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.