Hydraulic empire
A hydraulic society ( ancient Greek ὑδραυλική, hydrauliké of ὕδωρ, Hydor - "water" and αὐλός, Aulós - the " tube ", the " flute " ) is, according to the sociologist Karl A. Wittfogel, a culture and society of which (country) economic and political survival and development potential critical of a successfully networked hydraulic engineering large-scale technology ( especially of dike construction, sewage systems, flood regulation, locks ) depend.
Central sociological characteristics
Occurrence
Classic are for in ancient times the Chinese empire of taming Huang Hes the high culture of the Indus early appearing in the Punjab, the regulation of the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia (see Babylonian Empire), the Egyptian Pharaonentum the middle and lower Nile and - with smears - the Aztec empire in Mexico (see Tenochtitlán ) or the Inca Empire in Peru before its destruction by the Spanish imperialism.
A limited example, within the 'Western ' cultures enter the Netherlands ( as the first major political power of the European bourgeoisie ), which were based not only on long-distance trade and manufacturing industry, but also strong on the common cultivation of the Rhine delta and the constant struggle against the " Blanken Hans " (cf. the North Sea storm surges ) and were therefore dependent on the fachbürokratisch efficient association of city republics.