Susan George (political scientist)
Encyclopedia
Susan George is a well-known Franco-American
political
and social scientist, activist and writer on global social justice
, Third World
poverty, underdevelopment
and debt
. She is a fellow and president of the board of the Transnational Institute
in Amsterdam. She is a fierce critic of the present policies of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), World Bank
(IBRD) and what she calls their 'maldevelopment model'. She similarly criticizes the structural reform policies of the Washington Consensus
on Third World development. She is of U.S. birth but now resides in France, and has dual citizenship since 1994.
. She was the only child of Edith and Walter Akers, Episcopalians
whose families had been in America for many generations; her ancestors arrived in Massachusetts in 1632. Her father was an insurance broker, and her mother was a homemaker and a member of the Junior League
.
Born during the Great Depression
, she was raised in a privileged environment; she had a nursemaid
and took dance classes, music lessons, and, at a YMCA
, swimming lessons.
After attending a public, co-educational primary school, she went on to enroll at all-girls private preparatory academy
. She stated that single-sex schooling
"made me not a feminist. It was normal that women do whatever anybody did. Women were the sports experts. Women were the brains. You weren't in competition with men. You weren't expected to shut up--on the contrary! Even in my era, I never felt that I was particularly put down as a woman ever."
George's father encouraged all her interests, including those outside the realm of traditional femininity, such as science and baseball. When Walter Akers went to serve in World War II, his daughter assisted in planting a victory garden
.
As a young student, George was a voracious reader and always ranked first in her class. Around the age of 12, she began to develop a strong passion for the culture, language, and people of France. As a teenager she chose to attend Smith College
, in Northampton, Massachusetts, specifically in order to participate in the junior-year- abroad program in France. In Paris during the 1954-55 academic year, she took courses at Sciences Po
, a school specializing in social sciences. During that time, at the age of 20, she met a successful French lawyer, Charles-Henry George, 12 years her senior. In 1956 she married George and made France her permanent residence, but she did not obtain French citizenship until 1994. Quoted about her early years in France she said she felt homesick "for my women friends, probably, but not for America, per se. I'd made my choice." The couple soon started a family. Once her three children were in school full-time, George attended the Sorbonne
, obtaining the French equivalent of a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1967.
In 2002 Charles-Henry George died at their country home in France. Susan has three children—Valerie, Michel, and Stephanie—and is a grandmother.
In an interview she states: "Either we achieve together a new level of human emancipation, and do so in a way that preserves the earth, or we shall leave behind us the worst future for our children that capitalism and nature can deal them. No one knows in which direction the balance will tip nor does anyone know which actions, which writings, which alliances may achieve the critical mass that leads us one way or another, backwards or forwards. I am acutely conscious of the precariousness of our moment and my four much-loved grandchildren give me added resolve to address it."
She became a political activist in response to France's war in Algeria and U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The Vietnam War
"was this sort of gateway to understanding what America could be, which is to say something quite negative, which I had not understood at all when I lived there. I had accepted the usual propaganda."
In 1967 she joined the Paris-American Committee to Stop War (PACS). In 1973 PACS was forcibly dismantled by the French government. She then collaborated with the directors of the Institute for Policy Studies
in Washington, D.C., to form a new NGO devoted to social justice. The Transnational Institute
(TNI) opened its doors in Amsterdam, the Netherlands that same year; George remains a fellow at TNI and also serves as its board chair.
She became assistant to the director of an NGO, the American Centre for Students and Artists, in 1969. This sparked the interest of the CIA who had already been looking into P.A.C.S.
In 1971 she began working with the Front Solidarite Indochine, a group that organized antiwar lectures and protests in France. During this time she started public speaking.
In 1974 she attended the World Food Conference
in Rome, Italy where she felt that corporate agribusiness representatives dominated the proceedings.
In 1976 her first book was published: How the Other Half Dies: The Real Reasons for World Hunger.
In 1984 she had an active role in organizing the World Food Assembly, a meeting held in Rome, Italy.
