Charles Murray
Also known as Charles Alan Murray
American political scientist, born 1943; wrote Losing Ground and co-wrote The Bell Curve.
At a glance
Main ideas
Welfare backfires, Intelligence and class, Coming apart
See all 3Criticism
The Bell Curve and race, Christopher Jencks, Nell Irvin Painter …
See all 4Books to start with
Losing Ground, The Bell Curve, Coming Apart
See all 3Connections
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Murray is a political scientist and the W.H.
- Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
- His work is highly controversial.
- Losing Ground (1984) argued that welfare programmes increased poverty and influenced the 1996 welfare reform debate.
- The Bell Curve (1994), written with Richard Herrnstein, argued that intelligence had become a major predictor of life outcomes.
- He describes himself as a libertarian.
Why it matters
- His books have shaped and inflamed American debates about welfare, class and intelligence for four decades.
Key facts
- Born
- 8 Jan 1943, Newton, Iowa1
- Education
- BA in history, Harvard (1965); PhD in political science, MIT (1974)1
- Peace Corps
- In Thailand from 1965 to 1968; he stayed there six years in all1
- Career
- American Institutes for Research from 1974 to 1981; Manhattan Institute from 1981 to 1990; American Enterprise Institute from 19901
- Position
- W.H. Brady Scholar, American Enterprise Institute1
- Award
- Irving Kristol Award, AEI (2009)1
Main ideas
Criticism
-
The Bell Curve and race1
Its hypothesis that racial gaps in average IQ are partly genetic is now considered discredited by mainstream science.
-
Christopher Jencks2
Called Losing Ground "Social Darwinism".
-
Nell Irvin Painter1
Wrote that Coming Apart ignores a longer and more complex history.
-
Middlebury, 20171
Students protested his talk on Coming Apart, citing the eugenicist implications they saw in his work.
Books to start with
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Connections
Writes
Links
Sources
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