Wittfogel Karl

Wittfogel Karl

(1896-1988) German-born comparative sociologist best known for his work on Chinese society and for his controversial book Oriental Despotism (1957) (see ORIENTAL DESPOTISM). From 1925 until 1933 Wittfogel worked at the Institute for Social Research at Frankfurt (see FRANKFURT SCHOOL OF CRITICAL THEORY). Subsequently he moved to the United States.