On Mon, 18 Mar 1996, Robert Pollin wrote: > David Gordon, one of the major contributors to radical political economy for > the past 20 years, and a great teacher and mainstay in the political economy > graduate program at the New School, died on Saturday. David was my > dissertation supervisor, as he was for many others of us working in > political economy. I could never repay my debt of gratitude to him, and I > know many others feel the same. We will greatly miss him. > > I know the New School is planning some kind of memorial service for him, and > I will post plans as I hear about them. Meanwhile, I would love to hear > especially from other former students, to think about ways that we can > create a meaningful send-off for David, at the memorial service and beyond. > > I am posting a draft of of obituary that Tom Weisskopf and Sam Bowles have > written. > > --Bob Pollin > > > > David M. Gordon (1944-1996) > > David Gordon, a leading economist of the left, died > Saturday at the age of fifty-two; he succumbed to congestive > heart failure while awaiting a heart transplant at Columbia > Presbyterian Hospital in New York. At the time of his death > he was Director of the Center for Economic Policy Analysis > and Professor of Economics at the New School for Social > Research. > > Gordon came from a family of economists. His father, > the late Robert Aaron Gordon, was President of the American > Economic Association while his mother, the late Margaret S. > Gordon, was well known for her contributions to the > economics of employment and social welfare policy. His > brother Robert J Gordon is a prominent macroeconomist and > Professor of Economics at Northwestern University. David > Gordon and his family have been referred to as the "Flying > Wallendas of Economics." > > David Gordon is best known for his contributions to the > theory of discrimination and labor market segmentation, his > analysis of the institutions shaping long-term economic > growth, and his trenchant criticisms of conservative > economic policy. His contributions to labor economics, > developed jointly with Richard Edwards and Michael Reich, > challenged the conventional assumption of a single labor > market and argued instead for the recognition of deep > divisions along racial, gender, and class lines. His > macroeconomic research involved theoretical, historical and > econometric analysis of the impact of political and social > as well as economic institutions on long-term investment and > growth. He coined the term "social structure of > accumulation" and is credited with founding the school of > economic thought bearing that name. > > Gordon's Fat and Mean: The Myth of Managerial > "Downsizing" and the Corporate Squeeze of Working Americans, > to be published next month by Martin Kessler Books at The > Free Press, has won lavish pre-publication praise. A review > to appear in The Atlantic suggests that it will be one of > the most influential public-policy books of the decade. The > book documents the long term decline in the pay and living > standards of American workers and what Gordon has termed the > increasingly top-heavy bureaucratic structure of American > corporations. > > As a student, Gordon wrote for the Harvard Crimson, and > following his graduation from Harvard in 1965 he helped > found The Southern Courier, a civil rights newspaper based > in Atlanta. Throughout his life he maintained his interest > in journalism, contributing an economics column to the Los > Angeles Times and numerous articles to The Nation, as well > as making frequent appearances on television and radio > commentary programs. > > Gordon received his doctoral degree in Economics from > Harvard University in 1971, taught briefly at Yale, and > since 1973 has been a professor of economics at the New > School for Social Research. Pointedly eschewing the career > paths of the economics mainstream, he was a founder and > active member of the Union for Radical Political Economics, > a professional organization of leftist economists, as well > as the Center for Democratic Alternatives, and most > recently, the Center for Economic Policy Analysis. Gordon > was particularly beloved by his many doctoral students at > the New School where he was known for his tireless attention > to their research. > > His major publications include Theories of Poverty and > Underemployment (1972), Segmented Work, Divided Workers > (with Richard Edwards and Michael Reich, 1982) and After the > Waste Land: A Democratic Economics for the year 2000 (with > Samuel Bowles and Thomas Weisskopf, 1991). He regarded Fat > and Mean as his legacy, working intensely on it over the > past year as his heart weakened, and delivering it to his > publisher on the day of a medical setback that led to his > final hospitalization. > > Asked four years ago to reflect on his professional > life to that point, Gordon responded: "I feel pleased with > the choices I have made and the work that my collaborators > and I have produced; frustrated by the condescending > complacency of mainstream economists; angered by the greed > and irrationality which dominate the U.S. political economy; > and still hopeful for the prospects of a significant > progressive mobilization towards a more just and humane > society as we turn towards the 21st century." > > A memorial service will be held at the New School for > Social Research on *** at ***. There will be no funeral; > contributions are welcome to the David M. Gordon Memorial > Fund for graduate fellowships at the Center for Economic > Policy Analysis. > > He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Diana Gordon, > Professor and Chair of Political Science at the City > University of New York, his brother Robert, and his extended > family members Timothy and Liam Stokes. > > > ******************************************* > Robert Pollin > Department of Economics > U. of California-Riverside > Riverside, CA 92521-0427, USA > (909) 787-5037 ext. 1579 (office); (909) 788-8106 (home) > (909) 787-5685 (fax); [EMAIL PROTECTED] (e-mail) > I am shocked by this sad news. I knew David as friend and colleague for many years at the New School, at Annual URPE meetings-late night hours- and later on when he came here to Paris to teach for a year. What can one say at such times are hard to put into words. David was an exceptional human being, an outstanding economist and an inspiring teacher. His untimely passing away is a great loss to all of us.> A. S. Fatemi Professor and Chairman Department of Economics The American University of Paris 31 ave Bosquet 75007 Paris Tel: (33) 1 40 62 06 40 Fax: (33) 1 47 05 33 49
