Michael Harrington (political scientist)

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Edward Michael Harrington (born February 24, 1928 in St. Louis , Missouri , † July 31, 1989 in Larchmont , New York ) was an American democratic socialist , author, political activist, professor of political science and radio announcer. His book The Other America was a foundation of the Johnson administration in the fight against poverty ( War on Poverty ) in the USA.

Life

He attended Saint Louis University High School , the College of the Holy Cross , the University of Chicago (MA in English Literature), and Yale Law School . As a young man he was interested in politics and Catholicism. He consequently joined the Catholic labor movement of Dorothy Day . He loved arguing about culture and politics and his training in a Jesuit convent made him a great speaker and friend of debates. From 1951 to 1953, Harrington was editor of The Catholic Worker . Disaffected by religion - even if he retained some affection for the Catholic faith - he ultimately confessed to atheism .

Harrington becomes a socialist

Alienation from belief went hand in hand with a growing interest in Marxism . Harrington left the The Catholic Worker and was member of the group League of Independent Socialist (Independent Socialist League), a small organization dedicated to the former Trotskyist Max Shachtman leaned. Harrington and Shachtman believed that socialism with the promise to create a just and genuinely democratic society could not be realized in an authoritarian communist system. Both were extremely critical of the bureaucratic collectivism of the states of Eastern Europe and in other parts of the world.

Harrington became a member of the Socialist Party of America (SPA) when it merged with the Shachtmans organization. Harrington advocated continuing to work in the Democratic Party instead of putting up his own socialist candidates.

activities

During this time Harrington wrote his book Poverty in the United States . This had a great influence on the policies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson against poverty. Harrington became a widely recognized author and political columnist . He not only debated with conservatives, but there were also clashes with young radicals of the New Left. He attended the SDS ( Students for a Democratic Society ) conference in Michigan in 1960 . In his opinion, the final version of this memorandum did not set itself apart from existing communism. Arthur M. Schlesinger therefore called him the "only responsible radical" in America. His notoriety made him a major opponent of President Nixon .

In the early 1970s, Shachtman became a liberal hawk against communism. Shachtman and the leadership of the SPA supported the Vietnam War and led to the renaming of the party in Social Democrats USA . This led to the dissolution of the SPA. In protest, Harrington led a number of younger socialists and activists to the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee . Another small faction came together around the peace activist David McReynolds , who founded the Socialist Party of the USA .

In the early 1980s the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee allied with the New American Movement, an organization made up of former members of the New Left. They formed the group of Democratic Socialists of America . This organization in turn is currently the most important American member of the Socialist International . Socialist and social democratic parties such as the Swedish Social Democratic Party , the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Nicaragua's FSLN and the British Labor Party are organized in the Socialist International . Harrington was chairman of the Democratic Socialists from 1982 to 1989 .

academic career

Harrington was appointed Professor of Political Science at Queens College in New York in 1972. He died in 1989 of cancer. During his lifetime he was the best known American socialist.

literature

  • Robert A. Gorman. Michael Harrington. Speaking American. New York - London 1995.
  • Michael Harrington. The other America. Poverty in the United States . Munich 1964.
  • Michael Harrington. Socialism. History and future of an idea . Stuttgart - Zurich 1975
  • Maurice Isserman. The Other American. The Live of Michael Harrington. New York 2000.
  • Armin Pfahl-Traughber. Michael Harrington - a Democratic Socialist in the United States. A memory of the "man who revealed poverty", in: Perspektiven ds, 34th vol., No. 1/2017, pp. 219–227.

Web links

Wikiquote: Michael Harrington (Political Scientist)  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Herbert Mitgang: Michael Harrington, Socialist and Author, Is Dead . In: The New York Times . August 2, 1989, p. B10.
  2. ^ A b Maurice Isserman : The Other American. The Life of Michael Harrington . Public Affairs, New York 2000, pp. 1-104.
  3. ^ Maurice Isserman: The Other American . Pp. 175-255; Michael Harrington: Fragments of the Century . 1973.
  4. ^ Maurice Isserman: The Other American . Pp. 256-363; Michael Harrington: The Long-Distance Runner . 1988.
personal data
SURNAME Harrington, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Harrington, Edward Michael (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American democratic socialist, author, political activist, political scientist, and radio announcer
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Louis , Missouri
DATE OF DEATH July 31, 1989
Place of death Larchmont , New York