Hartmut Elsenhans

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Hartmut Elsenhans (born October 13, 1941 in Stuttgart ) is a German political scientist. He was Professor of International Relations at the University of Leipzig . He is considered the founder of the state class theory and theoretician of global Keynesianism .

life and work

Hartmut Elsenhans went to school in Stuttgart-Vaihingen and Stuttgart-Mitte . From 1962 he studied political science , history , sociology and Romance studies in Tübingen and Berlin . In 1967 he obtained his diploma in political science. From 1967 to 1970 he lived in Paris as a member of the Cycle Supérieur d'Etudes Politiques , where Ralf Dahrendorf , Theodor Eschenburg , Alfred Grosser , Gerhard Lehmbruch and Gilbert Ziebura were his most important teachers. 1970–1975 was Elsenhans Ziebura's assistant.

Elsenhans was born in 1973 with his work “France's Algerian War 1954–1962. Attempted decolonization of a capitalist metropolis ”. In 1976 he completed his habilitation at the Free University of Berlin with the work “History and Economics of the European World Conquest. From the Age of Discovery to the First World War ”, which he later expanded to a total of five volumes - and thus to his central life's work.

After a short stay at the University of Montreal , Elsenhans took over a lectureship at the University of Frankfurt .

In 1976 he took over a professorship for " International Relations " (with a focus on analyzing underdevelopment and social and national emancipation movements) at the University of Marburg .

In 1980 he took over a professorship in Constance that was important in many ways . Several long-term research projects and a special research area brought him closer to the state and administration in developing countries and closer to international and development organizations. Much of his work appeared in foreign language editions during this period. In 1992 he moved to the University of Leipzig and rebuilt the "International Relations" department. In 2007 Elsenhans retired. The student council of political science at the University of Leipzig made him an honorary member. Elsenhans researches, teaches and continues to live in Leipzig.

“Hartmut Elsenhans is the leading theorist of global Keynesianism. His literacy is legendary. [...] Elsenhans' perhaps most important insight is that capitalism can only function as Fordism. He needs growing mass purchasing power in order to create a demand corresponding to his increasing productivity. To do this, wages must grow with productivity. Since capitalism can only survive if it is forced by a strong working class to give up mass purchasing power, both its emergence and its continuation depend on the corresponding social balance of power. Therefore there is no automatic transition to capitalism just because the progress in productivity (first in agriculture, later in industry) enables a social surplus product. This can namely also be appropriated by an elite who spends it on luxury, a strong state that protects them, and for the patronage of client groups loyal to them. Attempts at modernizing the state classes, which came to power in many Third World countries after independence, usually fail because the virtuous circle of mass purchasing power, profit growth and the development of a capital goods sector does not get off the ground. [...] For Elsenhans, globalized capitalism is threatened with decline through similar mechanisms. Thanks to global wage competition, the capitalists can prevent workers from participating fully in productivity gains. The drop in demand leads to unemployment, which shifts social power further in favor of entrepreneurs. There is a risk of a permanent crisis of underconsumption and weak growth. "

- Michael Dauderstädt

Fonts (selection)

  • France's Algerian War 1954-1962. Attempt to decolonize a capitalist metropolis. To the collapse of the colonial empires. Hanser, Munich 1974, ISBN 3-446-11858-6
  • Dependent capitalism or bureaucratic development society. Attempt on the state in the third world. 2nd Edition. Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1984, ISBN 3-593-32792-9 . (English: State, Class and Development. New Delhi / London, Radiant Publ., 1996.)
  • North-South Relations . History - Politics - Economy 2nd edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-17-009714-8 .
  • The international system between civil society and pension. LIT, Münster / Hamburg / London 2001, ISBN 3-8258-4837-X .
  • “The rise and fall of real socialism. Some political and economic remarks ”. In: COMPARATIVE. Leipzig contributions to universal history and comparative social research. Universitätsverlag Leipzig, Issue 1, 1998, pp. 122–132.
  • Basics of the development of the capitalist world economy. In: Dieter Senghaas (Hrsg.): Capitalist world economy. Controversies about its origin and its development dynamics. 1st edition. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1979, pp. 103-148.
  • Wage increases. Growth opportunity for capitalism. A criticism of the law that the rate of profit tends to fall . In: Forum DS. Journal of Theory and Practice of Democratic Socialism. 1. Vol. 2, 1976, pp. 78-133.
  • Conditions of the political: state, economy, society and technology. In: Raban Graf von Westphalen (ed.): German government system. (= Textbooks and manuals for political science). Oldenbourg, Munich / Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-486-25737-4 , pp. 75-98.
  • History and Economy of the European World Conquest. From the Age of Discovery to the First World War. (= Contributions to universal history and comparative social research. Volume 20). Leipzig 2007, ISBN 978-3-86583-192-7 .
  • Global capitalism . Ascent - limits - risks. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 2012, ISBN 978-3-17-022427-8 .
  • Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists. World Capitalism and Global History. Sage, 2014, ISBN 978-93-5150056-8 .

Literature (selection)

  • Fedor Böhmert: A development policy discussion of Hartmut Elsenhans' approach. (= Leipzig writings on social science. Volume 11). Nomos-Verlags-Gesellschaft, Baden-Baden 2004, ISBN 3-8329-0553-7 .
  • Fausi Najjar: The concept of marginality and world market integration of development economies in Hartmut Elsenhans: An interpretation in graphical representation. Grin Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-656-13666-8 .
  • Georg Quaas: Mass Consumption or Underdevelopment in the 'Third World'? Marginal notes on Hartmut Elsenhans' political-economic theses. In: COMPARATIVE. Leipzig contributions to universal history and comparative social research. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, 1993. Issue 3, 1993, pp. 106-121.
  • Neil Wilcock, Corina Scholz: Hartmut Elsenhans and a Critique of Capitalism. Conversations on Theory and Policy Implications. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, ISBN 978-1-349-56243-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Dauderstädt: Capitalist World System - Analysis by Hartmut Elsenhans. In: Neue Gesellschaft - Frankfurter Hefte 5, 2012, pp. 69–71.
personal data
SURNAME Elsenhans, Hartmut
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German political scientist and economist
DATE OF BIRTH October 13, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart