Johannes Agnoli
Encyclopedia
Johannes Agnoli was a German-Italian Marxist political scientist, though he rejected the label Marxist, preferring instead - somewhat ironically - to call himself an Agnolist.
Agnoli was born on February 25, 1925 and grew up in Belluno
, northern Italy
. As a pupil, he became an admirer of Benito Mussolini
's fascism
and a member of the fascist youth organization, because this was considered a type of rebellion or non-bourgeois behavior. Graduating from school in 1943, he then volunteered for the Wehrmacht
, the German military, and was sent to Yugoslavia
to combat Partisans. In May 1945 he was captured by the British near Trieste
and became a prisoner of war in the Moascar camp in Egypt
. In the re-education
al classes, he aided in the philosophy course using Wilhelm Windelband
's History of Philosophy thus also learning German. Released in the summer of 1948, he moved to Urach in Baden-Württemberg
where he worked at a sawmill. Agnoli received a veteran's scholarship to study at the University of Tübingen.
Naturalized as a German in 1955, Agnoli did his doctorate in political science
about Giambattista Vico
's philosophy of law under the supervision of Eduard Spranger
.
In 1957, Agnoli also joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany
(SPD); he would be expelled in 1961, for being a member of the Socialist German Student Union, the former college organization of the SPD, which then rebelled against the party. In 1960, he started working as the assistant of Ferdinand Alois Hermens, a political scientist in Cologne
. There he got to know his future wife, Barbara Görres. Görres's devoutly Catholic family at first objected to her relationship with Agnoli, an atheist, even calling on Hermens to intervene. The two married in 1962. After it was reported that Agnoli called on the West German government to recognize the socialist East German Democratic Republic of Germany, he came into conflict with Hermens and his contract was not renewed. Wolfgang Abendroth
, another German left-wing academic, recommended Agnoli to Ossip Flechtheim of the Otto Suhr Institute at the Free University of Berlin
. Agnoli worked as Flechtheim's assistant until becoming a professor in his own right in 1972.
In 1967, Die Transformation der Demokratie (The Transformation of Democracy), the book most commonly associated with Agnoli, was published. However, he only wrote one essay, constituting about one third of the book, with the social psychologist Peter Brückner authoring the rest. This book was read very widely in the German student movement
of 1968, leading Die Zeit
to refer to it as the movement's "Bible". In his essay, Agnoli discusses the question, why parliamentarianism does not allow the exploited and subaltern classes to attain power and use it in their favor. He argues that, historically, fascism
was the first method of repressing social unrest by integrating the masses and thus allowing for the destruction of parliamentarianism. However, this did not turn out to be a long-term solution. Capital had to revert to parliamentarian forms of government, according to Agnoli. He argues that it was able to do so by "transforming" parliamentary rule to exclude the possibility of revolutionary insurrection. He names several methods: the prohibition of communist parties, such as the Communist Party of Germany
in West Germany
; giving additional power to the executive branch; the use of election threshold
, which prevent small parties from entering parliaments; and finally plurality voting system
s which further marginalize small radical parties. This causes a parliamentary system to become no more than a pluralistic version of one-party rule, according to Agnoli. Elections only decide which politicians get to run policies which have already been decided anyway. He viewed West Germany as the prototype of such a "transformed" parliamentary democracy, which no longer allows for revolutionary parliamentary action.
In 1991, Agnoli retired. He moved to his vacation home in Lucca
, Tuscany
– without his wife. He had bought the house in the 1970s. From 2000, his grown-up children cared for him, as he started losing his health. He died there in 2003. In 2004, his wife Barbara published a biography of Agnoli titled Johannes Agnoli: Eine biografische Skizze (Johannes Agnoli: A biographical sketch).
