Wittfogel’s rightward shift destroyed his friendship with Massing

Evidence

The loss of Massing’s book was paralleled by the Toss of his friendship with Wittfogel, although for precisely the opposite reasons. As noted earlier, Wittfogel began to shift rightward after his return from China. His third wife, Esther Goldfrank, was herself conservative and seems to have influenced the intensity of Wittfogel’s change. In addition to leaving the Party, he began to distrust anyone who had ever been connected with it in any way. Massing fell into this category, and his relations with Wittfogel progressively deteriorated. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 528

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the Institute’s own shift away from aggressive Marxism, which frames the chapter’s broader argument. — connects to: Wittfogel’s positivism isolated him from Horkheimer’s inner circle — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 122; Wittfogel’s positivist approach was mutually scorned by Horkheimer’s circle — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 122

Broader Connections

• Wittfogel’s positivism isolated him from Horkheimer’s inner circle #complicates (0.82) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 122