Last updated on: 6/9/2008 | Author: ProCon.org

Amitai Etzioni, PhD Biography

Title:
Founder and Director of The Communitarian Network
Position:
Con to the question "Is the ACLU Good for America?"
Reasoning:

“Foes of the American Civil Liberties Union believe it has veered off to the left; friends argue that friends should not criticize a beleaguered champion of the freedom of speech. But only those who keep close tabs realize that the ACLU has gone silly… The ACLU trivializes rights and adds to litigiousness when it pursues many of these cases. Our liberties would be better protected if the ACLU would focus its zeal where it matters, rather than on drummed up, far out, or indefensible cases.”

Washington Monthly, 2002
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
    Experts
Individuals with PhDs and JDs or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to the ACLU. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to the ACLU.
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Professor, George Washington University, 1980-present
  • Visiting Scholar in Sociology, Harvard University, 1996
  • Founder and Director, The Communitarian Network, 1990
  • Thomas Henry Carroll Ford Foundation Professorship (Visiting Professor), Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1987-1989
  • Professor, Columbia University, 1959-1980
  • Senior Adviser to Richard Harden, Special Assistant to the President, the White House, 1979-1980
  • Guest Scholar, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, 1978-1979
  • Chairman, Department of Sociology, Columbia University, 1969-1971
  • Associate Director, Bureau of Applied Social Research, 1969-1970
  • Senior Staff Member, Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University, 1961-1970
  • Director, Center for Policy Research, 1968
  • Recipient, John P. McGovern Award in Behavioral Sciences
  • Recipient, Seventh James Wilbur Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Appreciation and Advancement of Human Values by the Conference on Value Inquiry
  • Recipient, Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Education:
  • PhD, Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, 1958
  • MA, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1956
  • BA, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1954
Other:
  • None found
Quoted in:
  1. Should HIV Testing for Pregnant Women Be Mandatory?
  2. Should the Government Be Allowed to Collect DNA Samples from Non-Violent and Non-Convicted Offenders?