Eric Thomas Chester is an American author, socialist political activist, and former economics professor.
Background
Mr. Chester was born in New York, United States, on August 6, 1943. He is a son of Harry (an economist) and Alice (a psychiatrist; maiden name, Fried) Chester. Both parents were active socialists from Vienna, opposing the rise of fascism and nazism.
Education
Eric Chester graduated from University of Michigan with Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Career
During the period of 1973-1978 he served as a assistant professor of economics University of Massachusetts at Boston. In 1981 Mr. Chester was appointed lecturer in economics at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA. He worked at University of Massachusetts at Boston, as a lecturer in economics in 1986. In 1996 was a candidate for vice president for Socialist Party.
He was a contributor to Public Finance, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Insurgent Sociologist, New Politics, and Against the Current.
Religion
Eric Chester didn't belong to any religion.
Politics
Eric Chester was a member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) while at the University of Michigan in the 1960s, when he opposed the war in Vietnam. In the spring of 1965 he was among those answering the call of the southern civil rights movement, going to Alabama to demonstrate against the federal government's support of Alabama's segregationist policies. Later that summer he once again answered the call, going to Jackson, Mississippi in support of people struggling against the segregationist policies of Mississippi and the federal government. He spent 10 days in the Hinds County, Mississippi jail.
In October 1965 Mr. Chester was arrested in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the first draft board sit-in as part of one of the first acts of civil disobedience against the American government's warfare against the people of Viet Nam. He served 15 days in the Washtenaw County Jail. He was a member of New American Movement in the 1970s, and has been a member of the Socialist Party USA since 1980.
He is currently a member of the National Writers Union (UAW), an active member in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the Socialist Party of Massachusetts, and the Socialist Party USA, and was the Socialist Party USA’s candidate for Vice President in 1996.Mr. Chester's ability to campaign was seriously hindered by injuries sustained in a car accident in NYC. The 1996 Socialist Party USA presidential ticket of Mary Cal Hollis and Chester received 4,765 votes. Eric Chester campaigned for the SP's presidential nomination for the 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections, but lost to David McReynolds, Walt Brown and Brian Moore, respectively. He twice ran for Congress from Massachusetts's First Congressional District, in 2002 and 2006.
Up until October 2007, Mr. Chester was Convener of the International Commission of the Socialist Party USA. In 2006–2007 he also served as a member of the International Solidarity Committee of the IWW. He advocates supporting and uniting the new radical and revolutionary anti-capitalist movements that are being generated by the conditions of worldwide economic globalization of capitalism, into a mass revolutionary socialist party that is independent of the two capitalist parties, the Democratic and Republican Parties. Following the principles and ideas of Eugene V. Debs and Rosa Luxemburg, he describes himself as a revolutionary democratic socialist.
Views
Quotations:
Eric Chester told CA: "Most of my recent work has sought to probe the hidden secrets of U.S. foreign policy. This requires a great deal of archival research. The first and lengthiest Segment of the writing process involves the search for Previously undiscovered primary source documents, if these documents are stored at government libraries or archives, the declassification review usually entails extended appeals as provided for under the Freedom of Information Act. Once the documents have been unearthed, I assemble them into a coherent whole, frequently this involves weaving together items from four or five documents to gain insight into one set of e vents."
"A major factor that drives my writing is the search for truth. Thus, the most enjoyable moments within the writing process come when 1 discover a document that sheds new light on a previously hidden topic, or when I can piece together several documents to circumvent governmental secrecy. Of course, once I have gained new insight, I hope to get my work Published and into the hands of readers."
"I firmly believe that a true understanding of U.S. foreign policy cannot be reached through a straightforward examination of the public record. Researchers need to probe beneath the surface to examine the role played by the CIA as an instrument of U.S. strategic power. Furthermore, the goals and actions of decision makers, as well as their envoys, are frequently in marked contrast to their public statements."
"I am particularly interested in the connections between U.S. foreign policy and social democrats, in this country and abroad. My book Covert Network exposes the ties between the International Rescue Committee, a leading refugee relief organization, and the intelligence community. I found the evolution of the IRC to be of special interest because it was initiated by socialists, and it frequently relied on the assistance of leading progressives for inside support and public endorsement."