Myron Magnet
Encyclopedia
Myron Magnet was the editor
of City Journal from 1994 through 2007 and is now the magazine's Editor-at-Large. The Manhattan Institute
's quarterly journal of urban affairs, City Journal focuses on endemic urban dilemmas such as welfare, housing, taxes, and crime from a free-market, conservative perspective, as well as on culture
and society
.
Magnet has also served as a member of the Board of Editors at Fortune
Magazine, a publication for which he also wrote numerous articles after joining its staff in 1980, in addition to publishing essays or op-eds in Commentary, The Washington Monthly
, The Wall Street Journal
, and The New York Times
, among other publications.
Magnet is the author of several books, and is probably most well-known for writing The Dream and the Nightmare: The Sixties' Legacy to the Underclass, which President George W. Bush
has cited as a book that had a profound influence on his approach to public policy. The central premise of the book is that the dramatic cultural transformation that the United States experienced during the 1960s unintentionally created a vast underclass whose societal maladies we are still being forced to address. Magnet is also the author of Dickens and the Social Order (second edition: ISI Books, 2004), and he is the editor of The Millennial City: A New Urban Paradigm for 21st-Century America; What Makes Charity Work? A Century of Public and Private Philanthropy; and Modern Sex: Liberation and its Discontents.
Magnet graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy
in 1962. He holds bachelor's degree
s from both Columbia University
(1966) and the University of Cambridge
, as well an M.A. from Cambridge, and a Ph.D.
from Columbia University
. He has taught at Columbia University and at Middlebury College
.
In November, 2008, President Bush awarded Magnet the National Humanities Medal
"for scholarship and visionary influence in renewing our national culture of compassion. He has combined literary and cultural history with a profound understanding of contemporary urban life to examine new ways of relieving poverty and renewing civic institutions."
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of City Journal from 1994 through 2007 and is now the magazine's Editor-at-Large. The Manhattan Institute
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
's quarterly journal of urban affairs, City Journal focuses on endemic urban dilemmas such as welfare, housing, taxes, and crime from a free-market, conservative perspective, as well as on culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
.
Magnet has also served as a member of the Board of Editors at Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
Magazine, a publication for which he also wrote numerous articles after joining its staff in 1980, in addition to publishing essays or op-eds in Commentary, The Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly is a bimonthly nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C.The magazine's founder is Charles Peters, who started the magazine in 1969 and continues to write the "Tilting at Windmills" column in each issue. Paul Glastris, former...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, among other publications.
Magnet is the author of several books, and is probably most well-known for writing The Dream and the Nightmare: The Sixties' Legacy to the Underclass, which President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
has cited as a book that had a profound influence on his approach to public policy. The central premise of the book is that the dramatic cultural transformation that the United States experienced during the 1960s unintentionally created a vast underclass whose societal maladies we are still being forced to address. Magnet is also the author of Dickens and the Social Order (second edition: ISI Books, 2004), and he is the editor of The Millennial City: A New Urban Paradigm for 21st-Century America; What Makes Charity Work? A Century of Public and Private Philanthropy; and Modern Sex: Liberation and its Discontents.
Magnet graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
in 1962. He holds bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s from both Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(1966) and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, as well an M.A. from Cambridge, and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He has taught at Columbia University and at Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
.
In November, 2008, President Bush awarded Magnet the National Humanities Medal
National Humanities Medal
The National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.The award, given by the...
"for scholarship and visionary influence in renewing our national culture of compassion. He has combined literary and cultural history with a profound understanding of contemporary urban life to examine new ways of relieving poverty and renewing civic institutions."
External links
- Manhattan Institute Scholar | Myron Magnet
- Archive of City Journal columns
- National Humanities Medalist Biography
- What Is Compassionate Conservatism? - The Wall Street Journal
- Keep Rudy: Now more than ever, New York needs its hero mayor - The Wall Street Journal
- The Road to Serfdom: Myron Magnet says there’s a whiff of totalitarianism in Christo’s scheme - The New York Sun
- Magnet's Milestone - The New York Sun
- Book TV: The Dream and the Nightmare - C-SPAN 2