Michael John Parenti (born September 30, 1933) is an American political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who writes on scholarly and popular subjects. He has taught at universities as well as run for political office.[1] Parenti is well known for his Marxist writings and lectures,[2][3] and is an intellectual of the American Left.[4][5]
For many years Parenti taught political and social science at various institutions of higher learning, including at the University of Vermont. [citation needed] Eventually he devoted himself full-time to writing, public speaking, and political activism.[10]
His book Democracy for the Few is a critical analysis of U.S. society, economy, and political institutions.[citation needed] His book Blackshirts and Reds defended the Soviet Union and communist states of the 20th century from criticism, arguing that they were morally superior compared to capitalist states, that the problems of the Soviet Union were caused by the Russian Civil War and capitalist interference, and that "Left anti-Communist" and "pure socialist" critics failed to offer any alternatives to the Soviet Union's "siege socialism".[11]
In 1974, Parenti ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Vermont as the candidate of the democratic socialist Liberty Union Party; he came in third place, with 7.1% of the vote.[12][13] Parenti was once a friend of Bernie Sanders, but he later split with Sanders over Sanders's support for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.[14][15]
He served for 12 years as a judge for Project Censored.[17] He also is on the advisory boards of Independent Progressive Politics Network and Education Without Borders as well as the advisory editorial boards of New Political Science and Nature, Society and Thought.[18][19]
Appearances in mediaedit
Apart from several recordings of some of his public speeches, Parenti has also appeared in the 1992 documentary The Panama Deception, the 2004 Liberty Bound[20] and 2013 Fall and Winter documentaries[21] as an author and social commentator.
Parenti was interviewed in Boris Malagurski's documentary film The Weight of Chains 2 (2014) about the former Yugoslavia.[22] He was also interviewed for two episodes of the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, speaking briefly about the Dalai Lama (Episode 305 – Holier Than Thou)[23] and patriotism (Episode 508 – Mount Rushmore).[citation needed]
^"How Bernie Sanders, an Open Socialist, Won Burlington's Mayoral Election". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
^Parenti, Michael (January 1, 1998). "The Increasing Relevance of Marxism". Socialism and Democracy. 12 (1): 115–121. doi:10.1080/08854309808428215. ISSN 0885-4300.
^Boggs, Carl (June 1, 2012). "Reflections on Politics and Academia: An Interview with Michael Parenti". New Political Science. 34 (2): 228–236. doi:10.1080/07393148.2012.676401. ISSN 0739-3148. S2CID 147258248.
^Lattin, Don (April 5, 2010). "Review: 'God and His Demons,' by Michael Parenti". SFGATE. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
^Carr, Paul R. (2011). Does Your Vote Count?: Critical Pedagogy and Democracy. Peter Lang. p. 274. ISBN 978-1-4331-0813-6.
^Parenti, Michael (August 2007). "La Famiglia: An Ethno-Class Experience". Contrary Notions: The Michael Parenti Reader. City Lights Books. pp. 403. ISBN 978-0-87286-482-5.
^ abc"Michael Parenti – The Humanities Institute – The Humanities Institute". Scripps CollegeScripps College. April 17, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^Bergman, Tabe (January 1, 2019). ""Old-New" Directions in Political Communication: Taking Michael Parenti's Media Criticism as a Guide". Frontiers in Communication. 4. doi:10.3389/fcomm.2019.00023. ISSN 2297-900X.
^"Christian Parenti". John Jay College of Criminal Justice. January 31, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
^Parenti, Michael (1996). "Struggles in Academe: A Personal Account". Dirty Truths. ISBN 0-87286-317-4.
^"Worker's ice pick". The Anarchist Library. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
^Sanders, Bernie (1997). "You Have to Begin Somewhere". Outsider in the House.
^Zeitlin, Matthew (June 13, 2019). "Bernie's Red Vermont". The New Republic. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
^Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Michael Parenti on Bernie Sanders". YouTube.
^Parenti, Michael (September 2, 2013). "The State of the Discipline: One Interpretation of Everyone's Favorite Controversy – PS: Political Science & Politics". PS: Political Science & Politics. 16 (2): 189–196. doi:10.1017/S1049096500015043. ISSN 1537-5935. S2CID 155444644. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^"Michael Parenti". Project Censored. May 24, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^Parenti, Michael. "The Michael Parenti Political Archive". Retrieved January 2, 2008.
^"Political Scientist Michael Parenti To Speak At Muhlenberg". Muhlenberg College. Muhlenberg College. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
^"Liberty Bound (2004)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^"Fall and Winter on iTunes". iTunes. December 1, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^"The Stars of the Film – The Weight of Chains 2010 – - Boris Malagurski films". The Weight of Chains. September 18, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^"Michael Parenti on Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (2005)". youtube.com.
^Manner, Lauri (June 14, 2001). "Choking Victim – No Gods / No Managers". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael Parenti.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Michael Parenti.
Michael Parenti Political Archive maintained by Michael Parenti as viewed on August 26, 2021, Internet Archive.