Paul Sweezy

Paul Sweezy Marlor ( born April 10, 1910 in New York City; † 27 February 2004) was an American economist, Marxist author and editor of the magazine Monthly Review.

Life and work

He was the youngest son of Everett B., Vice President of the First National Bank of New York and Caroline Sweezy. His eldest brother Everett was born in 1901, Alan followed in 1907.

He graduated in 1931 at Harvard, he had previously studied at the Phillips Exeter Academy. He majored in economics. Sweezy 1932 spent a year at the London School of Economics. In England he approached to Marxism. He took part in university events of Harold Laski. After his return, he completed a graduate degree at Harvard University. Here he attended a seminar by Joseph Schumpeter. Sweezy was the teaching assistant of Schumpeter in the theory of economics for two years. 1937 doctorate Sweezy, his dissertation entitled Monopoly and Competition in the English Coal Industry, 1550-1850 was published the following year by Harvard University Press. His work has been awarded the David A. Wells Prize.

In the period that followed him a five-year contract as Assistant Professor was offered, accepted what Sweezy. The first three years of this period, he worked at Harvard, but in the fall of 1942, he left Harvard to join the U.S. Army in the fight against fascism. Previously, he and his first wife Maxine Yaple Sweezy divorced. Sweezy was in the course of its activities, an employee of the Office of Strategic Services. In this context, he went to London, where he in 1944 his future second wife met her, Nancy Adams. Together they had three children. 1960 left the two divorced. The following year, Sweezy marry with Zirel Druskin Dowd a third time.

After the end of its intelligence activities and return to the U.S. he decided not to run the remaining two years of his contract. Rather than pursue a university career, he decided to start a magazine together with Leo Huberman. The two had known each other since the 1930s. With the money of a Sweezy related friend, the literary scholar FO Matthiessen, could realize both their goal. The two formed in 1949 with a socialist magazine Monthly Review, whose appearance was in the middle of the phase of the McCarthy hysteria. Sweezy and Huberman also authored numerous articles for the magazine. So they criticized in a common series of articles the Vietnam War.

Already in 1942 published Sweezy The Theory of Capitalist Development. Published in German under the name theory of capitalist development, it constitutes an introduction to the work of Karl Marx

Sweezy and Huberman 1952 decided to start with the Monthly Review Press a publishing house. Within this framework, In 1966 appeared another well-known work, which together with Paul A. Baran wrote book Monopoly Capital. Other authors whose works were printed, were among others Ernest Mandel and Louis Althusser.

Again and again held Sweezy lectures at various universities from. So also 1971 at the University of Cambridge, entitled On the Theory of Monopoly Capitalism.

In the years 1974 to 1976, he worked in the administration of the American Economic Association.

As a so-called Visiting Professor Sweezy later taught at universities such as Cornell University, Stanford University and the University of Manchester.

Famous people who studied at Sweezy at Harvard, were among others Robert Heilbroner and Paul A. Samuelson. John Kenneth Galbraith was in the 30's a colleague of Sweezy at the university.

Works (selection)

• The theory of capitalist development, Oxford University Press, New York 1942 German: Theory of Capitalist Development. An analytical Stude on the principles of Marxian Social Sciences, translated by Gertrud Rittig tree house, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt / M. 1988, ISBN 3-518-10433-0.

• German: Socialism in Cuba, translated by Hans -Werner Sass, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt / M. 1969

• German: monopoly capital. An Essay on the American Economic and Social Order, translated by Hans -Werner Sass, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt / M. In 1973.