Robert Morrison MacIver (April 17, 1882 – June 15, 1970) was a sociologist and

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Early life and family

Robert Morrison MacIver was born in

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on April 17, 1882, to Donald MacIver, a general

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

and

tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

manufacturer, and Christina MacIver (née Morrison). His father was a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

, specifically, Scottish Presbyterian. On 14 August 1911, he married Elizabeth Marion Peterkin. They had three children: Ian Tennant Morrison, Christina Elizabeth, and Donald Gordon.

Education

He received degrees from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

(M.A. 1903; D.Ph. 1915), the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(B.A. 1907),

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(Litt.E. 1929), and Harvard (1936). In his rather long period of formal education, he had never made any academically supervised study of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. His work in that field was distinguished by his acumen, his philosophical understanding, and extensive study of the major pioneering works of Durkheim, Levy-Bruhl, Simmel and others in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Library in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, while resident as a student in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Career

He was a

university lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

(1907) and

(1911) at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. He left

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in 1915 for a post at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

where he was a Professor of Political Science and later became the Head of department from 1922 to 1927. MacIver was

vice chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Canada War Labor Board from 1917 to 1918. In 1927, he accepted an invitation from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he became professor of Social Science from 1927 to 1936. He was subsequently named Lieber Professor of Political Science and Sociology at Columbia University and taught there from 1929 to 1950. He was the president of

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

for Social Research from 1963 until 1965. During these years, he was the founder of the School's Center for New Your City Affairs. He became chancellor in 1966. He was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. He was a member of the

American Sociological Society The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

, and was elected as its 30th President in 1940. He was a member of the

Institut International de Sociologie The International Institute of Sociology (IIS) is a scholarly organization which seeks to stimulate and facilitate the development, exchange, and application of scientific knowledge to questions of sociological relevance. Membership is open to al ...

and of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

Activism

In the 1950s, MacIver was activist at Boris Gourevitch's the Union for the Protection of the Human Person. Among its activities, with

Albert Simard Albert Charles Joseph Simard ''Albert C. J. Simard(ca. 1891 — May 2, 1973New York State Journal of Medicine. (1973). United States: Medical Society of the State of New York. p. 2918 South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on equality.

Bibliography

*''Community: A Sociological Study'', (1917) *
Labor in the Changing World
', (1919) *''Elements of Social Science'', (1921) *''The Modern State'', (1926) *''Relation of Sociology and Social Work'', (1931) *''Society'' 1st Edition (textbook), (1931) *''Economic Reconstruction'', (1934) *''Towards an Abiding Peace'', (1935) *''Society'' 2nd Edition (textbook), (1937) *
Leviathan and the People
', (1939) *''Social Causation'', (1942) *Foreword to

Karl Polanyi Karl Paul Polanyi (; ; 25 October 1886 – 23 April 1964)''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2003) vol 9. p. 554 was an Austro-Hungarian economic anthropologist, economic sociologist, and politician, best kno ...

's '' The Great Transformation'' (1944) *
The Web of Government
', (1947) *''The More Perfect Union'' (1949) *''The Ramparts We Guard'' (1950) *
The Pursuit of Happiness A Philosophy For Modern Living
' (1955)
''Society'' 3rd Edition (textbook)
With

Charles Page Charles Page (June 2, 1860 – December 27, 1926) was a businessman and important philanthropist in the early history of Tulsa, Oklahoma. After his father died when Page was an 11-year-old boy in Wisconsin, he left school early to try to help sup ...

, (1959) *''The Nations and the United Nations'' (1959) *''Life: Its Dimensions and its Bounds'' (1960) *''The Challenge of The Passing Years'' (1962) *''Power Transformed'' (1964) *''The Prevention and Control of Delinquency'' (1966) *''As a Tale That Is Told: The Autobiography of R. M. MacIver'' (1968)

Sources

Entry in: ''A Dictionary of Sociology'', George Marshall (Ed.), 1998, Oxford University Press, Curriculum vitae provided by MacIver to the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches in 1950, in box 428.11.01.1 of the archives of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland (http://library.oikoumene.org/en/home.html)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maciver, Robert Morrison 1882 births 1970 deaths American sociologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Aberdeen Presidents of the American Sociological Association The New School faculty Columbia University faculty Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canadian sociologists Scottish sociologists Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Members of the American Philosophical Society