Evan Durbin
Encyclopedia
Evan Frank Mottram Durbin (1 March 1906 – 3 September 1948) was a British economist and left-wing politician, whose writings combined a belief in central economic planning with a conviction that the price mechanism of markets was indispensable.
The historian David Kynaston
has described Durbin as 'the Labour Party
's most interesting thinker of the 1940s and arguably of the twentieth century'.
; Taunton School
; and New College
, Oxford University
. At Oxford he studied zoology, followed by PPE, and became one of what Ben Pimlott described as 'the "Cole group" of distinguished young socialists'. He befriended Hugh Gaitskell
(later to become leader of the Labour Party 1955-63) during the General Strike of 1926, when he did public speaking on behalf of the strikers in and around Oxford, and Gaitskell acted as his driver.In 1929, he was awarded a Ricardo scholarship to study economics at University College, London
, where Gaitskell was already on the teaching staff and their friendship, which lasted until Durbin's death, cemented itself.
(LSE), where he remained until 1940. Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Economics, London School of Economics, 1930-1945.
He was Parliamentary candidate (Labour) for East Grinstead, 1931 (where Gaitskell spoke for him, addressing a meeting which included 'rowdy but good-natured Tory opposition'), and Gillingham, Kent, 1935 (where, in his selection speech, Durbin famously prioritised the preservation of political democracy over the pursuit of both socialism and peace).
In early 1939 he joined with Douglas Jay and Hugh Gaitskell in urging the Labour Party leadership to agree to the government's proposal for military conscription as long as there was a quid pro quo in the form of the '"conscription of wealth" or a wealth tax'. Instead, the Labour Party failed to support conscription at all, a decision which (with benefit of hindight) seems profoundly mistaken. Once war broke out, Durbin was temporarily seconded to then Economic Section of War Cabinet Secretariat with other notable economists such as Lionel Robbins and the young Harold Wilson, 1940-1942 (during which time he penned "The Politics of Democratic Socialism" which Professor David Marquand described as consummating "[t]he marriage between Keynsianism and Fabianism"); temporary Personal Assistant to Clement Attlee
, Deputy Prime Minister, 1942-1945.
Durbin became Labour MP for Edmonton, 1945-1948, and was amongst those invited to Hugh Dalton's "Young Victors Dinner" held at St Ermin's Hotel, off Victoria Street SW1. As other guests included George Brown, Richard Crossman, John Freeman, Hugh Gaitskell, Harold Wilson and Woodrow Wyatt, it is fairly clear that Durbin was regarded as a man of the future. He was Dalton's Parliamentary Private Secretary from 1945-47, and started a ministerial career as Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Works, 1947-1948.
On 2nd September 1948, Durbin was drowned while rescuing one of his daughters from the sea at Strangles Beach, south of Bude
, on the coast of Cornwall
.
after Durbin's death, Hugh Gaitskell
paid tribute to Durbin's 'clarity of purpose' and 'well defined set of moral values and social ideals'. Gaitskell wrote that Durbin 'insisted in applying the process of reasoning unflinchingly and with complete intellectual integrity to all human problems' - including a consistent opposition to the dictatorship of Stalin, for 'he would not sentimentalize about tyranny, which seemed to him equally odious everywhere'. Gaitskell noted in his diary: "There is ... nobody else in my life whom I can consult on the most fundamental issues, knowing that I shall get the guidance I want".
Despite his early death, Durbin continued to influence on Labour Party thinking throughout the 1950s, particularly for Gaitskell (who became party leader in 1955) and Labour revisionist Anthony Crosland
.
Durbin was also an important influence on the founders of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981. For the SDP, Durbin's writing provided a model for a successful fight against the left within the Labour Party.
The historian David Kynaston
David Kynaston
David Kynaston is an English historian and author of many books on English social history. He has published articles in the New Statesman and other magazines and journals....
has described Durbin as 'the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's most interesting thinker of the 1940s and arguably of the twentieth century'.
Early life
Durbin was born in 1906, the son of a Baptist minister. He was educated at Plympton and Exmouth Elementary Schools; Heles School, ExeterHele's School, Exeter
Hele's School was a boys' grammar school, and latterly a comprehensive school, in the city of Exeter, Devon, England.- Elize Hele’s bequest :...
; Taunton School
Taunton School
Taunton School is a co-educational independent school in the county town of Taunton in Somerset in South West England. It serves boarding and day-school pupils from the ages of 13 to 18....
