Banfield, Edward C.

EDWARD C. BANFIELD was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut on November 19, 1916. He married Laura Fasano in 1938, who helped him produce the renowned book, The Moral Basis of a Backward Society (1958). Banfield died in East Montpelier, Vermont on September 30, 1999. Banfield worked for the Farm Security Administration and other federal agencies during the New Deal before entering the University of Chicago, where he earned his Ph.D in political science. He taught there and at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. He served as an advisor to President Richard M. Nixon and authored numerous studies on poverty, urban planning, policy, and politics, and American governance generally. Banfield’s scholarship drew upon many sources, including his employment with the federal government and his readings in philosophy, history, sociology, and economics. Written in clear and often blunt prose, Banfield’s works attracted attention both within and without academia. Though many years have passed since they were first written, readers still will find Banfield's books insightful and intellectually provocative. (from http://www.kevinrkosar.com/Edward-C-Banfield/ with permission.)