Stuart Chase

Stuart Chase (March 8, 1888 – November 16, 1985) was an American economist,[1] social theorist, and writer.[2] His writings covered topics as diverse as general semantics and physical economy. His thought was shaped by Henry George (1839-1897), by economic philosopher Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929), by Fabian socialism, and briefly by the Communist social and educational experiments in the Soviet Union to around 1930, though Chase was broadly a modern American liberal.[3][4]

Chase spent his early political career supporting "a wide range of reform causes: the single tax, women's suffrage, birth control and socialism."[3] Chase's early books, The Tragedy of Waste (1925) and Your Money's Worth (1927), were notable for their criticism of corporate advertising and their advocacy of consumer protection.[5] In 1929 Chase co-founded Consumers' Research, a consumer protection advocacy organization.[6][7]

  1. ^ Sullivan, Ronald (1985-11-17). "Stuart Chase, 97, Coined phrase 'A New Deal'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-04-13. Stuart Chase, an economist and member of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's brain trust who coined the phrase a New Deal, died yesterday at his home in Redding, Conn. He was 97 years old.... During the 1960s, Mr. Chase was a strong advocate of the Great Society programs of President Lyndon B. Johnson.... Mr. Chase opposed warfare and aligned himself with isolationists who opposed United States entry into World War II.
  2. ^ Silber, Norman (2000). Chase, Stuart (1888–1985), social theorist and writer. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1400950. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7.
  3. ^ a b Westbrook, Robert B. (1980). "Tribune of the Technostructure: The Popular Economics of Stuart Chase". American Quarterly. 32 (4): 387–408. doi:10.2307/2712459. ISSN 0003-0678. JSTOR 2712459.
  4. ^ Engerman, David C. (2009). Modernization from the Other Shore: American Intellectuals and the Romance of Russian Development. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-03652-9.
  5. ^ Chapman, Richard N (1992). "A Critique of Advertising: Stuart Chase on the 'Godfather of Waste'". In Danna, Sammy Richard (ed.). Advertising and Popular Culture: Studies in Variety and Versatility. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. pp. 23–29. ISBN 978-0-87972-527-3.
  6. ^ Stuart Chase Papers
  7. ^ FREDERICK SCHLINK, CONSUMER WATCHDOG