Beachy (history, Gorcher College) places Leipzig at the center of Saxony's rather belated political transformation, and traces the source of its incipient liberalism to the commerce and
politics of the early modern town. The town's symbiotic and often competing economic and social groups, he says, used its relative independence throughout the period both to impede state
initiatives and at times to hasten change. He emphasizes the continuities of pre-modern urban culture, which propelled not only local but also Saxon state reforms during the 19th century.
Annotation 穢2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
