Harold Joseph Laski

Harold Joseph Laski

Harold Joseph Laski , 1893-1950, British political scientist, economist, author, and lecturer. A graduate of New College, Oxford, he taught at McGill Univ. (1914-16) and Harvard (1916-20). In 1920 he joined the faculty of the London School of Economics and in 1926 became professor of political science there, a position he held for the rest of his life. A member (1922-36) of the executive committee of the Fabian Society , Laski became a member of the Labour party executive committee in 1936 and was chairman of the party in 1945-46. He also held various official and semiofficial government posts. However, he is best known for his books on political science and for his speeches in Britain and the United States on political, social, and economic trends. Politically, Laski moved from an early belief in antistatist pluralism to the conviction that the state had to take the lead in socialist reform. His books include Studies in the Problem of Sovereignty (1917), Authority in the Modern State (1919), Political Thought in England from Locke to Bentham (1920), Karl Marx (1921), Communism (1927), Democracy in Crisis (1933), The American Presidency (1940), Faith, Reason, and Civilisation (1944), The American Democracy (1948), and Liberty in the Modern State (rev. ed. 1948).

Bibliography: See Holmes-Laski Letters (2 vol.,1953); biography by K. Martin (1953); H. Deane, The Political Ideas of Harold Laski (1955, repr. 1972).

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Laski, Harold Joseph

Laski, Harold Joseph (1893–1950) British political scientist and teacher. A prominent member of the Fabian Society, he served on the national executive of the Labour Party (1937–49) and as party chairman (1945–46). As a teacher, he influenced a number of the first wave of post-colonial leaders.

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"Laski, Harold Joseph." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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"Laski, Harold Joseph." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-LaskiHaroldJoseph.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Harold Laski: A Life on the Left.
Magazine article from: The Progressive; 3/1/1994
Harold Laski: A Political Biography.
Magazine article from: The Progressive; 3/1/1994
The state in theory and practice. (reprint, 1935).(Brief article)(Book review)
Magazine article from: Reference &amp; Research Book News; 2/1/2009

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