Dalton, George

Economist George Dalton was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 2, 1926. Much of Dalton's writing grew out of Polanyi's views on economics, especially in primitive and developing societies, and he became well known as a somewhat acerbic defender of Polanyi's approach to economic anthropology. Dalton's most widely-used book was Economic Systems and Society: Capitalism, Communism, and the Third World, published by Penguin in 1974. Dalton joined the faculty of Northwestern University in 1963, and remained with NU until his death.

After serving in the U.S. Navy, 1944-1946, Dalton obtained his B.A. (with highest honors) in economics from Indiana University in 1950 and his M.A., also in economics, from Columbia University in 1951. There Dalton studied under Karl Polanyi, who profoundly influenced his career. Dalton earned his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon in 1959; his dissertation was on Robert Owen and Polanyi and their effect on industrial capitalism.

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