Ratzenhofer, Gustav

(born July 4, 1842, Vienna—died Oct. 8, 1904, at sea) Austrian general, philosopher, and sociologist. After a successful military career in which he attained the rank of field marshal, he developed an interest in the social sciences, particularly social Darwinism. He believed human interaction was characterized by “absolute hostility” between ethnic groups but that the species could evolve higher forms of association through sociology. His works included The Essence and Objective of Politics, 3 vol. (1893), and Sociological Perception (1898).

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