side, there was some problems on the law itself, on the other side, the practice was hindered by employers, who were not satisfied with the reform, or employees, who put too much wish on the reform, or the members of the works council, who were unable to fulfill all wishes of the employees. Moreover, the practice of the works council were also the result of 'alienation', in other words, the practice of the works council was not to realize the object, which was presented in the law, but changed to be considered as an instrument by other organizations, which hoped to realize their own aim. Then the tragic finale ofthe reform and the system of the works council after 1933 could be understood.However, the reform did not end. After the WWII, the reform of the relationship between employer and employee began again in Germany. The Betriebsverfassungsgesetz in 1952 and 1972 were both based on the Works Council Law of 1920 and the european constitution has also presented a similar 'european works council'.This article summarizes finally, that the Works Council Law of 1920 should be considered as the important result of the reforms since the beginning of the industrialization. It ended the dictatorial thinking inside enterprises and changed the power structure between employer and employee, then employee had been given the rights to attend the process of managing the factories equally. Meanwhile, a unsuccessful social revolution was not only the precondition for the law in reality, but also the fundamental reason for its failure.The decision process and practical history of the Works Council Law would also let us continue to ponder over the flowing ideas: firstly, the reform of the relationship between employer and employee should not exceed the concrete historical social condition. Any reformers, who want to create a new time, should appreciate the history and understand the tradition, then push forward the reform one by one on the base of the consideration. Secondly, the reform has not only its social meaning, but also the economic meaning. According to the new system economics, the economic meaning of the reform is that it could built a healthy enterprise culture, which would give a permanent impetus for the development of the enterprise. Thirdly, there is a limit of the reform, then employer and employee should both understand each other so that not only the enterprise but also the unitary economy could develop more fast, in which a new and harmonious power-structure in the field of economy and politic will appear.
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