Karl August Wittfogel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karl August Wittfogel
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Karl Wittfogel in the American Communist newspaper. The Daily Worker, 1926
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| Born | September 6, 1896 Woltersdorf, Lüchow, Province of Hanover, Free State of Prussia, German Empire
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| Died | May 25, 1988 (aged 91) St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center, Manhattan, New York City, US
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| Nationality | German-American |
| Education | Leipzig University |
| Occupation | playwright, historian, and sinologist |
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Notable work
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Oriental Despotism: A Comparative Study of Total Power |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Columbia University University of Washington |
Karl August Wittfogel (born September 6, 1896 – died May 25, 1988) was an important German-American playwright, historian, and sinologist. A sinologist is someone who studies China. He started his career as a Marxist and was a strong member of the Communist Party of Germany. However, after World War II, he became a fierce opponent of communism.
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Life and Studies
Karl August Wittfogel was born on September 6, 1896, in Woltersdorf, Lower Saxony, Germany. His father was a schoolteacher. Karl left school in 1914 and later studied many subjects. These included philosophy, history, sociology, and geography. He studied at Leipzig University and other universities in Germany. In 1917, he joined the army in a signal unit.
In 1921, Wittfogel married Rose Schlesinger. Later, he married Olga (Joffe) Lang, who was a Russian sociologist. Olga traveled with him to China. They worked together to study Chinese families. His third wife was Esther Schiff Goldfrank, an anthropologist, whom he married in 1940.
Wittfogel taught at Columbia University starting in 1939. From 1947 to 1966, he was a professor of Chinese history at the University of Washington. He passed away from pneumonia on May 25, 1988, in Manhattan, New York City.
Political Views and Changes
Before World War I, Wittfogel led a youth group in Germany. In 1918, he helped start a local socialist group. He played a big role in the Socialist Student Party after the German Revolution. He also joined the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD).
In 1920, Wittfogel met Karl Korsch. He was invited to a meeting in 1923 that helped create the Institute for Social Research. This institute was important for studying society. Wittfogel was a member of this institute from 1925 to 1933.
He earned his Ph.D. from the Goethe University Frankfurt in 1928. His main study was about the economic importance of farming and industry in China. This work later became a key part of his book Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Chinas (Economy and Society of China).
Wittfogel was an active member of the German Communist Party. He often spoke out against its opponents. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Wittfogel was arrested. He was held in prisons and concentration camps. His second wife, Olga Lang, worked hard to get him released. With help from others, he was freed in 1934.
After his release, he left Germany. He went to England and then to the United States. His belief in the Soviet Union changed completely. This happened after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union. He began to strongly dislike the totalitarian nature of Soviet and Chinese communism. Totalitarian means a government that has total control over people's lives.
He believed that state-controlled economies, like those in the Soviet Union, always led to harsh governments. He thought these governments were even worse than older forms of rule in Asia. He saw them as a major threat to the future of humanity.
Plays and Writings
In the early 1920s, Wittfogel wrote several plays. These plays often had communist themes. Some of his plays included "The Cripple," "Red Soldiers," and "The Man Who Has an Idea." These plays were published by Malik, a German publishing house.
Wittfogel chose to focus on his academic studies instead of becoming a theater producer. He also wrote essays about art and literature. He was part of the editorial team for Die Linkskurve, a journal for revolutionary writers.
Even though he was a communist for a long time, Wittfogel had his own ideas. He was one of the few who took seriously Karl Marx's idea of an "Asiatic mode of production." This idea suggested a unique way societies developed in Asia before capitalism. However, these ideas were not popular with the Stalinist leaders in the Soviet Union.
His Famous Book: Oriental Despotism
Wittfogel is most famous for his major book, Oriental Despotism: A Comparative Study of Total Power. It was first published in 1957. In this book, he explored the idea of "Oriental despotism." This term describes a type of government found mainly in Asia.
He focused on the importance of large-scale irrigation systems. These are systems like canals and dams used to bring water to farms. To build and maintain these systems, a government needed to organize many people for forced labor. Wittfogel called this a "hydraulic empire."
He argued that because only a strong, central government could manage these huge water projects, it led to a very powerful and controlling bureaucracy. This kind of state could easily crush any groups that tried to oppose it. He believed such a state would always be despotic, meaning it would have absolute power and rule harshly. It would also be very stable and wealthy.
Wittfogel thought this "hydraulic" idea could also apply to Russia under the Soviet Union. He saw similarities in how their governments controlled society.
Many scholars had different opinions about Wittfogel's ideas. Some, like Frederick W. Mote and John K. Fairbank, disagreed with his analysis of China. Others found his ideas interesting and helpful for their own studies. For example, some ecological anthropologists, like Marvin Harris, used his ideas. The "hydraulic thesis" was even applied to ancient Mayan society after canals were found in their areas.
Images for kids
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A group photo from a meeting in Geraberg, Germany, in 1923. Karl Wittfogel is sitting on the left.
See also
In Spanish: Karl August Wittfogel para niños
