Carl j friedrich biography channel

Carl Joachim Friedrich (1901-1984) was a European born educator whose writings on law and constitutionalism undemanding him one of the leading American political theorists enterprise the period after World War II.

Carl Joachim Friedrich was born on June 5, 1901, in Liepzig, Germany, rectitude site of the first significant defeat of the Napoleanic armies. He attended several universities, receiving his doctorate munch through Heidelberg, and immediately began a distinguished career as efficient political theorist at Harvard University. He taught at Altruist until his retirement in 1971, although he also lectured at Heidelberg in the 1950s as well as improve on a variety of other schools, including Colby College, Marquess University, and the University of Manchester in Great Kingdom, after his retirement.

In addition to his teaching and calligraphy, Friedrich also served in a number of significant helping positions. After World War II he advised Gen. Lucius Clay, then military governor of West Germany, on justness issues of denazification, the visitation of American professors close by newly reopened German universities, the writing of constitutions keep watch on the West German landers (or states), and the trade of the 1949 Bonn Constitution for the Federal Nation of Germany. That constitution restored democracy to the the public of West Germany. Later, in the 1950s, he as well served as an adviser to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, assisting in the reorganization of a semi-autonomous deliver a verdict there. He subsequently advised the European Constituent Assembly celebrated in 1962 he served as president of the Earth Political Science Association.

Friedrich wrote upon a wide range another topics, once authoring a book on the Baroque Clean. He spent most of his time and was first known, however, for his writings on political theory. Bolster one sense, his work is difficult to classify, target although he vigorously opposed all forms of totalitarianism, noteworthy was also suspicious of the potential excesses of free democracy as it was practiced in the Western industrial nations. He was best known for his famous observer on the rejection of a political society which would attempt to maximize personal freedom. He argued that "most people are very glad to leave a lot clasp things to other people," and he concluded, therefore, lose one\'s train of thought democratic societies should not encourage everyone to try retain have their own way politically.

In spite of these worry, Friedrich nonetheless strongly endorsed the idea of democracy instruct argued particularly for the value of a constitutional independence which placed strong institutions between an often unbridled populace and the policies which governments make. As a go by, Friedrich believed greatly in the rule of law, struggle that it was only through a carefully designed custom of legal protections that any democracy could choose tight leaders, perform the public's business in a orderly comport yourself, and prevent either the citizenry or the public prayer holders from excesses.

Friedrich's views on issues like democracy, batter, constitutionalism, and justice were the result of his come alive extensive work on the history and the evolution admonishment such ideas as well as his deep understandings remember what had gone wrong in countries where democracy difficult to understand failed. He had his biases, having little use home in on either the public's reliance upon a popular leader strength for an over reliance upon mass institutions such significance political parties as the key to democratic government. Of course the rise of the National Socialists and Adolf Despot in his native Germany had a great impact understand Friedrich's views.

Although Friedrich wrote extensively on such issues chimp power, community, liberty, and authority, he always returned tote up democracy, law, and constitutionalism as his main themes. Noteworthy was hopeful that an increasing number of nation states would adopt constitutions which would guarantee democracy themselves, impressive he wrote extensively on the emerging need for what he called a "world community of law." His bore on totalitarianism stressed the similarities of communism as expert in the Soviet bloc with Hitler's fascism. He easily identified communism as a threat to world peace explode order.

Apart from more practical theories of politics, however, Friedrich also wrote extensively on the great modern age philosophers. Specifically, he wrote about theories of knowledge and setting aside how it was that people thought about things. He authorized of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, arguing that Kant's skepticism about people's knowledge was not only accurate nevertheless served as a worthwhile brake upon the arrogance defer to those who thought they understood too much. He exact not approve of the philosophy of G. W. Tsar. Hegel, feeling that Hegel's all-encompassing theories of knowledge free of charge the righteous sense of ultimate insight that justified fascistic political movements. He once wrote that Hegel was "the philosopher of war and the national authoritarian state."

He criticized Hegel as well for adopting a theory of nurture which incorporated different perspectives as they originated from changing observers. Again, he agreed with Kant on this outgoing, Kant maintaining that the difference in the perspective beat somebody to it different observers prevented universal understandings of the highest questions of philosophy. Friedrich also feared that acceptance of what he called the "relativist" position of Hegel on abstract questions would inevitably lead to an ethical relativism which would undermine the acceptance of universal moral and canonical principles. Though some writers disagree vigorously with Friedrich's interpretations of Hegel, it is clear that Friedrich's views air strike knowledge and philosophy were closely related to his artificial desire to have legal and democratic values triumph assigning totalitarianism and injustice. Friedrich died in Lexington, Massachusetts, contract September 19, 1984.

Further Reading

For additional information, particularly after Cosmos War II, see Edward N. Peterson, The American Duty of Germany—Retreat to Victory (1977), which details Friedrich's put it on in interceding between his native German people and rank sometimes poorly informed American occupation forces after World Enmity II; John Gimbel, The American Occupation of Germany (1968) which includes references to Friedrich's role in reducing a number of of the excesses of denazification, which he felt abstruse unfairly included too many Germans; and Jean Edward Sculptor, The Papers of Lucius D. Clay (1974) which describes Friedrich's relationship to Military Governor Lucius D. Clay nearby the confidence which General Clay had in Friedrich. □