The grave of H B Acton, Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh

Harry Burrows Acton (2 June 1908 – 16 June 1974) was an English academic in the field of

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

, known for books defending the

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

, and attacking Marxism-Leninism. He in particular produced arguments on the incoherence of

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, which he described as a 'farrago' (in philosophical terms). His book ''The Illusion of the Epoch'', in which this appears, is a standard point of reference. Other interests were the

Marquis de Condorcet Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (; 17 September 1743 – 29 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher and mathematician. His ideas, including support for a liberal economy, free and equal pu ...

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest" ...

F. H. Bradley Francis Herbert Bradley (30 January 1846 – 18 September 1924) was a British idealist philosopher. His most important work was ''Appearance and Reality'' (1893). Life Bradley was born at Clapham, Surrey, England (now part of the Greater ...

, Bernard Bosanquet and

Sidney Webb Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, (13 July 1859 – 13 October 1947) was a British socialist, economist and reformer, who co-founded the London School of Economics. He was an early member of the Fabian Society in 1884, joining, like Geo ...

. Acton also endorsed a version of negative utilitarianism, according to which the reduction of suffering has unique moral importance.Acton, Henry Burrows, “Negative Utilitarianism,” with John William Nevill Watkins, ''Aristotelian Society Supplementary'', 1963, Volume 37:1, pp. 83-114. He had teaching positions at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, Bedford College, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he occupied the Chair of Moral Philosophy, and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He was editor of ''Philosophy'', the journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, of which he was for a time Director. He was president of the

Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...

from 1952 to 1953. He is buried in Grange Cemetery in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

close to the main entrance.

Works

*''The Illusion of the Epoch: Marxism-Leninism as a Philosophical Creed'' (1955) *''The Philosophy of Language in Revolutionary France'' (1959) Dawes Hicks Lecture of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

*''What Marx Really Said'' (1967) *''Philosophy of Punishment'' (1969) editor *''Kant's moral philosophy'' (1970) *''The Morals of Markets: an Ethical Exploration'' (1971) essays edited by David Gordon and Jeremy Shearmur. 2nd edition (1993), Liberty Fund, *''The Right to Work and the Right to Strike'' (1972) *''The ethics of capitalism (The Company and its Responsibilities)'' (1972) *''The idea of a spiritual power: 1973 Auguste Comte memorial trust lecture'' (1974)

References

External links

* H.B. Acton, ''The Illusion of the Epoch: Marxism-Leninism as a Philosophical Creed'' (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2003). ''See original text i
The Online Library of Liberty
'. {{DEFAULTSORT:Acton, H.B. 1908 births 1974 deaths Writers from London 20th-century British philosophers Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the London School of Economics Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London English philosophers English political philosophers People educated at St Olave's Grammar School Presidents of the Aristotelian Society English political writers University of Chicago faculty Burials at the Grange Cemetery English social commentators