James Q. Wilson

James Q. Wilson (May 27, 1931 – March 2, 2012) was professor emeritus in government at Harvard University. He was a renowned conservative economist advocating "free market" policies. He was an ardent opponent of environmental protection and he famously wrote about the "economics of slavery".

According to his University biography, "Since beginning his distinguished career as a professor of government at Harvard University in the 1960's, James Q. Wilson has earned a reputation as a criminologist, economist and political analyst."


 * "Professor Wilson has served on a number of national commissions concerned with public policy. He was chairman of the White House Task Force on Crime in 1966, chairman of the National Advisory Commission on Drug Abuse Prevention in 1972-1973, a member of the Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime in 1981, a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 1985 to 1990, and he now serves on the board of directors of the New England Electric System, Protection One, the RAND Corporation, and State Farm Mutual Insurance.


 * "He is also Chairman of the Council of Academic Advisors of the American Enterprise Institute. He has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the American Philosophical Society. In 1990 he received the James Madison award for distinguished scholarship from the American Political Science Association and served as that organization's president."

According to Pepperdine University, Wilson is the Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy at the University: "Dr. James Q. Wilson has enjoyed a long storied career in the public policy arena. From 1961 to 1987, he taught political science at Harvard University, where he was the Shattuck Professor of Government. He was the James Collins Professor of Management and Public Policy at UCLA from 1985 until 1997."

"At the time of his appointment at Pepperdine, Wilson was the president of the American Political Science Association. The Association presented to Wilson a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' in 2001."

Education

 * Ph.D., 1959, A.M., 1957, University of Chicago
 * A.B., 1952, University of Redlands
 * He has received honorary degrees from six universities (most recently, Harvard University).

Affiliations

 * U.S. Navy, 1952-1955
 * Member, Council of Academic Advisors, American Enterprise Institute
 * Member, President's Council on Bioethics
 * Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
 * Fellow, American Philosophical Society
 * Member, White House Task Force on Crime 1966
 * Chairman, National Advisory Commission on Drug Abuse Prevention 1972-1973
 * Member, Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime 1981
 * Member, President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board 1985 to 1990
 * Award Recipient, James Madison Award for distinguished scholarship, American Political Science Association 1990 and "Lifetime Achievement Award" 2001
 * Director, New England Electric System
 * Director, Protection One
 * Director (Trustee?), RAND Corporation
 * Director, State Farm Mutual Insurance
 * Member of the International Council of the Human Rights Foundation
 * Director, Center for the Study of Social and Political Change

"He is the author or co-author of fourteen books, including Moral Judgement, The Moral Sense. Thinking About Crime, Varieties of Police Behavior, Crime and Human (with Richard J. Herrnstein), Bureaucracy, and On Character. He has in addition edited or contributed to books on urban problems, government regulation of business, and the prevention of delinquency among children, including Crime and Public Policy, From Children to Citizens: Families, Schools, and Delinquency Prevention (with Glenn Loury), and Understanding and Controlling Crime (with David Farrington and Lloyd Ohlin), and Drugs and Crime (with Michael Tonry)."

SourceWatch Resources

 * George W. Bush
 * Statistical Assessment Service