Tawney, Richard Henry

Richard Henry Tawney (1880–1962) was a prominent economist and historian who championed the cause of socialism in Britain in the 20th century. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he held academic appointments at Glasgow, Oxford, and the London School of Economics.

A prominent intellectual, Tawney was a prolific writer, reaching a broad swath of British readers through numerous books, pamphlets, and newspaper articles. As a member of the British Labor Party, he served on major public commissions and committees that addressed policy issues in labor and education. Trips to China in the early 1930s and to the United States in 1941–1942 provided opportunities to understand laborers in a variety of national contexts and resulted in a new direction in his writing on comparative analysis.

Tawney was a major ...