From 1990 to 1995 she served on the board of conservation group Greenpeace
International, as well as that of Greenpeace France.
She opposed the OECD's proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment
(MAI) in the 1990s, and the ill-fated "Millennium Round" objectives of the World Trade Organization
at Seattle in 1999.
From 1999 to 2006 she was vice-president of ATTAC France
(Association for Taxation of (financial) Transactions to Aid Citizens) and remains a member of the scientific council. She was awarded the title of honorary president in 2008.
In 1999 she also participated in the Helsinki Process.
In 2004 she supported John Kerry
for president. She canvassed for Kerry in Pennsylvania, but wrote for OpenDemocracy.org (November 3, 2004), "we all thought [Kerry] had a very good chance, even though everyone admitted it was hard to get really enthusiastic about him.... The man isn't the most charismatic ever to walk the earth. But at least he's not a proto-fascist or a go-it-aloner, and that's what we seem--apart from a last-minute miracle--to be stuck with now. With four years clear ahead of him and no re-election to worry about, I fear Bush and the ghastly neo- con/neo-liberals around him will now go on the rampage. They can continue with impunity their attacks on the Constitution and on hard-won freedoms..."
2006: attends Table of Free Voices conference, held in Berlin, Germany, in September
Susan George is president of the Board of the Transnational Institute
in Amsterdam.
Susan George is also a Patron of the international development charity, Tools for Self Reliance
.
She is on the advisory board of CEO, the Corporate Europe Observatory
.
She has acted as a consultant to various United Nations specialised agencies and is a frequent public speaker, particularly for ATTAC groups, trade unions, and environment/development non-governmental organisations in many countries.
Franco-American
Franco-American is a brand name of the Campbell Soup Company.The original Franco-American Food Company was founded by Alphonse Biardot, who immigrated to the United States from France in 1880. In 1886, he and his two sons opened a commercial kitchen in Jersey City, New Jersey, featuring the foods...
political
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and social scientist, activist and writer on global social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
poverty, underdevelopment
Underdevelopment
Underdevelopment is a term often used to refer to economic underdevelopment, symptoms of which include lack of access to job opportunities, health care, drinkable water, food, education and housing...
and debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
. She is a fellow and president of the board of the Transnational Institute
Transnational Institute
Transnational Institute is an international think tank for progressive politics. It was established in 1973 in Amsterdam and serves as a network for scholars and activists...
in Amsterdam. She is a fierce critic of the present policies of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF), World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
(IBRD) and what she calls their 'maldevelopment model'. She similarly criticizes the structural reform policies of the Washington Consensus
Washington Consensus
The term Washington Consensus was coined in 1989 by the economist John Williamson to describe a set of ten relatively specific economic policy prescriptions that he considered constituted the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries...
on Third World development. She is of U.S. birth but now resides in France, and has dual citizenship since 1994.
Personal life
Born Susan Vance Akers on June 29, 1934 in Akron, OhioAkron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. She was the only child of Edith and Walter Akers, Episcopalians
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
whose families had been in America for many generations; her ancestors arrived in Massachusetts in 1632. Her father was an insurance broker, and her mother was a homemaker and a member of the Junior League
Junior League
The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. is a non-profit organization of 292 Junior Leagues in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States. Junior Leagues are educational and charitable women's organizations aimed at improving their communities through volunteerism and...
.
Born during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, she was raised in a privileged environment; she had a nursemaid
Nursemaid
A nursemaid or nursery maid, is mostly a historical term of employment for a female servant in an elite household. In the 21st century, the position is largely defunct, owing to the relatively small number of households who maintain large staffs with the traditional hierarchy.The nursery maid...
and took dance classes, music lessons, and, at a YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, swimming lessons.
After attending a public, co-educational primary school, she went on to enroll at all-girls private preparatory academy
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
. She stated that single-sex schooling
Single-sex education
Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and...
