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| In the mid-], Magdoff moved to ] to take a job with the ] measuring the ] of various manufacturing industries. He later served in the ]. Toward the end of the ], he became chief economist in charge of the Current Business Analysis Division at the ]. Later, he worked as an assistant to ] ]. Magdoff left government work in ]. The next year, he served as an adviser to Wallace as a candidate in the ]. | In the mid-], Magdoff moved to ] to take a job with the ] measuring the ] of various manufacturing industries. He later served in the ]. Toward the end of the ], he became chief economist in charge of the Current Business Analysis Division at the ]. Later, he worked as an assistant to ] ]. Magdoff left government work in ]. The next year, he served as an adviser to Wallace as a candidate in the ]. | ||
| Magdoff became vulnerable |
Magdoff became vulnerable during the ]. Hounded by investigative committees and the ], he could not get a job in his field through much of the ]. However, by the late 1950s he was able to get a job teaching economics at the ]. | ||
| His first and perhaps most influential book, ''The Age of Imperialism'', was published in ]. The book sold over 100,000 copies and was translated into fifteen languages. Two years later, after the death of ], he began co-editing with ] ''Monthly Review'', the leading independent Marxist journal in the United States, and has continued to edit the magazine into his 90th year. Under Magdoff's direction, the ''Monthly Review'' has focused more and more upon ] as the key unit of analysis for global development and the forces challenging ] in the ] as the most likely prospects for challenging the system. This perspective put the magazine and its press squarely on the "]" intellectual agenda since the late ]. | His first and perhaps most influential book, ''The Age of Imperialism'', was published in ]. The book sold over 100,000 copies and was translated into fifteen languages. Two years later, after the death of ], he began co-editing with ] ''Monthly Review'', the leading independent Marxist journal in the United States, and has continued to edit the magazine into his 90th year. Under Magdoff's direction, the ''Monthly Review'' has focused more and more upon ] as the key unit of analysis for global development and the forces challenging ] in the ] as the most likely prospects for challenging the system. This perspective put the magazine and its press squarely on the "]" intellectual agenda since the late ]. | ||
Revision as of 15:37, 18 July 2005
Henry Samuel Magdoff (born August 21, 1913) is a U.S. economist and longtime editor of the Marxist Monthly Review.
A child of poor Russian Jewish immigrants, Magdoff grew up in the Bronx. In 1929, at age 15, Magdoff first started reading Karl Marx when he picked up a copy of The Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy in a used-book store. "It blew my mind," recalled Magdoff in 2003. "His view of history was a revelation... that got me started reading about economics. We were going into the Depression then and I wanted to figure out what it all meant." His interest in Marx led him to embrace socialism.
He attended City College of New York, taking engineering, math and physics courses. He was suspended and later expelled from City College for his activities related to editing Frontiers, a radical student magazine not sanctioned by the school. Later, he enrolled in New York University and earned a degree in economics.
In the mid-1930s, Magdoff moved to Philadelphia to take a job with the Works Progress Administration measuring the productivity of various manufacturing industries. He later served in the National Defense Advisory Commission. Toward the end of the Second World War, he became chief economist in charge of the Current Business Analysis Division at the Commerce Department. Later, he worked as an assistant to Secretary of Commerce Henry A. Wallace. Magdoff left government work in 1947. The next year, he served as an adviser to Wallace as a candidate in the 1948 presidential race.
Magdoff became vulnerable during the McCarthy Era. Hounded by investigative committees and the FBI, he could not get a job in his field through much of the 1950s. However, by the late 1950s he was able to get a job teaching economics at the New School for Social Research.
His first and perhaps most influential book, The Age of Imperialism, was published in 1969. The book sold over 100,000 copies and was translated into fifteen languages. Two years later, after the death of Leo Huberman, he began co-editing with Paul Sweezy Monthly Review, the leading independent Marxist journal in the United States, and has continued to edit the magazine into his 90th year. Under Magdoff's direction, the Monthly Review has focused more and more upon imperialism as the key unit of analysis for global development and the forces challenging neocolonialism in the Third World as the most likely prospects for challenging the system. This perspective put the magazine and its press squarely on the "New Left" intellectual agenda since the late 1960s.
Magdoff's work has kept him in the forefront of leftist thought in the U.S. from the 1930s to this day. The Great Depression left a strong impact on Magdoff's perspective on capitalism. One of the few prominent socialists in the U.S., Magdoff recalls the sense of doom felt by capitalism-watchers at mid-century, and has held that nothing since 1929 leads him to believe that the system has become immune from cycles of severe crisis.
Magdoff and the late Paul Sweezy together produced five books. Magdoff's most recent book is Imperialism without Colonies, published when he was 89. Today Magdoff co-edits the Monthly Review with John Bellamy Foster.
Magdoff has two sons. His son, Fred Magdoff, is an expert in plant and soil science. His wife of almost 70 years, Beatrice, died in 2002.
Books published
- Imperialism Without Colonies (2003)
- The Age of Imperialism (1969)
- Imperialism from the Colonial Age to the Present (1977)
Books co-authored with Paul M. Sweezy
- The Dynamics of U.S. Capitalism (1970)
- The End of Prosperity (1977)
- The Deepening Crisis of U.S. Capitalism (1980)
- Stagnation and the Financial Explosion (1987)
- The Irreversible Crisis (1988)
External link
- "Socialism still makes sense to 90-year-old Harry Magdoff" (by Susan Green)