W. Arthur Lewis was one of the foremost intellectuals, economists, and
political activists of the twentieth century. In this book, the first
intellectual biography of Lewis, Robert Tignor traces Lewis's life from
its beginnings on the small island of St. Lucia to Lewis's arrival at
Princeton University in the early 1960s. A chronicle of Lewis's
unfailing efforts to promote racial justice and decolonization, it
provides a history of development economics as seen through the life of
one of its most important founders.
If there were a record for the number of "firsts" achieved by one man
during his lifetime, Lewis would be a contender. He was the first black
professor in a British university and also at Princeton University and
the first person of African descent to win a Nobel Prize in a field
other than literature or peace. His writings, which included his book
The Theory of Economic Growth, were among the first to describe the
field of development economics.
Quickly gaining the attention of the leadership of colonized
territories, he helped develop blueprints for the changing relationship
between the former colonies and their former rulers. He made significant
contributions to Ghana's quest for economic growth and the West Indies'
desire to create a first-class institution of higher learning serving
all of the Anglophone territories in the Caribbean.
This book, based on Lewis's personal papers, provides a new view of this
renowned economist and his impact on economic growth in the twentieth
century. It will intrigue not only students of development economics but
also anyone interested in colonialism and decolonization, and justice
for the poor in third-world countries.
