Michael Harrington
Also known as Edward Michael Harrington Jr.
American democratic socialist writer (1928 to 1989) whose The Other America spurred the War on Poverty.
At a glance
Main ideas
The invisible poor, The left wing of the possible, Democratic Marxism …
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The Other America, The Accidental Century, Toward a Democratic Left …
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Barbara Ehrenreich and The Other America
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- Harrington was a writer and political activist who came to socialism through Dorothy Day's Catholic Worker movement.
- His 1962 book The Other America is credited with helping launch the War on Poverty.
- He argued that socialists should work as the left wing of the Democratic Party.
- He co-founded the Democratic Socialists of America and was its most influential early leader.
Why it matters
- He made American poverty visible to the comfortable majority, and he shaped democratic socialism in the US.
Key facts
- Born
- 24 Feb 1928, St. Louis, Missouri1
- Died
- 31 Jul 1989, Larchmont, New York, of oesophageal cancer1
- Education
- BA, College of the Holy Cross; MA in English literature, University of Chicago; a year at Yale Law School1
- Catholic Worker
- Editor of the Catholic Worker newspaper from 1951 to 19531
- Queens College
- Professor of political science from 1972; distinguished professor from 19881
- Founded
- Co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America at its founding in 19821
- Awards
- George Polk Award and Sidney Award for The Other America1
Main ideas
-
The invisible poor2
Tens of millions of Americans lived in poverty hidden from the affluent majority.
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The left wing of the possible1
Socialists should work inside the Democratic Party.
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Democratic Marxism1
He read Marx as a democrat and rejected the Soviet and Chinese systems.
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Neoconservatism1
He is credited with coining the term, in 1973.
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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