; and New College
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. At Oxford he studied zoology, followed by PPE, and became one of what Ben Pimlott described as 'the "Cole group" of distinguished young socialists'. He befriended Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
(later to become leader of the Labour Party 1955-63) during the General Strike of 1926, when he did public speaking on behalf of the strikers in and around Oxford, and Gaitskell acted as his driver.In 1929, he was awarded a Ricardo scholarship to study economics at University College, London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where Gaitskell was already on the teaching staff and their friendship, which lasted until Durbin's death, cemented itself.
Economic career
In autumn 1930 he was appointed to a lectureship in economics at the London School of EconomicsLondon School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(LSE), where he remained until 1940. Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Economics, London School of Economics, 1930-1945.
Political career
Politically, Durbin defined himself as a 'militant Moderate'.He was Parliamentary candidate (Labour) for East Grinstead, 1931 (where Gaitskell spoke for him, addressing a meeting which included 'rowdy but good-natured Tory opposition'), and Gillingham, Kent, 1935 (where, in his selection speech, Durbin famously prioritised the preservation of political democracy over the pursuit of both socialism and peace).
In early 1939 he joined with Douglas Jay and Hugh Gaitskell in urging the Labour Party leadership to agree to the government's proposal for military conscription as long as there was a quid pro quo in the form of the '"conscription of wealth" or a wealth tax'. Instead, the Labour Party failed to support conscription at all, a decision which (with benefit of hindight) seems profoundly mistaken. Once war broke out, Durbin was temporarily seconded to then Economic Section of War Cabinet Secretariat with other notable economists such as Lionel Robbins and the young Harold Wilson, 1940-1942 (during which time he penned "The Politics of Democratic Socialism" which Professor David Marquand described as consummating "[t]he marriage between Keynsianism and Fabianism"); temporary Personal Assistant to Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
, Deputy Prime Minister, 1942-1945.
Durbin became Labour MP for Edmonton, 1945-1948, and was amongst those invited to Hugh Dalton's "Young Victors Dinner" held at St Ermin's Hotel, off Victoria Street SW1. As other guests included George Brown, Richard Crossman, John Freeman, Hugh Gaitskell, Harold Wilson and Woodrow Wyatt, it is fairly clear that Durbin was regarded as a man of the future. He was Dalton's Parliamentary Private Secretary from 1945-47, and started a ministerial career as Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Works, 1947-1948.
On 2nd September 1948, Durbin was drowned while rescuing one of his daughters from the sea at Strangles Beach, south of Bude
Bude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
, on the coast of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
.
Legacy
Writing in the TimesTimes
The Times is a UK daily newspaper, the original English language newspaper titled "Times". Times may also refer to:In newspapers:*The Times , went defunct in 2005*The Times *The Times of Northwest Indiana...
after Durbin's death, Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
paid tribute to Durbin's 'clarity of purpose' and 'well defined set of moral values and social ideals'. Gaitskell wrote that Durbin 'insisted in applying the process of reasoning unflinchingly and with complete intellectual integrity to all human problems' - including a consistent opposition to the dictatorship of Stalin, for 'he would not sentimentalize about tyranny, which seemed to him equally odious everywhere'. Gaitskell noted in his diary: "There is ... nobody else in my life whom I can consult on the most fundamental issues, knowing that I shall get the guidance I want".
Despite his early death, Durbin continued to influence on Labour Party thinking throughout the 1950s, particularly for Gaitskell (who became party leader in 1955) and Labour revisionist Anthony Crosland
Anthony Crosland
Charles Anthony Raven Crosland , otherwise Tony Crosland or C.A.R. Crosland, was a British Labour Party politician and author. He served as Member of Parliament for South Gloucestershire and later for Great Grimsby...
.
Durbin was also an important influence on the founders of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981. For the SDP, Durbin's writing provided a model for a successful fight against the left within the Labour Party.
Publications
- Purchasing power and trade depression: a critique of under-consumption theories (Jonathan Cape, London and Toronto, 1933)
- Socialist credit policy (Victor Gollancz, London, 1934)
- The problem of credit policy (Chapman and Hall, London, 1935)
- (Editor) War and democracy: essays on the causes and prevention of war (Kegan Paul and Co, London, 1938)
- How to pay for the war (G Routledge and Sons, London, 1939)
- Personal aggressiveness and war (Kegan Paul and Co, London, 1939)
- The politics of democratic socialism (G Routledge and Sons, London, 1940)
- What have we to defend? A brief critical examination of the British social tradition (G Routledge and Sons, London, 1942)
- Problems of economic planning (Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1949)
Sources
- Biography of Evan Durbin from Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1945