Stanley Williams Moore (July 24, 1914 – December 5, 1997) was an American professor of philosophy, specializing in the study of Karl Marx. He taught at

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

until 1954, when he was subpoenaed by the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

and refused to answer questions about his political beliefs. He was fired by the college and worked part-time for

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 ...

for the next decade, before being offered a full-time position with the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

Early life

Moore was born on July 24, 1914, in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Growing up on

Mission Peak Mission Peak is a mountain peak located east of Fremont, California. It is the northern summit on a ridge that includes Mount Allison and Monument Peak. Mission Peak has symbolic importance, and is depicted on the logo of the City of Fremont. I ...

on a ranch near San Jose, he studied philosophy at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He graduated with a bachelor's of arts degree in 1935 and studied briefly at

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 ...

, before returning to Berkeley to receive his Ph.D. in 1940. After two years of teaching at Harvard, Moore was drafted into the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

during World War II and was stationed overseas in Britain and Russia. He later spoke about waiting to be drafted before joining the military because, as a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

, he was worried that he would not pass the background checks required for direct commission. After he left the military, he spent two terms at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and then began teaching philosophy at

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Academic career

Moore was a social and political philosopher, specializing in the study of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

. He published four books, ''The Critique of Capitalist Democracy'' (1957), ''Three Tactics'' (1963), ''Marx and the Choice Between Socialism and Communism'' (1980), and ''Marx Versus Markets'' (1993).

Public hearing

Moore was a member of the Communist Party, although he later claimed to have left the party around 1953 due to a disillusionment with the Soviet Union, particularly citing the US organization's stance on the

doctors' plot The "doctors' plot" () was a Soviet state-sponsored anti-intellectual and anti-cosmopolitan campaign based on a conspiracy theory that alleged an anti-Soviet cabal of prominent medical specialists, including some of Jewish ethnicity, intend ...

. Eighteen months later, he was subpoenaed by the

(HUAC), a congressional committee with the aim of identifying communists in the country. He was brought before a public hearing in Portland, where he refused to testify about his political beliefs, relying on the Fifth Amendment. Moore was suspended from his professorship with Reed College due to his testimony. In response, he wrote a 10-page open letter to the university about

academic freedom Academic freedom is the right of a teacher to instruct and the right of a student to learn in an academic setting unhampered by outside interference. It may also include the right of academics to engage in social and political criticism. Academic ...

, arguing that, "It is an abuse of power for an employer to question an employee about his politics. It is a travesty of justice to do so in an atmosphere created by pressure from influential demagogues". He claimed that the college was aware he was a Marxist and they had nevertheless promoted him to full professorship.

Later career

Moore was fired from the university in August 1954 and struggled to find other work for the next decade, teaching on a part-time basis at

from 1955 to 1965. He spoke alongside

Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse ( ; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German–American philosopher, social critic, and Political philosophy, political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at ...

and Lewis Feuer at a symposium titled "Marx Today", hosted by the

in 1964 and on the basis of this talk, he was hired by the university, where he taught from 1965 to his retirement in 1974. In 1981, Reed College issued an official apology to Moore and the college president Steven S. Koblik invited him back in 1993 to give a lecture.

Personal life

Moore was briefly married to

Marguerite Higgins Marguerite Higgins Hall (September 3, 1920January 3, 1966) was an American reporter and war correspondent. Higgins covered World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and in the process advanced the cause of equal access for female war ...

, a war correspondent. In 1950, he had a relationship with one of his undergraduate students,

Fay Stender Fay Abrahams Stender (March 29, 1932 – May 19, 1980) was an American lawyer from the San Francisco Bay Area, and a prisoner rights activist. Some of her better-known clients included Black Panther leader Huey Newton, and the Soledad Brothers, in ...

. He later married Daphne and had two daughters, Daisy and Dinah.

Death

Moore died on December 5, 1997, in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, at the age of 83.

Works

* '' The Critique of Capitalist Democracy'' (1957)
''Three Tactics: The Background in Mar''x
(1963) * '' Marx and the Choice Between Socialism and Communism'' (1980) * '' Marx Versus Markets'' (1993)