Edward Christie Banfield (November 19, 1916 – September 30, 1999) was an Americanpolitical scientist, best known as the author of The Moral Basis of a Backward Society (1958), and The Unheavenly City (1970). His work was foundational to the advent of the policing tactic of broken windows theory, which was first advocated by his mentee James Q. Wilson in an Atlantic Monthly article entitled "Broken Windows".[1]
One of the leading scholars of his generation, Banfield was an adviser to three Republican presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. Banfield began his academic career at the University of Chicago, where he was a friend and colleague of Leo Strauss and Milton Friedman.[2] In the latter half of the twentieth century Banfield contributed to shape American conservatism through the publication of sixteen books and numerous articles on urban politics, urban planning and civic culture.[3]
His wife, Laura Fasano Banfield, learned Italian as a child, and she helped her husband with his book about Chiaromonte, a poor village in Southern Italy (The Moral Basis of a Backward Society). She also collaborated with Harvey Mansfield on a translation of Niccolò Machiavelli's Florentine Histories. She died in 2006.
Banfield’s son, Elliott, is an artist/designer/cartoonist in New York City; his daughter, Laura, is founding partner of law firm Hoguet, Newman, & Regal, LLP and the mother of three daughters, Laura Kosar, Helen LaCroix, and Marie Hoguet.
Involvement with government aid programsedit
Banfield worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Farm Security Administration, traveled in the West, and observed the effects of government projects.[5] Although he initially supported President Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, Banfield gradually became skeptical of government attempts to construct housing, support the arts, etc. Well before Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs, Banfield had decided that government aid to the poor would make the givers of aid feel virtuous but would not improve the lives of the receivers of aid. He argued that "the real reason for the passage" of the legislation establishing the National Endowment for the Arts "was, and is, to benefit... the culture industry of New York City."[6]
Banfield's views were controversial, and The Unheavenly City sparked much debate.[7] According to MacInnes, Banfield:
made a simple and well-documented case that the problems played out in ghetto neighborhoods were a consequence of concentrated lower-class populations. Race was not the critical issue, he said. The black poor, Banfield suggested, were no different from other (white) lower-class Americans: they had no fondness for work, no strong family ties, an easy acceptance of criminal behavior, no brief for schooling, and no future perspective. Banfield argued that even well-pruned government programs could not undo the harm caused by class differences.[8]
His Harvard colleagues described him as "an individual with a strong and distinctive character that impressed itself on all who met him" and as a man who enjoyed " the delights of humor, long meals, and friendly company."[9] Banfield had "a reputation as a brilliant maverick", and his "books and articles had a sharp contrarian edge. He was a critic of almost every mainstream liberal idea in domestic policy, especially the use of federal aid to help relieve urbanpoverty.[10]"
^"Leo Strauss, "Remarks at Farewell to E.C. Banfield on Departure from Chicago," 1959". Scribd. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
^Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 28.
^"Biography". Edward C. Banfield. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
^Kosar, Kevin R. and Lee, Mordecai, "Defending a Controversial Agency: Edward C. Banfield As Farm Security Agency Public Relations Officer, 1941–1946" April 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Federal History journal, January 2013
^Huntington; Maass; Wilson (October 17, 2000). "Memorial Minutes: Edward C. Banfield". Harvard University Gazette. Retrieved November 23, 2006.
^Bernstein, Richard (October 8, 1999). "E. C. Banfield, 83, Maverick On Urban Policy Issues, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2006.
^"Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
Further readingedit
Edward C. Banfield: An Appreciation (Henry Salvatori Center, 2002).
External linksedit
Edward C. Banfield's books and writings may be downloaded freely and legally from Edward C. Banfield – An Online Resource.
A Nearly Forgotten Classic Study in Public Administration: Edward C. Banfield's Government Project Public Administration Review, September/October 2009, vol. 69, issue 5, pp. 993–997.
