1983 he received the Alternative Nobel Prize. His theories became more and more well known also in the Austrian public.
By Gerald Lehner (Salzburg-Austria) - who worked with Leopold Kohr and wrote his biography
He was not a Zionist, he was not Jewish, but he thought about small people and communities: a philosopher against mass society and a strong fighter against the Nazis.
The philosopher and national economist Leopold Kohr was born
on 5 October 1909 in Oberndorf in the Austrian province of Salzburg.
He is the creator of the slogan "Small is beautiful",
that was formulated by Kohr's pupil Friedrich Schumacher in 1973.
Even back in the 50s and 60s when everybody thought that continued
growth of economy can solve all the problems Kohr was against
it. He wanted people to go back to the human measure of things.
Kohr and his theory provided many ideas for the later arising
Green and Ecologist organizations.
His most important works were issued in English, Spanish, French,
Italian , Japanese and Welsh.
Already in September 1941 there was an article by Kohr issued
in the New York magazine "The Commonweal".
The title of the article: "Disunion Now".
This was the first time he wrote against the national megalomania
and for a Europe of cantons. Kohr's model was Switzerland, consisting
of cantons, where Italien, French, German and Raetoroman speaking
Swiss live together in relativ harmony. According to Kohr the
reason lies in a high measure of de-central autonomy. Otherwise
these ethnic groups would have joined the - in Kohr's point of
view - sick nationalism of their big national brothers.
Kohr saw that the national unification procedures in the past
had only brought up imperial super powers which fought against
each other.
At the beginning of the 50s Kohr completed his main work: "The
Breakdown of Nations".
Only in 1957 the book was published in London, an evidence that
Kohr's ideas pointed far into the future.
The basis of Kohr's theory is found in the Spanish civil war. Kohr served a a newspaper correspondent in Spain and wrote against the Franco Fascists and the Nazis. He shared his office with Ernest Hemingway and was an acquaintance of Eric Arthur Blair who later became George Orwell, the world famous author of "1984". The anarchistic-syndicalistic opposition and resistance against Fascism inspired Kohr's theories. He became a strong opponent of Stalinism and Communism. In their struggle against Franco and Hitler Spain's anarchistic groups also fought any concentration of power in a central Marxist authority and demanded independent villages, towns and regions.
In Kohr' point of view not a permanent economical growth means
human welfare but the return to the "human measure".
He was convinced that there is only one reason for social poverty:
something (government, economic, company, institution) has grown
too big.
He backed his theory with the example of the Dinosaurs which perished
because of their size. Each unification to an "as big as
possible" unit is the first step to decay.
Another example he used in those days is the multi-national state
of the USSR - today already fallen into small units.
A state should never have more than 12 to 15 million inhabitants,
otherwise it will loose its good functionality. The contacts between
the government and the people cease to be guaranteed in an optimal
way.
His enthusiasm for small states makes him well-known as fighter
for the independence of Wales and of Anguilla, a small Caribean
island. Anguilla, approx. 300 km away from Puerto Rico, has 6500
inhabitants and stood together with the neighbour islands Nevis
and St. Kitts under British administration.
In 1967 Anguilla declared its independence and closed the door
to the British governor. At this time Kohr was a lecturer at the
University of Puerto Rico and eager to help the Anguillians.
With the help of American and Canadian friends he organized
a " state founding action" and drew the world's attention
to Anguilla. Due to Kohr's strength and support the island prohibited
the large structure of American hotels and a basis for the ships
of Aristoteles Onassis, the Greek shipping businessman.
The economical oppurtunities should develop in small steps and
without megalomania. Nevertheless, after two years the "Anguilla-Project"
was closed by the Wilson Government in London. Anguilla kept its
own administrator but again a British governor.
In 1981 the island became finally independent.
Kohr's ideas were influenced by his origin. He was proud of
his background and his birthplace Oberndorf in the Austrian province
of Salzburg. He never considered his original concept as global,
continental or Austrian but always as "salzburgerisch"
- "salzburgian". His "distance", his measure
of all distances, were those 22 Kilometers, the distance from
Oberndorf to the city of Salzburg.
It was this consciousness of his origin and this pride which did
not make him a bourgeois but a cosmopolitan
Kohr grew up in Oberndorf and attended the primary school and
Gymnasium in Salzburg. At the Universities Innsbruck and Vienna
he studied Political Science and Law.
Due to political reasons he left Austria after Nazi-German troops
invaded Austria in March 1938 and the rise of the Nazis to power.
Kohr first went to Paris and managed to reach the USA on board
of the ship "Bremen" in 1938. In the beginning he received
help from a compatriot, the Oberndorf baker Lämmermeyer.
Kohr faced many difficulties, especially financial ones. When
doing heavy physical work in a Canadian goldmine he suffered from
a sudden deafness.
But soon he built up contacts with American intellectuals and
"foreign-Austrians".
In the "Austria-Free-Movement" ("Österreich-Frei-Bewegung") he fought together with bourgeois, left-wings and Monarchists for the liberation of his native country from the Nazi-terror. In his endeavours for Austria's freedom the influential journalist Kohr refered to the rich cultural heritage of this small country in the heart of Europe.
Around Christmas time Kohr used the moving story of the Christmas
carol "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht" - "Silent Night,
Holy Night" to illustrate this culture. This song was written
in Oberndorf in the early 19th century by Franz Gruber and Josef
Mohr. From Kohr's articles many US-Americans and Canadians learnt
where "Silent Night, Holy Night" originated: in Kohr's
birthplace Oberndorf near the city of Salzburg.
Simultaneously he made aware the cultural achievements of Austria
and the country's will and wish to be independent. He called for
a more intensive fight against the Nazis und wrote editorials
for the "New York Times", the "Washington Post"
and the "Los Angeles Times".
During the war he described in details the biographic, social
and economic backgrounds of Hitler and his henchmen. Oberndorf
is only some 30 Kilometers away from Braunau, Hitler's hometown.
1943 Kohr began to lecture at well known universities in the
USA, Puerto Rico and Great Britain.
1983 he received the Alternative Nobel Prize. His theories became
more and more well known also in the Austrian public.
In 1986 the "Leopold Kohr Academy" was founded in Neukirchen am Großvenediger. This institution is spreading Kohr's ideas successfully until today.
Kohr's contacts to his birthplace Oberndorf never ceased to
exist. In summer 1993 he wanted to return to Oberndorf. He intended
to rent an attic apartment in the Pension Salzachhof, Bruckenstraße.
Before he was able to resettle in Oberndorf he died in his home
in England on 26 February 1994.
Leopold Kohr was buried in the family grave in Oberndorf.
More informations about Life and Works of Leopold Kohr are in 2 publications:
| Gerald Lehner, Austrian Broadcasting Corp. ORF | |
|---|---|
| Landesstudio Salzburg | tel: +43-662-8380-25144 |
| News, Politics, Science | fax: +43-662-8380-25500 |
| P.O.B. 1000 | mobile: +43-664-43 11 206 |
| A-5010 Salzburg | e-mail: gerald.lehner@orf.at |