Ernest van den Haag

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Ernest van den Haag (born September 15, 1914 in The Hague ; † March 21, 2002 in Mendham , New Jersey ) was an American sociologist, psychologist, psychoanalyst, criminologist, lawyer, economist and publicist from the Netherlands .

Life

Van den Haag studied at the University of Florence and the University of Naples . During his stay in Italy he was persecuted by the ruling fascists as a communist , escaped an assassination attempt with serious injuries and was imprisoned for three years (18 months of which in solitary confinement). After his release, he fled via Switzerland to France, where he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris . In 1940 he emigrated to the USA via Spain and Portugal. After a transition period as an unskilled worker, he studied at the University of Iowa , where he obtained an MA degree in economics in 1942 . He then worked as an information analyst for the US government. After the Second World War he worked as a lecturer at a New York college and wrote his dissertation at the same time . He received his Ph.D. from New York University in 1952. PhD in economics . According to his own statements, between 1942 and 1952, under the influence of the social philosopher Sidney Hook , van den Haag went from communist to anti-communist.

Van den Haag taught social philosophy and social psychology at various US universities , practiced as a psychoanalyst and court expert, was an adjunct professor of law at New York University and lecturer in sociology and psychology at The New School and visiting professor of criminology at the University of Albany .

In the first two post-war decades, van den Haag devoted himself mainly to the analysis of the tension between man and society in the industrial age, attempting a synopsis of sociology and psychoanalysis. He then rose to prominence as a conservative publicist (particularly in the National Review ) who advocated the death penalty and opposed pornography . He postulated a genetically determined inferior giftedness of African-Americans and advocated racial segregation . In the 1960s he used psychological arguments to claim that integration would harm African-American children.

Fonts (selection)

  • Education as an Industry (1956)
  • The Fabric of Society (1957, with Ralph Ross)
  • The Jewish Mystique (1969)
  • Political Violence and Civil Disobedience (1972)
  • Punishing Criminals: Concerning a Very Old and Painful Question (1975)

literature

  • J. Maier: Haag, Ernest van den , in: Wilhelm Bernsdorf / Horst Knospe (eds.): Internationales Soziologenlexikon , Vol. 2, Enke, Stuttgart ² 1984, p. 317 (with incorrect personal data).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hague, Ernest van den
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American sociologist, legal scholar, economist, psychologist
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH The hague
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 2002
Place of death Mendham