Friedrich Pollock (; ; also Frederick Pollock; 22 May 1894 – 16 December 1970) was a German

social scientist Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He was one of the founders of the

Institute for Social Research Institute for Social Research may refer to: * Norwegian Institute for Social Research, a private research institute in Oslo, Norway * University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, a research institute in Frankfurt, Germany * University of ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, and a member of the

Frankfurt School The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. It is associated with the University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, Institute for Social Research founded in 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main ...

of Marxist theory.

Career

Friedrich Pollock was born to a leather factory owner in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. Pollock's

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

-born father turned away from

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, and raised his son accordingly. Pollock was educated in finance from 1911 to 1915. During this time, he met

Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer ( ; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist best known for his role in developing critical theory as director of the Institute for Social Research, commonly associated with the Frankfurt Schoo ...

, with whom he became a lifelong friend. He then studied

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and philosophy in

, where he wrote his thesis on Marx's

labor theory of value The labor theory of value (LTV) is a theory of value that argues that the exchange value of a good or service is determined by the total amount of " socially necessary labor" required to produce it. The contrasting system is typically known as ...

. In 1923 Pollock received his doctorate in economics from the University of Frankfurt. The

was founded in the same year by Pollock together with Leo Löwenthal,

Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin ( ; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western M ...

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( ; ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, musicologist, and social theorist. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, whose work has com ...

, and Horkheimer. The Institute for Social Research was reestablished after World War II, when Pollock and Adorno returned to Frankfurt after exile in the United States. Between 1927 and 1928, Pollock traveled to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in honor of the tenth anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. His research there led to his treatise ''Attempts at Planned Economy in the Soviet Union 1917–1927''. Thereafter, he took a post as lecturer at the University of Frankfurt replacing

Carl Grünberg Carl Grünberg (; 10 February 1861 – 2 February 1940) was an Austrian Marxist economist, economic historian and sociologist. He is considered the father of Austromarxism and was the founding director of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Res ...

as director of the Institute for Social Research from 1928 till 1930. Prior to the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

seizure of power, Pollock had used his contacts in the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

to establish a

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

branch of the Institute for Social Research. In 1933, Pollock and Horkheimer moved into exile, first in Geneva, then to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and finally

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1950 Pollock had resettled in Frankfurt and was reappointed director of the Institute for Social Research. From 1951 to 1958, he was professor of economics and sociology at the University of Frankfurt. In 1956 Pollock published ''Automation: Materials for the Evaluation of the Economic and Social Consequences'' as interdisciplinary analyses. This publication exemplified holistic economic research, which had been championed by the

Frankfurt school The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. It is associated with the University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, Institute for Social Research founded in 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main ...

in the 1950s. In ''Automation'' Pollock argued that post-industrial

employee Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

s might be spared from "soul-destroying drudgery". In 1959, Pollock and Horkheimer moved to

Montagnola Montagnola () is a small Switzerland, Swiss village in Collina d'Oro municipality. Located in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, it is close to the border between Switzerland and Italy. It looks over Lake Lugano and the city of Lugano upon it ...

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, although Pollock held a position as professor Emeritus at the University of Frankfurt until 1963. He died in Montagnola in 1970.

Selected works

* Werner Sombart's "Refutation" of Marxism, Leipzig, 1926 * * * * * *

References

External links

Frankfurt School page at Marxist.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Friedrich 1894 births 1970 deaths Writers from Freiburg im Breisgau Goethe University Frankfurt alumni Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt 20th-century German philosophers German economists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Switzerland German sociologists German Marxists Jewish philosophers German Marxist writers Marxist theorists Revolution theorists Frankfurt School philosophers German male writers

Career

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links