Thomas Ferguson (born 1949) is an American

political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...

and author who writes on

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, often within a

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

perspective. He is best known for his

Investment Theory of Party Competition The Investment theory of party competition is a political theory developed by Thomas Ferguson, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The theory focuses on how business elites, not voters, play the leadi ...

, described in detail in his 1995 book ''Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-driven Political Systems''.

Biography

Ferguson obtained his Ph.D. from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

before teaching at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and the

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He later moved to the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

where he is now Emeritus Professor of Political Science. Ferguson is a member of the advisory board for the

Institute for New Economic Thinking The Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) is a New York City–based nonprofit think tank. It was founded in October 2009 as a result of the 2007–2012 global financial crisis, and runs a variety of affiliated programs at major universitie ...

where he is Director of Research, and was also a senior fellow at the

Roosevelt Institute The Roosevelt Institute is a liberal American think tank. According to the organization, it exists "to carry forward the legacy and values of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by developing progressive ideas and bold leadership in the service of rest ...

. Alongside his academic work Ferguson has also contributed widely to popular media. He has been a contributing editor at ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' and a contributing writer to ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. He is also a contributing editor at ''

AlterNet AlterNet is a left-leaning online news outlet. It was launched in 1997 by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of ''Raw Story''. Coverage Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progre ...

''.

Investment theory of party competition

Ferguson is best known for his ''investment theory of party competition'', which was detailed most extensively in his 1995 book ''Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-Driven Political Systems''. The theory states that political systems featuring party competition are best understood as competitions for investment from wealthy segments of society. This is because political campaigns are expensive, and so political parties whose policies are most attractive to wealthy 'investors' will tend to be more successful as they are better able to attract the finances required to win election campaigns. The theory contrasts with the

median voter theorem The median voter theorem is a proposition relating to ranked preference voting put forward by Duncan Black in 1948.Duncan Black, "On the Rationale of Group Decision-making" (1948). It states that if voters and policies are distributed along a one-d ...

, which states that the outcome of elections will be the preferences of the median voter as political parties converge on the 'center ground' as they compete for votes. In 2009, the documentary ''Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Politics'' about the theory was released, it featured speakers including Thomas Ferguson,

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...

and

Michael Albert Michael Albert (born April 8, 1947) is an American economist, speaker, writer, and political critic. Since the late 1970s, he has published books, articles, and other contributions on a wide array of subjects. He has also set up his own media ...

MIT controversy

According to

, Ferguson was warned while at MIT that his research might get him denied

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

in the political science department. In Chomsky's account, Ferguson was told "If you ever want to get tenure in this department, keep away from anything after the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

; you can write all of your radical stuff up to the New Deal, but if you try and do it for the post-New Deal period, you're never going to get tenure in this department." Although not explicitly mentioned, the research was ostensibly the

investment theory of party competition The Investment theory of party competition is a political theory developed by Thomas Ferguson, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The theory focuses on how business elites, not voters, play the leadi ...

Selected works

Ferguson has written numerous scholarly articles, magazine pieces, and a number of books.

Books

* * *

Scholarly

* * * *Epstein, Gerald; Ferguson, Thomas (1984). "Monetary Policy, Loan Liquidation, and Industrial Conflict: The Federal Reserve and the Open Market Operations of 1932". ''The Journal of Economic History.'' 44 (4): 957-983. * * * * * *
Longer version available here.
* * * *Ferguson, Thomas; Johnson, Robert (2011). "A World Upside Down? Deficit Fantasies in the Great Recession". International Journal of Political Economy. 40 (1): 3-47. doi:10.2753/IJP0891-1916400101. *

References

External links

UMass Boston polisci profile

Thomas Ferguson's articles
in

.
Thomas Ferguson's articles
in

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

.
Thomas Ferguson's articles
at

Alternet AlterNet is a left-leaning online news outlet. It was launched in 1997 by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of ''Raw Story''. Coverage Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progre ...

.
"Giant holes in new banking rules"
Thomas Ferguson interview on

The Real News The Real News Network (TRNN) is an independent, nonprofit news organization based in Baltimore, MD that covers both national and international news. History TRNN was founded by documentary producer Paul Jay and Mishuk Munier in September 20 ...

, November 2009 (video and print transcript).
"Obama should save banks not bankers"
Thomas Ferguson interview on The Real News, March 2009 (video and print transcript).
"Money and Power in the 2000 Elections"
Thomas Ferguson interview on

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

, November 7, 2000 (audio and print transcript).
Profile at Institute for New Economic Thinking

Profile at the Roosevelt Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Thomas 1949 births American political scientists Princeton University alumni University of Massachusetts Boston faculty Living people