In the Tracks of Marxs Capital: Debates in Marxian Political Economy and Lessons for 21st Century Capitalism

About E. Ahmet TonakSungur Savran

Sungur Savran received his BA in Politics at Brandeis University Massachusetts USA and his PhD in Economics at Istanbul University Turkey. Taught at Istanbul University Faculty of Economics and (as visiting professor) at several US colleges including the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research New York. Carried out research as visiting scholar at Sussex University England and Université de Paris-X Nanterre France. Currently teaching at Istanbul Okan University Faculty of Humanities and Social Science. Published articles in Monthly Review Capital and Class Khamsin and other journals and edited and wrote chapters for several books on Turkey and Marxist economic theory published in the US and Britain as well as many books and articles in Turkish. Is on the editorial board of the journal of theory and politics Devrimci Marksizm published quarterly in Turkish and its English-language annual edition Revolutionary Marxism. Was an active member of the editorial board of 11. Tez (Thesis Eleven) a theoretical quarterly in defense of Marxism which came under attack not only from the military regime of the 1980s but also ideologically from liberals on the left. Has worked extensively as a trade union educator. Actively engaged in internationalist Marxist politics within the Revolutionary Workers Party (DIP) of Turkey and the International Socialist Centre Christian Rakovsky. E. Ahmet Tonak received his BS in Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Istanbul Turkey his MS in Applied Mathematics and Statistics at Stony Brook University and his MA and Ph.D. in Economics at the New School for Social Research.  Taught at Bard College at Simons Rock as well as Istanbul Bilgi University and the Middle East Technical University in Turkey. Lately he was a visiting professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Hampshire College.  He is currently a Research Affiliate at Smith College and teaches at UMass Amherst. Has published in Review of Radical Political Economics Monthly Review and Capital and Class.  In addition to many books and articles in Turkish he wrote Measuring the Wealth of Nations: The Political Economy of National Accounts (with A. Shaikh) and edited Critical Perspectives on the World Bank and the IMF and Turkey in Transition: New Perspectives (with I. Schick). He has served as the Managing Co-editor of New Perspectives on Turkey and a member of the Editorial Board of Review of Radical Political Economics. He was active against the military dictatorship in Turkey as the president of the Turkish Students' Association of New York in the 1970s and as one of the founders of the Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Turkey in the 1980s. As Marxism came under ideological attack in the 1980s as well as the repressive assault by the military regime he became part of an effort to publish a theoretical quarterly in defense of Marxism called 11. Tez (Thesis Eleven) from 1985 onwards.  Later  he was a columnist for the socialist daily BirGün and the news portal Sendika.org.