Remembering Erik Olin Wright

• DOI: 10.1177/0032329219849241
• Date: 01 June 2019
• Published date: 01 June 2019
• Subject Matter: Obituary

https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329219849241

Politics & Society

2019, Vol. 47(2) 147

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0032329219849241

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Obituary

Remembering Erik Olin Wright

Erik Olin Wright (1947–2019)

Erik Olin Wright died on January 23, 2019, after a heroic ten-month battle with acute

myeloid leukemia. He would have been 72 on February 9.

Erik was an eminent sociologist, identified with a critical tradition rooted in

Marxism, and an outstanding teacher and mentor. He leaves a significant mark on

contemporary social science. He was our colleague and for many of us a beloved

friend. As one of the earliest members of our editorial board, he gave it intellectual

passion, a brilliant mind, and unstinting commitment for more than forty years. The

void he leaves is great. We shall continue to honor his work and his spirit and follow

his dedication to the journal’s mission.

During his illness, Erik recorded with unequaled candor, precision, and courage, in a

blog open to all, news of his illness, of his daily life, his intimate thoughts and his perva-

sive love for family, friends, and mankind. This indelible lesson in how to live and how

to die reveals the greatness of Erik’s soul. Here is what he wrote on January 18:

It seems very petty to complain about the eventual dissipation of my stardust back into the

stardust of the cosmos after having lived 72 years in this extraordinary form of existence

that very few molecules in the entire universe get to experience. Indeed, to even use the

word experience with respect to my stardust is amazing. Atoms don’t have experiences.

They’re just stuff. That’s all I really am is stuff. But stuff so complexly organized across

several thresholds of stuff-complexity, that it’s able to reflect upon its stuff-ness and what

an extraordinary thing it has been to be alive and aware that it’s alive and aware that it’s

aware that it’s alive. And from that complexity comes the love and beauty and meaning

that constitutes the life I’ve lived.

849241PASXXX10.1177/0032329219849241Politics & Society

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