Bio: (1838-1909) Austrian sociologist. Ludwig Gumplowicz was born in Krakow (today in Poland), which was then an independent city-state, but, a few years after his birth, the city was annexed by the Habsburg Monarchy. Gumplowicz graduated and got his Ph.D. in law in Krakow, where he worked as a lawyer and journalist. Then, in 1875, he began teaching law at the University of Graz and remained there until the end of his academic career. Gumplowicz believed that sociology is the basis of all special social sciences. The basis of his sociology is the conflict theory of society. He starts from the assumption that the struggle for the realization of economic interests is the basis for the creation of deterministic laws of social development. However, unlike historical materialism, he believes that the idea of ​​the possibility of transforming society through collective action, or the application of sociological knowledge, is wrong.

Gumplowicz studies social evolution. He advocates the idea of ​​the polygenetic origin of humanity. These biologically diverse populations were gathered in large numbers in small groups or hordes. These groups were united by blood, they had common economic interests, and there was social equality and free sex life. Later, society goes through stages of matriarchy and patriarchy. As there is a natural, inevitable, and innate tendency of individuals and social groups to improve their economic situation, the first conflicts arise. With the emergence of the patriarchy comes the emergence of the first wars. Initially, these wars end with the physical destruction of the country that lost the war. Later, the defeated group is subdued, and the winners begin to carry out the economic exploitation of the defeated. This is how the first states and classes were formed. Gumplowicz believes that the state is always created by conquest and that ethnic differences, which existed between the two societies before the war, precede class differences. Thus the emergence of classes is a consequence of war and conquest and the implementation of a relationship of exploitation of one ethnic group over another. After the creation of the state, at first, there were only two classes - the rulers and the subordinate class. Later, a third class was formed, consisting of foreign merchants. These merchants later formed the bourgeoisie. From these three classes emerge other derived classes - clergy and craftsmen.

The formation of classes follows the economic law that every need creates a means to its satisfaction. In the later periods of the state's development, cultural assimilation took place. Over time, the subordinate group gradually adopts the language, religion, nature, and customs of the conquerors. That is how nations are formed. Although over time, there are different class struggles and coalitions, the very nature of the state - that it always represents political domination and economic exploitation of the minority over the majority, will never change. The only kind of progress that Gumplowicz saw is certain periods in some societies when there is social and cultural progress, but those periods are short-lived and end in social collapse. He believes that civilizations go through cyclical periods of development and decline. According to Gumplowicz, the individual is not important for sociology, even when it comes to the most powerful ruler, because he, like the whole society, only obeys laws that they don’t have influence over. The only significant role that individuals have in Gumplowicz's sociology is the role of the leader. A leader always takes control of a group, class, company, or party, and then leads his subordinates as if they were a herd.

Main works

Race und Staat (1875);

Das allgemeine Staatsrecht (1877);

Der Rassenkampf (1883);

Grundriss der Sociologie (1885);

System socyologii (1887);

Das österreichische Staatsrecht (1891);

Geschichte der Staatstheorien (1905);

Works translated into English:

Outlines of Sociology (2020, in German 1885).