Early Life
Born in Scotland, Thomson was educated in universities in his homeland, the United States and Germany, studying philosophy. He became a leading authority on the works of Oswald Spengler and in 1932 published the book Civilization as Divine Superman, which rejected Spengler's theories about the decline of civilization, arguing that it could be avoided by the rejection of capitalism and its replacement with collectivism. Whilst studying in Germany Thomson met and married the daughter of x-ray pioneer Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen. Upon his return to Britain he made his money from the manufacture of silver paper, a process he learned in Germany. Thomson's political career began with him joining the Communist Party of Great Britain, although his membership did not last long as he rejected notions of historical materialism and saw himself move more towards corporatism.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Raven Thomson
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