"made me not a feminist. It was normal that women do whatever anybody did. Women were the sports experts. Women were the brains. You weren't in competition with men. You weren't expected to shut up--on the contrary! Even in my era, I never felt that I was particularly put down as a woman ever."
George's father encouraged all her interests, including those outside the realm of traditional femininity, such as science and baseball. When Walter Akers went to serve in World War II, his daughter assisted in planting a victory garden
Victory garden
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply...
.
As a young student, George was a voracious reader and always ranked first in her class. Around the age of 12, she began to develop a strong passion for the culture, language, and people of France. As a teenager she chose to attend Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, in Northampton, Massachusetts, specifically in order to participate in the junior-year- abroad program in France. In Paris during the 1954-55 academic year, she took courses at Sciences Po
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
The Institut d'études politiques de Paris , simply referred to as Sciences Po , is a public research and higher education institution in Paris, France, specialised in the social sciences. It has the status of grand établissement, which allows its admissions process to be highly selective...
, a school specializing in social sciences. During that time, at the age of 20, she met a successful French lawyer, Charles-Henry George, 12 years her senior. In 1956 she married George and made France her permanent residence, but she did not obtain French citizenship until 1994. Quoted about her early years in France she said she felt homesick "for my women friends, probably, but not for America, per se. I'd made my choice." The couple soon started a family. Once her three children were in school full-time, George attended the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, obtaining the French equivalent of a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1967.
In 2002 Charles-Henry George died at their country home in France. Susan has three children—Valerie, Michel, and Stephanie—and is a grandmother.
In an interview she states: "Either we achieve together a new level of human emancipation, and do so in a way that preserves the earth, or we shall leave behind us the worst future for our children that capitalism and nature can deal them. No one knows in which direction the balance will tip nor does anyone know which actions, which writings, which alliances may achieve the critical mass that leads us one way or another, backwards or forwards. I am acutely conscious of the precariousness of our moment and my four much-loved grandchildren give me added resolve to address it."
Career
Throughout her career, George has been an antiwar activist as well as criticising what she saw as acts of corporate greed. At a time when women were not often allowed places of power in any organizational hierarchy, George established herself as a leader in the antihunger movement.She became a political activist in response to France's war in Algeria and U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
"was this sort of gateway to understanding what America could be, which is to say something quite negative, which I had not understood at all when I lived there. I had accepted the usual propaganda."
In 1967 she joined the Paris-American Committee to Stop War (PACS). In 1973 PACS was forcibly dismantled by the French government. She then collaborated with the directors of the Institute for Policy Studies
Institute for Policy Studies
Institute for Policy Studies is a left-wing think tank based in Washington, D.C..It has been directed by John Cavanagh since 1998- History :...
in Washington, D.C., to form a new NGO devoted to social justice. The Transnational Institute
Transnational Institute
Transnational Institute is an international think tank for progressive politics. It was established in 1973 in Amsterdam and serves as a network for scholars and activists...
(TNI) opened its doors in Amsterdam, the Netherlands that same year; George remains a fellow at TNI and also serves as its board chair.
She became assistant to the director of an NGO, the American Centre for Students and Artists, in 1969. This sparked the interest of the CIA who had already been looking into P.A.C.S.
In 1971 she began working with the Front Solidarite Indochine, a group that organized antiwar lectures and protests in France. During this time she started public speaking.
In 1974 she attended the World Food Conference
World Food Conference
The first World Food Conference was held in Rome in 1974 by the United Nations under the auspices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization , in the wake of the devastating famine in Bangladesh in the preceding two years....
in Rome, Italy where she felt that corporate agribusiness representatives dominated the proceedings.
In 1976 her first book was published: How the Other Half Dies: The Real Reasons for World Hunger.
In 1984 she had an active role in organizing the World Food Assembly, a meeting held in Rome, Italy.
From 1990 to 1995 she served on the board of conservation group Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
International, as well as that of Greenpeace France.
She opposed the OECD's proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment
Multilateral Agreement on Investment
The Multilateral Agreement on Investment was a draft agreement negotiated between members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1995–1998. Its ostensible purpose was to develop multilateral rules that would ensure international investment was governed in a more...
