The Definite and the Dubious: Carl Schmitt's Influence on Conservative Political and Legal Theory in the US

In: Telos, Heft 122, S. 33-47

Abstract

Refutes arguments that Carl Schmitt exerted significant influence on conservative political & legal thinking in the US that bridged interwar German fascism & post-WWII conservatism. The alleged connection is claimed through deconstructing the thinking of influential German immigrants such as Friedrich Hayek, Hans Morgenthau, Joseph Schumpeter, & Leo Strauss. The author debates this dubious reasoning by pointing out that Schmitt never wrote or advanced many of the interpretations credited to him. He also reviews evidence showing Schmitt's slight relationship with & influence on Hayek, Morgenthau, Schumpeter, & Strauss & points out the lack of scholarship concerning greater & more concrete influence sources. Discussed in contrast is Carl J. Friedrich, a person with a long relationship with Schmitt who was directly influenced by him. L. A. Hoffman