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{{Libertarian socialism sidebar|People}} | {{Libertarian socialism sidebar|People}} | ||
'''Christopher Agamemnon Pallis''' (2 December 1923 | '''Christopher Agamemnon Pallis''' (2 December 1923 – 10 March 2005) was an Anglo-Greek [[neurologist]] and [[libertarian socialist]] intellectual. Under the [[pen name]]s '''Martin Grainger''' and '''Maurice Brinton''', he wrote and translated for the British group [[Solidarity (UK)|Solidarity]] from 1960 until the early 1980s. As a neurologist, he produced the accepted criteria for [[brainstem death]], and wrote the entry on death for ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''.<ref name="G05">{{cite news|author-first1=David |author-last1=Goodaway |author-link1=David Goodway |author-first2=Paul |author-last2=Lewis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,1444577,00.html |title=Obituary: Christopher Pallis (Maurice Brinton): An irreverent critic of the Bolshevik revolution |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London, England |date=24 March 2005}}</ref> | ||
==Life== | ==Life== | ||
Chris Pallis was born to a prominent Anglo-Greek family, "of whose intellectual achievements he was always extremely proud".<ref name="Goodway2011">{{cite book|author-first=David |author-last=Goodway |author-link=David Goodway |title=Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward |chapter-url=https:// | Chris Pallis was born in [[Bombay]], [[British Raj]], to a prominent Anglo-Greek family,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Calne |first1=Donald |title=Christopher Agamemnon Pallis |url=https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/inspiring-physicians/christopher-agamemnon-pallis |publisher=Royal College of Physicians |access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref> "of whose intellectual achievements he was always extremely proud".<ref name="Goodway2011">{{cite book |author-first=David |author-last=Goodway |author-link=David Goodway |title=Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/anarchistseedsbe0000good/page/288/mode/2up |access-date=20 October 2012 |year=2011 |publisher=[[PM Press]] |location=Oakland, California |isbn=978-1-60486-221-8 |pages=288–308 |chapter=Christopher Pallis |title-link=Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward }}</ref> The poet [[Alexandros Pallis]] was a great-uncle, and so the writers [[Marietta Pallis]] and [[Marco Pallis]] were also relatives. His father Alex was general manager of the family firm of merchant bankers, [[Ralli Brothers]]; when he retired, he returned from India to settle in [[Switzerland]]. Educated there, Chris Pallis became fluent in French, English and Greek.<ref name="G05"/> | ||
In 1940 the family managed to take the last boat out of France, and settled in England. Pallis went | In 1940, the family managed to take the last boat out of France, and settled in England. Pallis went on to study medicine at [[Balliol College, Oxford]] in 1941. He joined the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]], but he was quickly expelled for criticising its policy on the [[Second World War]], and became a member of the [[Trotskyist]] [[Revolutionary Communist Party (1944-1949)|Revolutionary Communist Party]].<ref name=Goodway2011/> | ||
For the next 20 years | For the next 20 years he combined a distinguished medical career<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7496/908 |title=Obituaries: Chris Pallis |journal=[[British Medical Journal]] |publisher=[[British Medical Association]] |location=London, England |date=16 April 2005|volume=330 |issue=7496 |page=908 |doi=10.1136/bmj.330.7496.908 |pmc=556175 |last1=Richmond |first1=C. }}</ref> under his real name with pseudonymous revolutionary socialist writing and translation. After he was outed for his use of the name Martin Grainger in such left-wing journals as the ''[[New Statesman]]'' he changed his pseudonym. Subsequently his boss, [[Christopher Booth]], defended him from further press criticism, saying that he was a fine neurologist entitled to his own political views.<ref name="Richmond">{{cite journal |author-last1=Richmond |author-first1=Caroline |title=Chris Pallis |journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal |date=16 April 2005 |volume=330 |issue=7496 |pages=908 |doi=10.1136/bmj.330.7496.908 |issn=0959-8138 |pmc=556175 }}</ref> | ||
Pallis's published works include several eyewitness accounts of key moments in European left politics, such as the [[Belgian general strike of 1960–1961]], the [[May 1968 events in France]], and Portugal's [[Carnation Revolution]] in 1974–75; a substantial body of English translations of works by [[Cornelius Castoriadis]], the main thinker of the French group [[Socialisme ou Barbarie]]; and two short books of his own: ''The Bolsheviks and Workers' Control'' (1970) and ''The Irrational in Politics'' (1974), which is largely concerned with sexual politics.<ref name="G05"/> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist|22em}} | |||
