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Capital & Class
http://cnc.sagepub.com/content/31/1/131
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DOI: 10.1177/030981680709100107
2007 31: 131 Capital & Class
Andrew Glyn and Bob Sutcliffe
John Harrison, socialist teacher and writer

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- Jan 1, 2007 Version of Record >>

by Pepe Portillo on July 29, 2014 cnc.sagepub.com Downloaded from by Pepe Portillo on July 29, 2014 cnc.sagepub.com Downloaded from
11
Obituary John Harrison
John Harrison, socialist teacher
and writer
John Harrison, socialist
economist, has died aged
. A gifted teacher, he
gave bold, lucid talks on
political economy for
non-economists during
the Thatcher years,
reaching an audience that
would normally shun the
dismal science and its
dour practitioners.
E
ducated at Birkenhead School, he worked in the
Liverpool docks in a gap before university, an
experience that left a deep impression. During his
iic course at Oxford in the late 16os, he was an outstanding
student of economic development and, at a time of rapidly
sharpening political struggle and growing interest in
Marxism, he acquired a commitment to socialist politics
and political economy to which he devoted his great talent.
After completing a Masters degree at the School of
Oriental and African Studies, he worked in Oxford on a
research project on post-war capitalism, which resulted in
the book Capitalism Since World War II, co-authored with
Philip Armstrong and Andrew Glyn. Early work on the
project coincided with talk of a military coup in Britain,
and John, with his strong sense of the absurd, delighted in
the fact that the projects oce shared a building used by the
universitys cadet corps. Earnest discussions on Marxs
transformation problem would be interrupted by the sound
of elderly armoured cars revving up in the garage below.
During the 1;os, John edited a series of books on
socialist economics for Pluto Press, and was an active
member of the editorial board of Capital & Class. His
pioneering and much-discussed article analysing the role of
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Capital & Class #I 1z
housework in capitalist economies helped to spark a long
and important debate on the subject. Many other contributors
to this and other debates have acknowledged his input to
their own work, revealing not only his generosity as a
commentator, but also the respect of his academic peers. In
18o, he and Andrew Glyn co-authored The British Economic
Disaster. This was a response to the Thatcher era, inaugurated
the year before. John had a gift for uent, accessible writing,
and felt that his writing should have a wider political purpose.
In the mid-1;os, John began to give talks on socialist
and Marxist economics for non-economists. The Greyhound
pub in Oxford was his first venue. The talks developed into
a series of lectures given at the Planning Department of the
Architectural Association, and for the Workers Educational
Association in London, and also formed the basis for a
wonderfully accessible book, Marxist Economics for Socialists:
A Critique of Reformism, published by Pluto in 1;8. This
remains one of the best introductions to the subject.
His ability to communicate economics to non-economists
led to a series of talks on current aairs at the Financial
Times, his favourite newspaper. Johns quirky lecturing style
was developed at Thames Polytechnic, where his teaching
aids included a can of baked beans used to illustrate Marxs
notion of the commodity, while students discussing
Thatcherism had to contend with a lecturer wearing a
Spitting Image mask of Mrs T.
He was an inspiring teacher, very popular with his
students, who appreciated his easy-going, earthy style and
the way he treated them as equals. He never felt that he had
all the answers, and he was comfortable saying I dont know
when necessary. In debates on political economy with his
peers, on the other hand, he could be wound-up, tenacious
and competitive, though there were no hard feelings
afterwards. Over a drink, John would revert to his witty,
gentle, amiable self. He would spend time out at stand-up
comedy and jazz gigs, and fired o Pythonesque postcards
to friends when travelling in Cuba, Nicaragua, Algeria, the
cssn, the cs and Estonia, amongst other places.
In the mid-1;os, John was briey involved in two far-
left groups, but his temperament was not well suited to party
work. Nevertheless, he remained an active supporter of the
labour movement, and made an important contribution to
the discussion of economic policy at the Greater London
Council.
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1
Obituary John Harrison
John always had extremely contemporary views on society,
personal relations and style. He pioneered the use of a
combination of suit and T-shirtalways with one of his
trademark hats. But his modernism did not extend to a rapport
with computers or cars, and he rode a bike only after extreme
cajoling. Surrealism was normal to him, and he saw nothing
odd in watching snooker for hours on 1v, in black and white.
Sadly, his health deteriorated badly, undermining his
ability to continue with professional and political activities.
He had to abandon teaching, and in recent years lived in
retirement in Kent. The postcards he wrote were from
Whitstable, and friends noted that detective novels were
gradually displacing his economics and politics collections.
He is survived by his parents, Rylva and Derek.
Andrew Glyn and Bob Sutcliffe
Jonathan Muir Harrison, writer and educator; born
:; January I, died 8 December :oo6.
John at May Day demonstration in Havana, I8y
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