Richard Jackson Barnet (May 7, 1929 – December 23, 2004) was an American scholar who co-founded the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...

Early years

Richard Barnet was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and raised in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

. After attending The Roxbury Latin School, he graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1951 and from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1954. After serving two years in the U.S. Army, he worked as a lawyer in Boston. In 1959, and became a fellow at Harvard's Russian Research Center, which was renamed the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies in 1996.

Government service

After publishing his first book, ''Who Wants Disarmament?'' (1960), a study of U.S.-Soviet

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing Weapon, weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, ...

negotiations, Barnet joined the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

in 1961 as an aide to John J. McCloy in the U.S.

Arms Control and Disarmament Agency The U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was an independent agency of the United States government that existed from 1961 to 1999. Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, ...

Institute for Policy Studies

Disillusioned by his experience of the inner workings of government, Barnet left government service in 1963 to co-found, with Marcus Raskin, the

(IPS). He served as its co-director until 1978, and remained active at the institute he had helped create until his retirement in 1998. IPS was the first influential political

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

, according to Sidney Blumenthal, who said that the structure of IPS served as a model for the ideologically antagonistic Heritage Foundation. From 1969, Barnet was a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

foreign policy organization.

Author

Richard Barnet wrote ''Roots of War'' (1972), ''Global Reach: The Power of the Multinational Corporations'' (1974), one of the first books critical of the effects of what would come to be known as

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

, ''Lean Years'' (1980), an account of the environmental movement and ''Global Dreams'' (1994), an analysis of some powerful corporations. He also wrote, with his wife, Ann, ''Youngest Minds: Parenting and Genes in the Development of Intellect and Emotion'' (1998). Barnet often contributed to ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' and '' Sojourners Magazine'', among other publications.

Personal life

Barnet's background was Jewish. As an adult he became a Christian, which influenced his views about war, peace and civil rights. He was a talented violinist, and taught music to children from poor neighborhoods toward the end his life. He and his wife, pediatric neurologist Dr. Ann B. Barnet, had two daughters, Juliana and Beth, and one son, Michael, as well as a foster son, Arthurnell. Richard Barnet died at age 75 on December 23, 2004.

Works

* ''Intervention and Revolution; the United States in the Third World'', 1968 * ''The Economy of Death'', 1969 *
Roots of War: The Men and Institutions behind U.S. Foreign Policy
', 1972 * ''Global Reach: The Power of the Multinational Corporations'' (1974) * ''The Giants: Russia and America'', 1977 * ''Real Security: Restoring American Power in a Dangerous Decade'', 1981 * ''The Rockets' Red Glare: when America goes to War : the Presidents and the People'', 1990 * ''The Lean Years: Politics in the Age of Scarcity'', 1982 *
The Alliance - America, Europe, Japan: Makers of the Postwar World
'' 1983

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnet, Richard 1929 births 2004 deaths American political writers American male non-fiction writers American male violinists Academics from Boston People from Brookline, Massachusetts Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American violinists Roxbury Latin School alumni 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American male writers Harvard College alumni