Gunnar Myrdal
A Swedish intellectual giant who dissected American racial inequality and championed the role of social policy in economic planning.
1898–1987 (age 89)·Swedish economist, sociologist, and Nobel Laureate·Birthday: December 6·The Lost Generation
Biography
Gunnar Myrdal was an economist who refused to be confined by the boundaries of his discipline. In the 1930s, he was a leading architect of the Swedish welfare state, applying pragmatic economic theory to social reform. His towering contribution came when he turned his analytical gaze to the United States. His monumental 1944 study, 'An American Dilemma,' laid bare the profound contradiction between American ideals of liberty and the reality of racial segregation. The work became a foundational text for the civil rights movement. Myrdal, who later won a Nobel Prize, always argued that economics was inseparable from sociology, politics, and morality, a belief that made his work both controversial and enduringly influential.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Gunnar was born in 1898, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Gunnar Was Born
The biggest hits of 1898
Gunnar's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1898Born
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1903Started school
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Became a teenager
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1914Could drive
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1916Could vote
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1919Turned 21
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1928Turned 30
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1938Turned 40
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1948Turned 50
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1958Turned 60
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 70
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 80
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Died at 89
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
Key Achievements
- Authored the seminal study 'An American Dilemma,' a critical work that influenced the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
- Awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1974 for his analysis of monetary theory and the interdependence of economic and social phenomena.
- Served as a Swedish Senator and was a key intellectual figure in the development of the modern Swedish welfare state.
- Was the first Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, helping guide post-war reconstruction.
Did You Know?
He and his wife, Alva Myrdal, are one of the few married couples to have both won Nobel Prizes in different categories.
He initially advocated for sterilization policies in Sweden, a position he later publicly regretted and criticized.
Myrdal's work on 'An American Dilemma' was funded by the Carnegie Corporation.
He was a vocal critic of the Vietnam War and Western neo-colonialism.
“The Negro problem is not only America's greatest failure but also America's incomparably great opportunity for the future.”