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
*Brinton, Maurice (Goodway, David ed). ''For Workers' Power: | *Brinton, Maurice (Goodway, David ed). ''For Workers' Power: The Selected Writings of Maurice Brinton''. [[AK Press]]. 2004. {{ISBN|1-904859-07-0}} | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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*[http://www.af-north.org/solidarity/solidarity.htm Pamphlets by the Solidarity-Group (and Maurice Brinton)] | *[http://www.af-north.org/solidarity/solidarity.htm Pamphlets by the Solidarity-Group (and Maurice Brinton)] | ||
*[http://www.thehobgoblin.co.uk/journal/h72005_GS_RC_Pallis.htm Two Appreciations of Chris Pallis aka Maurice Brinton] | *[http://www.thehobgoblin.co.uk/journal/h72005_GS_RC_Pallis.htm Two Appreciations of Chris Pallis aka Maurice Brinton] | ||
* Paul Anderson, [ | * Paul Anderson, [https://libsoc.blogspot.com/2005/03/socialist-for-all-seasons-paul.html A Socialist for all Seasons], ''Gauche'', 25 September 2005 | ||
{{Authority control}} | {{Authority control}} | ||
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[[Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford]] | [[Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford]] | ||
[[Category:Greek–English translators]] | [[Category:Greek–English translators]] | ||
[[Category:20th-century translators]] | [[Category:20th-century British translators]] | ||
Latest revision as of 08:31, 13 August 2025
Template:Libertarian socialism sidebar Christopher Agamemnon Pallis (2 December 1923 – 10 March 2005) was an Anglo-Greek neurologist and libertarian socialist intellectual. Under the pen names Martin Grainger and Maurice Brinton, he wrote and translated for the British group Solidarity from 1960 until the early 1980s. As a neurologist, he produced the accepted criteria for brainstem death, and wrote the entry on death for Encyclopædia Britannica.[1]
Life[edit | edit source]
Chris Pallis was born in Bombay, British Raj, to a prominent Anglo-Greek family,[2] "of whose intellectual achievements he was always extremely proud".[3] The poet Alexandros Pallis was a great-uncle, and so the writers Marietta Pallis and Marco Pallis were also relatives. His father Alex was general manager of the family firm of merchant bankers, Ralli Brothers; when he retired, he returned from India to settle in Switzerland. Educated there, Chris Pallis became fluent in French, English and Greek.[1]
In 1940, the family managed to take the last boat out of France, and settled in England. Pallis went on to study medicine at Balliol College, Oxford in 1941. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain, but he was quickly expelled for criticising its policy on the Second World War, and became a member of the Trotskyist Revolutionary Communist Party.[3]
For the next 20 years he combined a distinguished medical career[4] under his real name with pseudonymous revolutionary socialist writing and translation. After he was outed for his use of the name Martin Grainger in such left-wing journals as the New Statesman he changed his pseudonym. Subsequently his boss, Christopher Booth, defended him from further press criticism, saying that he was a fine neurologist entitled to his own political views.[5]
Pallis's published works include several eyewitness accounts of key moments in European left politics, such as the Belgian general strike of 1960–1961, the May 1968 events in France, and Portugal's Carnation Revolution in 1974–75; a substantial body of English translations of works by Cornelius Castoriadis, the main thinker of the French group Socialisme ou Barbarie; and two short books of his own: The Bolsheviks and Workers' Control (1970) and The Irrational in Politics (1974), which is largely concerned with sexual politics.[1]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Goodaway, David; Lewis, Paul (24 March 2005). "Obituary: Christopher Pallis (Maurice Brinton): An irreverent critic of the Bolshevik revolution". The Guardian. London, England.
- ↑ Calne, Donald. "Christopher Agamemnon Pallis". Royal College of Physicians. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Goodway, David (2011). "Christopher Pallis". Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward. Oakland, California: PM Press. pp. 288–308. ISBN 978-1-60486-221-8. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ↑ Richmond, C. (16 April 2005). "Obituaries: Chris Pallis". British Medical Journal. 330 (7496). London, England: British Medical Association: 908. doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7496.908. PMC 556175.
- ↑ Richmond, Caroline (16 April 2005). "Chris Pallis". BMJ: British Medical Journal. 330 (7496): 908. doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7496.908. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 556175.
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Brinton, Maurice (Goodway, David ed). For Workers' Power: The Selected Writings of Maurice Brinton. AK Press. 2004. ISBN 1-904859-07-0