Moses Finley

Sir Moses Finley
Head-and-shoulders photograph of Finley in a white shirt and a tie: he is in late middle age and has medium-length hair, styled behind his ears.
Born
Moses Israel Finkelstein

(1912-05-20)20 May 1912
New York City, New York, United States
Died23 June 1986(1986-06-23) (aged 74)
Spouse
Mary
(m. 1932⁠–⁠1986)
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
DisciplineClassics
Sub-discipline
School or traditionFrankfurt School
Institutions
Doctoral students

Sir Moses Israel Finley FBA (born Finkelstein; 20 May 1912 – 23 June 1986) was an American-born British academic and classical scholar. His prosecution by the United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security during the 1950s resulted in his relocation to England, where he became an English classical scholar and eventually master of Darwin College, Cambridge. His most notable publication is The Ancient Economy (1973), in which he argued that the economy in antiquity was governed by status and civic ideology rather than rational economic motivations.