Ralph Harris, Baron Harris Of High Cross
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Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross (10 December 1924 – 19 October 2006), was a British economist. He was head of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a
neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
think thank, from 1957 to 1988.


Early life and education

Harris, the son of a tramways inspector, was "one of four children born to working-class parents on a council estate in
Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
, north-east London". He was educated at
Tottenham Grammar School Tottenham Grammar School (TGS) was a grammar school in North London, with local football connections. Its history goes back beyond the 1631 Sarah, fourth duchess of Somerset Seymour, bequest by the Duchess of Somerset. It closed in 1988, but ...
. He read Economics at
Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...
, graduating with a first-class degree. At Cambridge, he was influenced by Stanley R. Dennison, "who introduced him to the works of Friedrich von Hayek".


Career

After working at the Conservative Political Centre at Conservative Central Office, Harris was a lecturer in
political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...
at St Andrews University from 1949 to 1965. He was an unsuccessful Conservative Party candidate for
Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...
in 1951 and for Edinburgh Central in 1955, and became a leader writer for the '' Glasgow Herald'' in 1956. Harris became general director of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in 1957. He remained in this post until 1988, when he stepped down to become its chairman and was replaced by Graham Mather. Harris was then a founding president of the IEA from 1990 to his death. The IEA was set up by Antony Fisher and Oliver Smedley in 1955.
Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992) was an Austrian-born British academic and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobe ...
had suggested that an intellectual counterweight through
think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
s was necessary to combat the prevailing post-war consensus around
Keynesianism Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomics, macroeconomic theories and Economic model, models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongl ...
and the Butskellism of Rab Butler and
Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until ...
. Harris, together with editorial director Arthur Seldon, built the IEA and its affiliates of Atlas Network into a bastion of free-market economics and neoliberalism, which supplanted the post-war Keynesian paradigm. The IEA developed links with
Austrian School The Austrian school is a Heterodox economics, heterodox Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivat ...
and monetarist (from the Chicago School) economists, such as Hayek, Gottfried Haberler, Harry Gordon Johnson,
Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...
,
George Stigler George Joseph Stigler (; January 17, 1911 – December 1, 1991) was an American economist. He was the 1982 laureate in Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and is considered a key leader of the Chicago school of economics. Early life and e ...
, and James M. Buchanan, and published many pamphlets and papers on public finance issues, such as taxation, pensions, education, health, transport, and exchange rates. In 1979, during
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
's first few months in power, he was made a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
as Baron Harris of High Cross, of Tottenham in
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
. Despite his strong affiliation with Tory free marketeers, Harris sat on the crossbenches in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
to show his independence from any political party. Harris served on the council of the University of Buckingham from 1980 until 1995. It was founded in 1976 following a call from Harris and Seldon in 1968 for an independent university. Harris was Secretary of the Mont Pelerin Society from 1967, and its president from 1982 to 1984. He was "a moving spirit in the Wincott Foundation and the founding of the Social Affairs Unit". Although he did not like to be described as a Thatcherite, Harris was a founder of No Turning Back, a group within the Conservative Party advocating for Thatcherite policies and founded in 1985 to defend her economic policies. Harris became a Eurosceptic, and was chairman of the Bruges Group from 1989 to 1991. He was a director of
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
's Times Newspapers company from 1988 to 2001, although he read and wrote for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''. Nonetheless, Harris described Murdoch as the "Saviour of what we used to call Fleet Street". Harris helped set up a fighting fund so Neil Hamilton could sue the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
for
libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
in 1986 and Mohamed Al Fayed for libel in 1999. He was chairman of
Civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...
from 2000. He also supported the
poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...
. Harris was interviewed about his work at the IEA and the rise of
Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...
for the 2006
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
TV documentary series '' Tory! Tory! Tory!'' In August 2006, he told Andy Beckett, who interviewed Harris for his book ''When the Lights Went Out – Britain in the 1970s'', that he voted for the Labour Party twice at the two general elections in 1974 because he was angry at
Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...
's U-turn of 1972, his inability to stand up to the miners, and because if one voted Labour at least they knew what they were getting. A pipe smoker, Harris was a chairman of smokers' rights campaigners,
FOREST A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
, and its president in 2003. He was not convinced that
passive smoking Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called passive smoke, secondhand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by individuals other than the active Tobacco smoking, smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke diffuses into the ...
was dangerous and published and campaigned against the banning of smoking on trains from Brighton to Victoria station in 1995. Harris died suddenly of a ruptured aortic aneurysm at his home in North London on the morning of 19 October 2006.


Personal life

Harris married Jose Pauline Jeffery in 1949. They had two sons and a daughter. His sons predeceased him, dying in 1979 and 1992. Lady Harris died in 2017.


Works

* ''Politics without Prejudice'' (1956) * ''Hire Purchase in a Free Society'' (1958, 1959, 1961; with Arthur Seldon and Margot Naylor) * ''Choice in Welfare 1965'' (1965) * ''The Urgency of an Independent University'' (1968, 1969; with Arthur Seldon) * ''Choice in Welfare 1970'' (1971) * ''Down with the Poor'' (1971) * ''Not from Benevolence'' (1977, with Arthur Seldon) * ''Overruled on Welfare'' (1979) * ''No, Prime Minister!'' (1994) * ''Murder a Cigarette'' (1998, with Judith Hatton)


References


Bibliography


Primary sources

* *


External links

* *
Interview with Ralph Harris
on PBS
A Conversation with Harris and Seldon
The Institute of Economic Affairs, 2001 (PDF, 96 pages) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrisofhighcross, Ralph Harris, Baron 1924 births 2006 deaths 20th-century British economists Academics of the University of St Andrews Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Crossbench life peers English Anglicans Life peers created by Elizabeth II Member of the Mont Pelerin Society People associated with the University of Buckingham People educated at Tottenham Grammar School