Agnoli was born on February 25, 1925 and grew up in Belluno
Belluno
Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. As a pupil, he became an admirer of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's fascism
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
and a member of the fascist youth organization, because this was considered a type of rebellion or non-bourgeois behavior. Graduating from school in 1943, he then volunteered for the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, the German military, and was sent to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
to combat Partisans. In May 1945 he was captured by the British near Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and became a prisoner of war in the Moascar camp in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. In the re-education
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
al classes, he aided in the philosophy course using Wilhelm Windelband
Wilhelm Windelband
Wilhelm Windelband was a German philosopher of the Baden School.Windelband is now mainly remembered for the terms nomothetic and idiographic, which he introduced. These have currency in psychology and other areas, though not necessarily in line with his original meanings...
's History of Philosophy thus also learning German. Released in the summer of 1948, he moved to Urach in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
where he worked at a sawmill. Agnoli received a veteran's scholarship to study at the University of Tübingen.
Naturalized as a German in 1955, Agnoli did his doctorate in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
about Giambattista Vico
Giambattista Vico
Giovanni Battista ' Vico or Vigo was an Italian political philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist....
's philosophy of law under the supervision of Eduard Spranger
Eduard Spranger
Eduard Spranger was a German philosopher and psychologist.A student of Wilhelm Dilthey, Spranger was born in Berlin and died in Tübingen....
.
In 1957, Agnoli also joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD); he would be expelled in 1961, for being a member of the Socialist German Student Union, the former college organization of the SPD, which then rebelled against the party. In 1960, he started working as the assistant of Ferdinand Alois Hermens, a political scientist in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. There he got to know his future wife, Barbara Görres. Görres's devoutly Catholic family at first objected to her relationship with Agnoli, an atheist, even calling on Hermens to intervene. The two married in 1962. After it was reported that Agnoli called on the West German government to recognize the socialist East German Democratic Republic of Germany, he came into conflict with Hermens and his contract was not renewed. Wolfgang Abendroth
Wolfgang Abendroth
Wolfgang Abendroth was a socialist German jurist and political scientist. He was born in Elberfeld, now a part of Wuppertal in North Rhine-Westphalia. Abendroth was an important contributor to the constitutional foundation of postwar West Germany. He briefly held a professorship in law in East...
, another German left-wing academic, recommended Agnoli to Ossip Flechtheim of the Otto Suhr Institute at the Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
. Agnoli worked as Flechtheim's assistant until becoming a professor in his own right in 1972.
In 1967, Die Transformation der Demokratie (The Transformation of Democracy), the book most commonly associated with Agnoli, was published. However, he only wrote one essay, constituting about one third of the book, with the social psychologist Peter Brückner authoring the rest. This book was read very widely in the German student movement
German student movement
The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...
of 1968, leading Die Zeit
Die Zeit
Die Zeit is a German nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism.With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper...
to refer to it as the movement's "Bible". In his essay, Agnoli discusses the question, why parliamentarianism does not allow the exploited and subaltern classes to attain power and use it in their favor. He argues that, historically, fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
was the first method of repressing social unrest by integrating the masses and thus allowing for the destruction of parliamentarianism. However, this did not turn out to be a long-term solution. Capital had to revert to parliamentarian forms of government, according to Agnoli. He argues that it was able to do so by "transforming" parliamentary rule to exclude the possibility of revolutionary insurrection. He names several methods: the prohibition of communist parties, such as the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
; giving additional power to the executive branch; the use of election threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
, which prevent small parties from entering parliaments; and finally plurality voting system
Plurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
s which further marginalize small radical parties. This causes a parliamentary system to become no more than a pluralistic version of one-party rule, according to Agnoli. Elections only decide which politicians get to run policies which have already been decided anyway. He viewed West Germany as the prototype of such a "transformed" parliamentary democracy, which no longer allows for revolutionary parliamentary action.
In 1991, Agnoli retired. He moved to his vacation home in Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
– without his wife. He had bought the house in the 1970s. From 2000, his grown-up children cared for him, as he started losing his health. He died there in 2003. In 2004, his wife Barbara published a biography of Agnoli titled Johannes Agnoli: Eine biografische Skizze (Johannes Agnoli: A biographical sketch).