Michael John Parenti (born September 30, 1933) is an American political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who writes on scholarly and popular subjects. He has taught at universities as well as run for political office. Parenti is well known for his Marxist writings and lectures. He is a leading intellectual of the

American Left The American Left consists of individuals and groups that have sought egalitarian changes in the economic, political and cultural institutions of the United States. Various subgroups with a national scope are active. Liberals and progressives ...

Education and personal life

Michael Parenti was raised by an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan area ...

working-class family in the

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

neighborhood of New York City. After graduating from high school, Parenti worked for several years. Upon returning to school, he received a BA from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

, an MA from Brown University and a PhD in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. Parenti is the father of Christian Parenti, an academic, author and journalist.

Career

For many years Parenti taught political and social science at various institutions of higher learning. Eventually he devoted himself full-time to writing, public speaking, and political activism. He is the author of 20 books and over 300 articles. His works have been translated into at least 18 languages. Parenti lectures frequently throughout the United States and abroad. Parenti's writings cover a wide range of subjects: U.S. politics, culture, ideology,

political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power ( economic and ...

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society ...

, democratic socialism,

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

orthodoxies, conservative judicial activism, religion,

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history co ...

, modern history,

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...

, repression in academia, news and entertainment media, technology, environmentalism,

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers prima ...

, racism,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

, the wars in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, ethnicity, and his own early life. His book ''Democracy for the Few'', now in its ninth edition, is a critical analysis of U.S. society, economy, and political institutions and a college-level political science textbook published by Wadsworth Publishing. In recent years he has addressed such subjects as "Empires: Past and Present," "US Interventionism: the Case of Iraq," "Race, Gender, and Class Power," "Ideology and History," "The Overthrow of Communism," and "Terrorism and Globalization." In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

, Parenti ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Vermont as the candidate of the democratic socialist

Liberty Union Party The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party, known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a political party active in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a self-proclaimed "non-violent socialist party". The LUP was founded in 1970 by former ...

; he came in third place, with 7.1% of the vote. Parenti was once a friend of Bernie Sanders, but he later split with Sanders over Sanders's support for the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an ...

. In the 1980s, he was a visiting fellow at the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American progressive think tank started in 1963 that is based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 2021 Tope Folarin was announced as new Executive Director. I ...

in Washington, D.C. In 2003, the Caucus for a New Political Science gave him a Career Achievement Award. In 2007, he received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from U.S. Representative

Barbara Lee Barbara Jean Lee (née Tutt; born July 16, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for . Now in her 12th term, Lee has served since 1998, and is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 9th d ...

. He served for 12 years as a judge for Project Censored. He also is on the advisory boards of Independent Progressive Politics Network and Education Without Borders as well as the advisory editorial boards of ''New Political Science'' and ''Nature, Society and Thought''.

Appearances in media

Apart from several recordings of some of his public speeches, Parenti has also appeared in the 1992 documentary '' The Panama Deception'', the 2004

Liberty Bound Christine M. Rose (born Christine M. Weisheit, November 12, 1969 in Parma, Ohio) is a contemporary American author and freelance writer best known for the ''Rowan of the Wood'' fantasy series and several works of fiction in the Steampunk genre ...

and 2013 Fall and Winter documentaries as an author and social commentator. Parenti was interviewed in Boris Malagurski's documentary film '' The Weight of Chains 2'' (2014). He was also interviewed for two episodes of the Showtime series '' Penn & Teller: Bullshit!'', speaking briefly about the Dalai Lama (Episode 305 – Holier Than Thou) and patriotism (Episode 508 – Mount Rushmore). New York City-based punk rock band Choking Victim use a number of samples from Michael Parenti's lectures in their album '' No Gods, No Managers''.

Bibliography

Articles

*''Ethnic Politics and the Persistence of Ethnic Identification''

The American Political Science Review The ''American Political Science Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all areas of political science. It is an official journal of the American Political Science Association and is published on their behalf by Cambridge ...

, Vol. 61, No. 3, 1967. (pp. 717–726) *''Review Symposium: Maximum Feasible Misunderstanding''

Urban Affairs Review ''Urban Affairs Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of urban studies, including urban policy, urban economic development and residential and community development. The journal's editors-in-chief are Phil Ashton (Unive ...

, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1970. (pp. 329–341) *''The Possibilities for Political Change''
Politics & Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1970. (pp. 79–90) *''Power and Pluralism: A View from the Bottom''

The Journal of Politics ''The Journal of Politics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of political science established in 1939 and published quarterly (February, May, August and November) by University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Southern Political Science Associ ...

, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1970. (pp. 501–530) *''Repression in Academia: A Report from the Field''
Politics & Society, Vol. 1, No. 4, 1971. (pp. 527–537) *''Book Review: The New Socialist Revolution''

Critical Sociology A critical theory is any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from ...

, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1974. (pp. 87–91) *
Is Nicaragua More Democratic Than the United States?
'
CovertAction Information Bulletin, No. 26, 1986. (p. 68) *
State Power and the JFK Assassination
'
Prevailing Winds, No. 1, 1997. (pp. 31–39) *''Methods of Media Manipulation''

The Humanist ''The Humanist'' is an American bi-monthly magazine published in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1941 by American Humanist Association. It covers topics in science, religion, media, technology, politics and popular culture and provides ethical ...

, Vol. 57, No. 4, 1997. (pp. 5–7)

Books

* ''The Anti-Communist Impulse''.

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Ger ...

, 1970. * ''Trends and Tragedies in American Foreign Policy''. Little, Brown, 1971. * ''Ethnic and Political Attitudes''.

Arno Press Arno Press was a Manhattan-based publishing house founded by Arnold Zohn in 1963, specializing in reprinting rare and long out-of-print materials. History Zohn served 48 missions on a bomber crew during World War II, and when he returned home h ...

, 1975.
''Democracy for the Few''
c.1974. ** 8th edition, 2007. * ''Power and the Powerless''. St. Martin's Press, 1978. ,
''Inventing Reality: The Politics of the Mass Media''
1986. ** 2nd Edition, 1993. *
The Sword and the Dollar: Imperialism, Revolution and the Arms Race
'. St. Martin's Press, 1989.
''Make-Believe Media: the Politics of Entertainment''
St. Martin's Press, 1992. ,
''Land of Idols: Political Mythology in America''
St. Martin's Press, 1993. ,
''Against Empire''
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1995. , *

''Dirty Truths''
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1996. Includes some autobiographical essays. , * ''Blackshirts & Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism''. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1997. ,
''America Besieged''.
San Francisco, Calif.: City Lights Books (1998). . . * ''History as Mystery''. San Francisco, Calif.: City Lights Books (1999). . .
''To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia''

Verso ' is the "right" or "front" side and ''verso'' is the "left" or "back" side when text is written or printed on a leaf of paper () in a bound item such as a codex, book, broadsheet, or pamphlet. Etymology The terms are shortened from Lati ...

, 2002. * ''The Terrorism Trap: September 11 and Beyond''. San Francisco, Calif.: City Lights Books (2002). . * ''The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome''. The New Press (2003). .
''Superpatriotism''
San Francisco, Calif.: City Lights Books (2004). .
''The Culture Struggle''.
Seven Stories Press (2006). . . * ''Contrary Notions''. City Lights Books (2007). . . * ''God and His Demons''. Prometheus Books (2010). * ''The Face of Imperialism''. Paradigm (2011). * ''Waiting for Yesterday: Pages from a Street Kid's Life'' Bordighera Press (2013). * ''Profit Pathology and Other Indecencies''

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, ...

(2015).

Book chapters

* "American Foreign Policy: A Tragic 'Success'." In: Curtis, Alan (ed). ''Patriotism, Democracy, and Common Sense: Restoring America's Promise at Home and Abroad''. Lanham, Mary.: Rowman & Littlefield; Washington, D.C.: Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation (2004), pp. 159–168. * "Foreword" In: Alford, Matthew. Reel Power: Hollywood Cinema and American Supremacy

Pluto Press Pluto Press is a British independent book publisher based in London, founded in 1969. Originally, it was the publishing arm of the International Socialists (today known as the Socialist Workers Party), until it changed hands and was replaced ...

London, pp. vii-xiii.

Notes

References

External links

Michael Parenti Political Archive
maintained by Michael Parenti as viewed on August 26, 2021 Internet Archive. * *
''Booknotes'' interview with Parenti on ''The Assassination of Julius Caesar''
September 7, 2003,

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United Stat ...

;Michael Parenti's articles
Dubious Design (Creationism & Intelligent Design)
;Audio
Talks by Michael Parenti
–

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Orig ...

format.
TUC Radio's Michael Parenti Archive
– recordings available for purchase.
Michael Parenti talks about “The Culture Struggle”
May 2007 on Democracy Now radio.
October 2006 interview on KPFA radio.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parenti, Michael 1933 births 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American anti-capitalists American anti-fascists American anti-poverty advocates American Book Award winners American communists American economics writers American male non-fiction writers American Marxist historians American media critics American people of Italian descent American political philosophers American political scientists American political writers American socialists Anti-corporate activists Anti-globalization writers Brown University alumni Candidates in the 1974 United States elections City College of New York alumni Historians from New York (state) Historians of the United States International relations scholars Living people Marxist writers People from East Harlem University of Vermont faculty Writers from Manhattan Yale University alumni