Anarchist Quotes
Anarchist Quotes

Authors List
Authors List


Leopold Kohr

Leopold Kohr: Philosopher of Decentralization

Leopold Kohr, born on October 5, 1909 in Oberndorf in Salzburg, Austria, was a renowned philosopher and political activist advocating for decentralization and self-governance. His radical ideas focused on the 'size theory', a belief in the existence of a human scale that society should adhere to, and that larger societies are inefficient and prone to conflicts.

His ideas proved highly influential within the anarchist movement, and his book 'The Breakdown of Nations' has been considered a seminal piece of work within the field of political philosophy and anarchism. His philosophies emphasized the significance of small-scale communities and decentralization, aligning him with anarchist principles. His influential perspectives paved the way for developments in regionalism and fueled a wave of interest in smaller self-governing societies. He died in Gloucester, England, on February 26, 1994.


Date of Birth: 1909-10-05

Date of Death: 1994-02-26

Country of Birth: Austria

Political Ideas: Decentralization, Self-Governance

Quotes Available: 5



Quotes by Leopold Kohr

Below a certain size, everything fuses, joins, or accumulates. But beyond a certain size, everything collapses or explodes.
Bigness, or oversize, is really much more than just a social problem. It appears to be the one and only problem permeating all creation.
In the Middle Ages, there was war in some corner of Europe almost every day. But they were little wars with little effects because the powers waging them were little and their resources small.
Even if a single United Nations World State would come into existence, it would solve nothing. It would still be composed of the reduced number of state organisms crystallizing around the remaining great powers.
The fact that modern wars are fewer in number can hardly be considered a praiseworthy contribution to peace if we take into account the misery they spread from one end of the world to the other.


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