[Ludwig Joseph]. German economist, a member of the same family as the preceding, born at Aschaffenburg on the 18th of December 1844. He received some of his academical education in Dublin. In 1868 he made a thorough study of trade-unionism in England, which resulted in his principal work, Die Arbeitergilden der Gegenwart (Leipzig, 1871–1872; Eng. trans. by L. T. Smith). The book was assailed by Bamberger and other economists, but is important not only as an authority on modern associations of workmen, but for having given an impetus to the study of the gilds of the middle ages, and the examination of the great stores of neglected information bearing upon the condition of the people in olden days. Brentano’s other works are of a more theoretical character, and chiefly relate to political economy, of which he was professor at Breslau from 1872 to 1882, at Strassburg from 1882 to 1888, at Vienna 1888–1889, at Leipzig 1889–1891, and at Munich after 1891. We may mention Das Arbeitsverhältnis gemäss dem heutigen Recht (1877); Die christlich-soziale Bewegung in England (1883); Über das Verhältnis von Arbeitslohn und Arbeitszeit zur Arbeitsleistung (1893); Agrarpolitik (1897).
Brentano was one of the German delegates sent over to London in November 1919 to attend the economic conference convened by the “Fight the Famine” Council. At the first session of the conference, held at the Caxton Hall November 4th, he urged the organization and encouragement of German industry to enable Germany to fulfil her treaty obligations. His more recent publications include a pamphlet on the proposed League of Nations, and two short works, Ist das System Brentano zusammengebrochen? and Russland, der kranke Mann (both 1918).
