Friedrich, Carl J(oachim) (1901–1984)

German-born US political scientist. A prolific writer on comparative political thought, his analyses of totalitarianism and communism were particularly controversial. His book An Introduction to Political Theory (1967) concluded that people favour a minimum rather than a maximum of freedoms. He enjoyed a long-term teaching career at Harvard (1926–71), and served as a government adviser to Germany (1946–49), and to Puerto Rico (1950s). He was born in Leipzig, Germany, gaining his education in the country of his birth, before emigrating to the USA in 1922.