Sam Aaronovitch | |
|---|---|
| Born | Samuel Aaronovitch (1919-12-26)26 December 1919 London, England |
| Died | 30 May 1998(1998-05-30) (aged 78) London, England |
| Occupation | Activist and author |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Genre | Economics |
| Children | 5; includingDavid,Owen andBen Aaronovitch |
Sam Aaronovitch (26 December 1919 – 30 May 1998)[1] was a British economist, academic, working class intellectual and senior member of theCommunist Party of Great Britain.
Aaronovitch was born in theEast End of London toJewish immigrants and his early years were devoted to activity as a Communist Party militant and then a party full timer. In 1945 he was the election agent for one of only two Communist candidates ever elected to theLondon County Council.[2]
Near the age of 50, he entered academia as an economist after studying atBalliol College, Oxford for aD.Phil. (without any previous academic qualifications) from 1967 to 1971. He once explained his difficulties in filling in applications for university posts: "Education:St George's-in-the-East Secondary,Stepney 1930–34; Balliol College,Oxford 1967–71."[2]
He became head of the economics department atSouth Bank Polytechnic and published a stream of books and articles on topics such as industrial pricing, insurance, monopoly, the impact of theCity on the London economy, and macroeconomic policy.[2] Although he remained a Communist Party member and a firmMarxist, he was a critic of party orthodoxy.[2]
Working with a team of militanttrade union officials and young intellectuals, Aaronovitch helped develop theAlternative Economic Strategy for the Labour movement only to see it derailed by the1979 election victory ofMargaret Thatcher.[2]
He published a series of books on Britishpolitical economy helping popularize the subject and as a speaker was able to combine and integrate industrial and academic viewpoints.
Aaronovitch aligned himself with the modernizingEurocommunist movement in the 1980s and was a frequent contributor toMarxism Today. In 1981, he publishedThe Road from Thatcherism in an attempt to articulate the need for a broad alliance againstThatcherism.[2]
In 1982, he established and ran theLocal Economic Policy Unit and published the journalLocal Economy.[2] The Sam Aaronovitch Memorial Prize is awarded each year.[3]
Falling ill, he retired fromSouth Bank University in 1997.[2]
He was married three times, to Bertha, Kirstine, and Lavender. He was survived by five children, among them thescience fiction scriptwriter and fantasy novelistBen Aaronovitch, journalistDavid Aaronovitch and actorOwen Aaronovitch.[2] A family memoir by David Aaronovitch,Party Animals: My Family and Other Communists, was published in January 2016.[4]
