MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF THE WORK AND THOUGHT
OF ARNOLD J. TOYNBEE
by Teodoro Tagliaferri (University of Naples Federico II)
No. 9 (February 8, 2022)
WRITINGS ON THE EMPIRES IN WORLD HISTORY, VI
Arnold Joseph Toynbee, Review of Karl A. Wittfogel, Oriental Despotism: A Comparative
Study of Total Power, London, Oxford University Press, 1957, in «The American Political
Science Review», LII, 1, March, 1958, pp. 195-198.
“This is a queer book by a fine scholar. Professor Wittfogel, in his preliminary
acknowledgments, tells us, as every author should do, what was the genesis of his book. His
belief in human values caused him (to his great personal credit) to be interned in Hitler’s
concentration camps. «My final thoughts», he records, «go to those who, like myself, were
passing through that inferno of total terror». Some of his fellow victims asked him, «if ever
opportunity offered, to explain to all who would listen the inhumanity of totalitarian rule in
any form. Over the years and more than I can express, these men have inspired my search
for a deeper understanding of the nature of total power»”.
(Per il testo, cliccare sul link in basso/To access the text, click on the link below)
A.J. Toynbee, Review of Karl A. Wittfogel, Oriental Despotism