(MAI) in the 1990s, and the ill-fated "Millennium Round" objectives of the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
at Seattle in 1999.
From 1999 to 2006 she was vice-president of ATTAC France
Association pour la Taxation des Transactions pour l'Aide aux Citoyens
The Association pour la taxation des transactions financières et pour l'action citoyenne is an activist organization originally created for promoting the establishment of a tax on foreign exchange transactions.-Background:Originally a single-issue movement demanding the...
(Association for Taxation of (financial) Transactions to Aid Citizens) and remains a member of the scientific council. She was awarded the title of honorary president in 2008.
In 1999 she also participated in the Helsinki Process.
In 2004 she supported John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
for president. She canvassed for Kerry in Pennsylvania, but wrote for OpenDemocracy.org (November 3, 2004), "we all thought [Kerry] had a very good chance, even though everyone admitted it was hard to get really enthusiastic about him.... The man isn't the most charismatic ever to walk the earth. But at least he's not a proto-fascist or a go-it-aloner, and that's what we seem--apart from a last-minute miracle--to be stuck with now. With four years clear ahead of him and no re-election to worry about, I fear Bush and the ghastly neo- con/neo-liberals around him will now go on the rampage. They can continue with impunity their attacks on the Constitution and on hard-won freedoms..."
2006: attends Table of Free Voices conference, held in Berlin, Germany, in September
Susan George is president of the Board of the Transnational Institute
Transnational Institute
Transnational Institute is an international think tank for progressive politics. It was established in 1973 in Amsterdam and serves as a network for scholars and activists...
in Amsterdam.
Susan George is also a Patron of the international development charity, Tools for Self Reliance
Tools for Self Reliance
Tools for Self Reliance is an international development charity in the United Kingdom which recycles and refurbishes tools and sewing machines and supplies them to users in Africa....
.
She is on the advisory board of CEO, the Corporate Europe Observatory
Corporate Europe Observatory
Corporate Europe Observatory , is a non-profit research and campaign group working to expose and challenge the privileged access and influence enjoyed by corporations and their lobby groups in EU policy making...
.
She has acted as a consultant to various United Nations specialised agencies and is a frequent public speaker, particularly for ATTAC groups, trade unions, and environment/development non-governmental organisations in many countries.
Academic degrees
- French/Government [B.A. Smith College, USA ] 1956;
- Philosophy [Licence ès Philosophie, Sorbonne] 1967;
- Political Studies [Doctorate, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, University of Paris] 1978;
Honors
- honorary president ATTACAssociation pour la Taxation des Transactions pour l'Aide aux CitoyensThe Association pour la taxation des transactions financières et pour l'action citoyenne is an activist organization originally created for promoting the establishment of a tax on foreign exchange transactions.-Background:Originally a single-issue movement demanding the...
- honorary doctorate from University of Newcastle-upon- Tyne in the UK 2007:
- awarded "Outstanding Public Scholar" in early March by the International Studies AssociationInternational Studies AssociationThe International Studies Association was founded by a group of scholars and practitioners in 1959 to pursue mutual interests in international studies. Representing eighty countries, ISA has over three thousand members worldwide and is the most respected and widely known scholarly association in...
at its congress in Chicago, Illinois 2007. - honorary doctorate in political science and sociology from the Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, in Madrid 2007
- mentioned as honorary advisor of The Other Economic SummitThe Other Economic SummitThe Other Economic Summit , was a counter-summit to the annual G7 summits, first held in 1984 in London. It included diverse groups of economists, greens and community activists...
.
External links
- Susan George's home page at Transnational InstituteTransnational InstituteTransnational Institute is an international think tank for progressive politics. It was established in 1973 in Amsterdam and serves as a network for scholars and activists...
. - Full biography at Transnational Institute
- Another world is possible, if... Interview with Caspar Henderson of openDemocracy, 12 October 2004