Ralph Glasser
Encyclopedia
Ralph Glasser was a Scottish psychologist, economist, advisor to developing countries and author of a highly praised autobiographical trilogy.
flat in the Gorbals
area of Glasgow
that gained notoriety as a one of the biggest slums in Europe. His mother died when he was six and his two older sisters were decamped quickly leaving him to be raised alone by his father who had a gambling addiction.
The kind of housing Glasser described would survive until the 1960s. Amidst the poverty Glasser would look back and recall the "recurrent struggle on the frontier of survival: mutuality and the informal economy". Displaying a bright and precocious intellect he studied the Theory of Relativity
as a boy and attended a lecture by Albert Einstein
aged thirteen. Family circumstances meant he couldn't pursue academic studies and he went to work first as a "soap boy" then as a presser in a garment factory. In his spare time he studied in the Mitchell Library
in Glasgow. He was sent to socialist camps but Glasser retained throughout his life a sceptical outlook towards any politically constructed utopia.
where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He described the difficulty of people relating to a working class student:
This was coupled with his tendency of hiding that he was a Jewish boy, in view of the prevailing prejudice in the society of his day, which "burdened every step of our lives" and resulted in the need "to bury it beneath some protective colouring, so that we might go our private ways like everybody else"
At Oxford Philip Toynbee
tried unsuccessfully to recruit him to the Communist Party
. After a break through serving in World War II
he resumed his studies and met up with people such as Victor Gollancz
, whose daughter he dated for a time, and Harold Laski
.
and began work in public relations, the British Council
and advisory roles for Asian and African governments. He met many celebrities and famous people as his horizons expanded but he felt "the Gorbals at my shoulder always, like the Hound of Heaven
". He moved for a time to a village in Italy which resulted in a book, The Net and the Quest and a documentary by the BBC
. On the Council of Christians and Jews he worked with Father Tom Corbishley and Hugo Gryn
.
Early life
He was born of Jewish parents in Leeds but when only a few months old his family moved to a tenementTenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
flat in the Gorbals
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived here because their jobs provided this home and they could not afford their own...
area of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
that gained notoriety as a one of the biggest slums in Europe. His mother died when he was six and his two older sisters were decamped quickly leaving him to be raised alone by his father who had a gambling addiction.
"The streets were slippery with refuse and often with drunken vomit. It was a place of grime and poverty...The Victorian building, in red sandstone blackened by smoke... was in decay. Splintered and broken floorboards sometimes gave way under your feet. Interior walls carried patches of stain from a long succession of burst pipes. Rats and mice moved about freely...."
The kind of housing Glasser described would survive until the 1960s. Amidst the poverty Glasser would look back and recall the "recurrent struggle on the frontier of survival: mutuality and the informal economy". Displaying a bright and precocious intellect he studied the Theory of Relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
as a boy and attended a lecture by Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
aged thirteen. Family circumstances meant he couldn't pursue academic studies and he went to work first as a "soap boy" then as a presser in a garment factory. In his spare time he studied in the Mitchell Library
Mitchell Library
The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The library was established with a bequest from Stephen Mitchell, a wealthy tobacco manufacturer, whose company, Stephen Mitchell & Son, would become one of the constituent members...
in Glasgow. He was sent to socialist camps but Glasser retained throughout his life a sceptical outlook towards any politically constructed utopia.
Oxford
Glasser continued his studies and at the end of the 1930s won a scholarship to Oxford. His response to one of the set questions "Has science increased human happiness?" was a short but emphatic "No". Due to lack of funds he cycled over 300 miles to Oxford wearing a pair of khaki shorts. He first attended Ruskin College then moved to Magdalen CollegeMagdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He described the difficulty of people relating to a working class student:
"In pre-war days for a Gorbals man to come up to Oxford was unthinkable as to meet a raw bushman in the St James club, something for which there were no stock responses. In any case for a member of the boss class, someone from the Gorbals was in effect a bushman, the Gorbals itself as distant and unknowable as the Kalahari Desert".
This was coupled with his tendency of hiding that he was a Jewish boy, in view of the prevailing prejudice in the society of his day, which "burdened every step of our lives" and resulted in the need "to bury it beneath some protective colouring, so that we might go our private ways like everybody else"
At Oxford Philip Toynbee
Philip Toynbee
Theodore Philip Toynbee was a British writer and communist. He wrote experimental novels, and distinctive verse novels, one of which was an epic called Pantaloon, a work in several volumes, only some of which are published...
tried unsuccessfully to recruit him to the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
. After a break through serving in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he resumed his studies and met up with people such as Victor Gollancz
Victor Gollancz
Sir Victor Gollancz was a British publisher, socialist, and humanitarian.-Early life:Born in Maida Vale, London, he was the son of a wholesale jeweller and nephew of Rabbi Professor Sir Hermann Gollancz and Professor Sir Israel Gollancz; after being educated at St Paul's School, London and taking...
, whose daughter he dated for a time, and Harold Laski
Harold Laski
Harold Joseph Laski was a British Marxist, political theorist, economist, author, and lecturer, who served as the chairman of the Labour Party during 1945-1946, and was a professor at the LSE from 1926 to 1950....
.
Post-war years
Glasser took another degree in economics at the London School of EconomicsLondon School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and began work in public relations, the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
and advisory roles for Asian and African governments. He met many celebrities and famous people as his horizons expanded but he felt "the Gorbals at my shoulder always, like the Hound of Heaven
Hound of Heaven
The Hound of Heaven is a 182 line poem written by English poet Francis Thompson. The poem became famous and was the source of much of Thompson's posthumous reputation. The poem was first published in Thompson's first volume of poems in 1893. It was included in the Oxford Book of English Mystical...
". He moved for a time to a village in Italy which resulted in a book, The Net and the Quest and a documentary by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. On the Council of Christians and Jews he worked with Father Tom Corbishley and Hugo Gryn
Hugo Gryn
Hugo Gabriel Gryn was a British Reform rabbi who was a popular broadcaster and a leading voice in interfaith dialogue....
.
Autobiography
His first volume of a highly praised autobiographical trilogy Growing Up in the Gorbals was published in 1986, followed by Gorbals Boy at Oxford (1988) and Gorbals Voices, Siren Songs in 1990. In his last book, Gorbals Legacy (2000), he looked back again at how his "Faustian Familiar" had moulded and influenced his path through life.Works
- The new high priesthood: the social, ethical and political implications of a marketing-orientated society, Macmillan, 1967
- Planned marketing : policy for business growth, Macmillan, 1968, ISBN 978-0-330-02156-2
- A Nice Jewish boy, Robert Hale, 1968
- Leisure-Penalty Or Prize?, MacMillan, 1970, ISBN 0-333-06405-4
- The net and the quest: patterns of community and how they can survive progress, Temple Smith, 1977, ISBN 0-85117-124-9
- Scenes from a Highland life, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-25564-1
- Town hall : local government at work in Britain today, Century, 1984, ISBN 978-0-7126-0317-1
- Growing Up in the Gorbals, Chatto & Windus, 1986
- Gorbals Boy at Oxford, Chatto & Windus, 1988, ISBN 0-7011-3185-3
- Gorbals Voice, Siren Songs, Chatto & Windus, 1990
- The Far Side of Desire, Severn House Publishers, 1994, ISBN 978-0-7278-4678-5
- A Gorbals legacy, Mainstream, 2000, ISBN 1-84018-336-5
External links
- Portrait of Ralph Glasser in National Gallery of Scotland.http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/20859?initial=O&artistId=5650&artistName=Humphrey%20Ocean&submit=1