Hendrickson, K. (2004), "Edward Banfield on the Promise of Politics and the Limits of Federalism", Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 34 (4): 139–152, doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a005046
edward, banfield, edward, christie, banfield, november, 1916, september, 1999, american, political, scientist, best, known, author, moral, basis, backward, society, 1958, unheavenly, city, 1970, work, foundational, advent, policing, tactic, broken, windows, th. Edward Christie Banfield November 19 1916 September 30 1999 was an American political scientist best known as the author of The Moral Basis of a Backward Society 1958 and The Unheavenly City 1970 His work was foundational to the advent of the policing tactic of broken windows theory which was first advocated by his mentee James Q Wilson in an Atlantic Monthly article entitled Broken Windows 1 Banfield in Chiaromonte Italy in the 1950 sOne of the leading scholars of his generation Banfield was an adviser to three Republican presidents Richard Nixon Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan Banfield began his academic career at the University of Chicago where he was a friend and colleague of Leo Strauss and Milton Friedman 2 In the latter half of the twentieth century Banfield contributed to shape American conservatism through the publication of sixteen books and numerous articles on urban politics urban planning and civic culture 3 In 1959 Banfield went to Harvard where he remained for the rest of his career except for a brief tenure at the University of Pennsylvania 4 Contents 1 Family 2 Involvement with government aid programs 3 Published works 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksFamily editBanfield grew up on a farm in Bloomfield Connecticut and attended the University of Connecticut where he studied English and agriculture His wife Laura Fasano Banfield learned Italian as a child and she helped her husband with his book about Chiaromonte a poor village in Southern Italy The Moral Basis of a Backward Society She also collaborated with Harvey Mansfield on a translation of Niccolo Machiavelli s Florentine Histories She died in 2006 Banfield s son Elliott is an artist designer cartoonist in New York City his daughter Laura is founding partner of law firm Hoguet Newman amp Regal LLP and the mother of three daughters Laura Kosar Helen LaCroix and Marie Hoguet Involvement with government aid programs editBanfield worked for the U S Department of Agriculture and the Farm Security Administration traveled in the West and observed the effects of government projects 5 Although he initially supported President Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Banfield gradually became skeptical of government attempts to construct housing support the arts etc Well before Lyndon Johnson s Great Society programs Banfield had decided that government aid to the poor would make the givers of aid feel virtuous but would not improve the lives of the receivers of aid He argued that the real reason for the passage of the legislation establishing the National Endowment for the Arts was and is to benefit the culture industry of New York City 6 Banfield s views were controversial and The Unheavenly City sparked much debate 7 According to MacInnes Banfield made a simple and well documented case that the problems played out in ghetto neighborhoods were a consequence of concentrated lower class populations Race was not the critical issue he said The black poor Banfield suggested were no different from other white lower class Americans they had no fondness for work no strong family ties an easy acceptance of criminal behavior no brief for schooling and no future perspective Banfield argued that even well pruned government programs could not undo the harm caused by class differences 8 His Harvard colleagues described him as an individual with a strong and distinctive character that impressed itself on all who met him and as a man who enjoyed the delights of humor long meals and friendly company 9 Banfield had a reputation as a brilliant maverick and his books and articles had a sharp contrarian edge He was a critic of almost every mainstream liberal idea in domestic policy especially the use of federal aid to help relieve urban poverty 10 Banfield taught many conservative scholars including James Q Wilson and Thomas Sowell He also taught Christopher DeMuth and Bruce Kovner leading figures at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1961 11 Published works editGovernment Project 1951 Politics Planning and the Public Interest with Martin Meyerson 1955 The Moral Basis of a Backward Society 1958 Government and Housing in Metropolitan Areas with Morton M Grodzins 1958 A Report on the Politics of Boston with Martha Derthick 1960 Political Influence 1961 1982 2003 Urban Government A Reader in Politics and Administration 1961 City Politics with James Q Wilson 1963 American Foreign Aid Doctrines 1963 Big City Politics 1965 Boston The Job Ahead with Martin Meyerson 1966 The Unheavenly City 1970 The Unheavenly City Revisited A Revision of The Unheavenly City 1974 The Democratic Muse Visual Arts and the Public Interest 1984 Here the People Rule Selected Essays 1985 reprinted with additional essays in 1991 References edit Vitale Alex S The End of Policing Verso 2017 pp 19 22 https www versobooks com books 2426 the end of policing Leo Strauss Remarks at Farewell to E C Banfield on Departure from Chicago 1959 Scribd Retrieved December 31 2018 Caves R W 2004 Encyclopedia of the City Routledge p 28 Biography Edward C Banfield Retrieved October 17 2019 Kosar Kevin R and Lee Mordecai Defending a Controversial Agency Edward C Banfield As Farm Security Agency Public Relations Officer 1941 1946 Archived April 1 2013 at the Wayback Machine Federal History journal January 2013 Kauffman Bill March 23 2009 The Artist as a Kept Man The American Conservative Sowell Thomas Fall 2020 The Unheavenly City at Fifty Claremont Review of Books Retrieved November 25 2020 MacInnes 1996 57 White Racism Usurped Huntington Maass Wilson October 17 2000 Memorial Minutes Edward C Banfield Harvard University Gazette Retrieved November 23 2006 Bernstein Richard October 8 1999 E C Banfield 83 Maverick On Urban Policy Issues Dies New York Times Retrieved November 23 2006 Book of Members 1780 2010 Chapter B PDF American Academy of Arts and Sciences Retrieved May 17 2011 Further reading editEdward C Banfield An Appreciation Henry Salvatori Center 2002 External links editEdward C Banfield s books and writings may be downloaded freely and legally from Edward C Banfield An Online Resource A Nearly Forgotten Classic Study in Public Administration Edward C Banfield s Government Project Public Administration Review September October 2009 vol 69 issue 5 pp 993 997 Hendrickson K 2004 Edward Banfield on the Promise of Politics and the Limits of Federalism Publius The Journal of Federalism 34 4 139 152 doi 10 1093 oxfordjournals pubjof a005046 Appearances on C SPAN Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edward C Banfield amp oldid 1175495662, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
