Heinrich Cunow (11 April 1862, in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...

– 20 August 1936) was a German

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

politician and a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

theorist. Cunow was originally against the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914 but he changed his viewpoint. In 1915 he joined

Paul Lensch Paul Lensch (31 March 1873 in Potsdam, Province of Brandenburg – 18 November 1926 in Berlin) was a war journalist, editor, author of several books and politician in the SPD. From 1912, Lensch was a member of the German Reichstag for the SPD, ...

and

Konrad Haenisch Konrad Haenisch (13 March 1876 – 28 April 1925) was a German Social Democratic Party politician and part of "the radical Marxist Left" of German politics. He was a friend and follower (''Parvulus'' in his own words) of Alexander Parvus. Life ...

in the

Lensch-Cunow-Haenisch group The Lensch-Cunow-Haenisch group was a political faction within the Social Democratic Party of Germany founded in 1915 by anti-revisionist Marxists who despite previously opposing participation in the First World War now supported it. Its name come ...

. Cunow argued that German imperialism was progressive as antiquated methods of production by primitive people was swept aside by modernisation and industrial growth. In this period he denounced the statement by the Social Democratic parliamentary group in defence of a universal

right of self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

for all people. Rather than being a natural right, Cunow defended self-determination for nations with a higher and democratic culture, but opposed it when it provided a subterfuge behind which mere national aggrandisement lay hidden. In this he was opposed by

Karl Kautsky Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theorist. Kautsky was one of the most authoritative promulgators of orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels i ...

. He took over as editor the Social Democratic theoretical journal ''

Die Neue Zeit ''Die Neue Zeit'' (German: "The New Times") was a German socialist theoretical journal of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) that was published from 1883 to 1923. Its headquarters was in Stuttgart, Germany. History and profile Founded ...

'' when Kautsky split to join the

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was establish ...

(USPD) in 1917 and held the position until 1923 following the merger of the USPD with the

Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany The Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Mehrheitssozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, MSPD) was the name officially used by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) during the period 1917-1922. This differentiated it from ...

. Cunow was appointed in 1919 as an associate professor of social sciences and

economic history Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and ins ...

at the

Frederick William University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III o ...

.Cunow, Heinrich Wilhelm Carl
In:

Neue Deutsche Biographie ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...

(NDB). Band 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, , S. 439 f.

Selected works

* ''Zur Urgeschichte der Ehe und Familie'', 1912 – On the prehistory of marriage and family. * ''Ursprung der Religion und des Gottesglaubens'', 1913 – Origin of religion and the faith of God. * ''Die Marxsche Geschichts-, Gesellschafts- und Staatstheorie; Grundzüge der Marxschen Soziologie'', 1920/21 – Marxist theory of history, society and the state; principles of Marxist sociology. * ''Geschichte und Kultur des Inkareiches; ein Beitrag zur Kulturgeschichte Altamerikas'', 1935 – History and culture of the

Incan Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

; a contribution to the cultural history of America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunow, Heinrich 1862 births 1936 deaths People from Schwerin People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Marxist theorists Humboldt University of Berlin faculty