Do sociable associations for music, sport and gardening contribute to social integration in the 19th and 20th centuries? The study asks itself this question and compares the development of German and British clubs over two centuries. It shows that clubs in both countries had a socially integrative effect, but also served to carry out social exclusions, highlight differences in status and consolidate dependencies. In Great Britain, the popular commercial culture inspired the formation of associations, associations were given material support by economic companies such as press publishers or breweries. In Germany, on the other hand, the state exercised the formative influence by first controlling leisure clubs and then promoting them for "non-profit" purposes.