Leslie White

Leslie White was a prominent American anthropologist who argued that cultural evolution could be quantitatively measured by the amount of energy harnessed per capita, per year. He famously formulated the equation E × T = C, meaning Culture equals Energy multiplied by Technology.

White spent the majority of his academic career as a professor at the University of Michigan. During his time there, he became highly influential and mentored a new generation of anthropologists, including notable figures like Elman Service and Marshall Sahlins.

White is best known for reviving the heavily criticized theory of 19th-century cultural evolutionism in mid-20th-century anthropology. He fiercely defended a materialist and evolutionary approach against the prevailing Boasian school of historical particularism, which argued that each culture develops entirely uniquely.

Yes, White was known for his vocal secularism and his defense of socialist ideas during a highly conservative era in the United States. His critical writings on religion and capitalism, particularly during the Cold War Red Scare, made him a controversial figure and occasionally drew the scrutiny of the FBI.