Max Nomad
Encyclopedia
Max Nomad is the pseudonym of Austria
n author and educator Max(imilian) Nacht. In his youth he had espoused militant anarchism
and in the 1920s he was a follower of the Bolshevik Revolution. From the 1940s he was for many years a politics lecturer in the USA.
. Before World War I
, he lived in Austria
and attended the University of Vienna
. Max, his older brother Siegfried Shlomo Nacht (born in Vienna in 1878; died in 1956) and, sometimes, Senna Hoy in Zürich
from 1903 to 1907 edited five volumnes of the militant journal Der Weckruf (The Alarm) Siegfried, later Stephen, Nacht emigrated to the United States of America at the end of 1912, Max followed in 1913. He wrote pro-soviet articles in the 1920s using the pe-name Max Nomad. He distanced himself from Stalinism
in 1929. Writing in Scribner's Magazine in 1934, he coined the phrase capitalism without capitalists regarding the Soviet Union.
A Guggenheim Fellow
in 1937, he became a lecturer in politics and history at New York University
, the New School for Social Research and the Rand School.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n author and educator Max(imilian) Nacht. In his youth he had espoused militant anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
and in the 1920s he was a follower of the Bolshevik Revolution. From the 1940s he was for many years a politics lecturer in the USA.
Life
Born in 1881, into a wealthy Jewish family from Buczacz, eastern Galicia, Poland, he was influenced by the thought of anarchist Jan Wacław MachajskiJan Wacław Machajski
Jan Wacław Machajski , pseudonym A. Wolski , was a Polish anarchist whose methodology was thoroughly Marxist.-Life:...
. Before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he lived in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and attended the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. Max, his older brother Siegfried Shlomo Nacht (born in Vienna in 1878; died in 1956) and, sometimes, Senna Hoy in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
from 1903 to 1907 edited five volumnes of the militant journal Der Weckruf (The Alarm) Siegfried, later Stephen, Nacht emigrated to the United States of America at the end of 1912, Max followed in 1913. He wrote pro-soviet articles in the 1920s using the pe-name Max Nomad. He distanced himself from Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
in 1929. Writing in Scribner's Magazine in 1934, he coined the phrase capitalism without capitalists regarding the Soviet Union.
A Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1937, he became a lecturer in politics and history at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, the New School for Social Research and the Rand School.
Works of Max Nomad
- Die revolutionäre Bewegung in Rußland. Neues Leben, Berlin 1902
- Arnold Roller (Siegfried Nacht), Max Nacht (eds,.): Rebellen-Lieder 1906
- Rebels and Renegades. New York 1932. 430 pp.
- Apostles of Revolution. Little, Brown & Co., Boston 1939. 467 pp.
- A Skeptic's Political Dictionary and Handbook for the Disenchanted. New York 1953. 171 pp.
- Aspects of Revolt. New York [1959]. 311 pp.
- Political Heretics from Plato to Mao Tse-Tung. Ann Arbor 1963
- Dreamers, Dnamiters and Demagogues: Reminiscences. New York [1964]. 251 pp.
- The Anarchist Tradition and Other Essays. 1967. 398 pp.
Literature
- Werner Portmann: Die wilden Schafe: Max und Siegfried Nacht. Unrast Verlag, Münster (Germany) 2008. ISBN 978-3-89771-455-7