İdris Küçükömer (1 June 1925 – 5 July 1987) was a Turkish academic, philosopher and economist whose views has been influential in Turkish politics. He developed an alternative interpretation of
Kemalism
Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. New York, ...
from the mid-1960s to his death.
Early life and education
Küçükömer was born in
Giresun
Giresun () is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District.Istanbul University
Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...
where he also received a PhD in 1955. His PhD thesis was entitled ''Modern Kapital Teorilerinde Münakaşalı Bazı Problemler'' ().
He served in the
Turkish army
The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...
for twenty-two months in the period 1946–1947 in
Gelibolu
Gelibolu is a town in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara Region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey. It is located on the southern shore of the Gallipoli, peninsula named after it on the Dardanelles strait, away from Lapsek ...
.
Career
Following his graduation Küçükömer joined his alma mater, Istanbul University, as a faculty member. In 1958 he became an associate professor in the same institution following the completion of his thesis which dealt with economic wealth, social preferences and planning of them. From 1958 to 1960 he was in the United Kingdom for further studies.
Küçükömer began to publish articles in ''
Yön
''Yön'' () was a weekly Turkish political magazine published between 1961 and 1967. It was a Kemalist and leftist magazine. In fact, ''Yön'' was more than a publication in that its contributors represented a political movement in the 1960s, Yö ...
'' magazine shortly after its launch in 1961 and also, joined the Workers' Party of Turkey becoming a member of its scientific/academic committee. Küçükömer was involved in the establishment of the Socialist Culture Society () in 1963.
In 1976 Küçükömer became a full professor at Istanbul University. Following the
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
on 12 September 1980 he was fired from the university. In addition to ''Yön'' he was a contributor to several newspapers and magazines, including ''
Milliyet
''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey.
History and profile
''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...
'', ''
AkÅŸam
''Akşam'' (''Evening'') is a Turkish newspaper founded in 1918, owned by Zeki Yeşildağ's Türk Medya Grup (T Medya Yatırım San. ve Tic. AŞ.) since 2013. In 2013 it had a circulation of around 100,000.
History
''AkÅŸams founders in 1918 inc ...
'' and ''
Ant
Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...
Erdal İnönü
Erdal İnönü (6 June 1926 – 31 October 2007) was a Turkish theoretical physicist and politician who served as the interim prime minister of Turkey between 16 May and 25 June 1993. He also served as the deputy prime minister of Turkey from 1 ...
and became a regular contributor of the weekly leftist magazine '' Yeni Gündem''.
Views and work
During his youth Küçükömer was a Marxist socialist revolutionary. At the beginning of the 1960s he held a
Kemalist
Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. Ne ...
political stance. He supported a failed military coup led by army officer Talat Aydemir which was very influential on his views in that he changed his political stance opposing Kemalism and supporting the new left policies in line with
Gramsci
Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , ; ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, linguist, journalist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a fo ...
's
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Murat Belge and Ahmet Ä°nsel who all adopted a liberal political stance with a socialist approach.
In the following period Küçükömer argued that Kemalism is a bureaucratic, elitist, putschist and reactionary
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
that had its roots in the
Turkish army
The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...
and Turkish bureaucratic elites. He further claimed that the Independence War was not anti-imperialist and progressive, but just a war between Turkey and Greece. His another significant argument was that the
Republican People's Party
The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...
was not a leftist or social democratic party, but a right-wing party dominated by Turkish bureaucrats. Küçükömer and his colleague Sencer Divitçioğlu supported the
Asiatic mode of production
The theory of the Asiatic mode of production (AMP) was devised by Karl Marx around the early 1850s. The essence of the theory has been described as " hesuggestion ... that Asiatic societies were held in thrall by a despotic ruling clique, residi ...
.
Küçükömer is the author of various books of which the most influential one is ''Batılılaşma ve Düzenin Yabancılaşması'' (Turkish: ''Westernization and the Alienation of the State/Social Order'') published in 1969. In his studies he argued that Kemalism and leftist movements in Turkey have controversial nature.
Personal life and death
Küçükömer's wife was Meral Küçükömer who died in Istanbul in November 2020. They had two sons. During the final years Idris Küçükömer settled in Büyükada, Istanbul. He died in Istanbul on 5 July 1987 after a long illness and was buried in Büyükada.
Can Yücel
Can Yücel (; August 21, 1926 – August 12, 1999) was a Turkish poet noted for his use of colloquial language.
Biography
Can Yücel was the son of a former Minister of National Education, Hasan Âli Yücel, who left his mark on the history of ...
, a Turkish poet, dedicated a poem entitled ''İdris'in Şu İşi'' (That act of İdris) to Küçükömer after his death.