Schmookler studied as an undergraduate at Harvard College, where he graduated
summa cum laude in Social Relations in 1967. Schmookler went on to earn
his doctorate in 1977 at the University of California at Berkeley and the
Graduate Theological Union in a program specially created to accommodate
his comprehensive theory of human history. In 1984, Dr. Schmookler was awarded the Erik H. Erikson Prize by the International Society for Political Psychology. And in 1985, he was selected by Esquire Magazine as "one of the men and women under forty who are changing the nation." He was selected, in 1999, as one the "Outstanding People of the Twentieth Century" by the International Biographical Centre (of Cambridge, England).
Among Schmookler's books are several bearing on the problem of war and peace, including the prize-winning book The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution (hardback from the University of California Press, 1984; paperback from Houghton Mifflin, 1986; second edition from SUNY Press, 1995), Out of Weakness: Healing the Wounds that Drive Us to War (Bantam Books, 1988), and Sowings and Reapings: The Cycling of Good and Evil in the Human System (Knowledge Systems, 1989). He has written two books on the problematic relationship between economic forces and human needs, The Illusion of Choice: How the Market Economy Shapes Our Destiny (SUNY Press, 1993, with translations published subsequently in Japan and Korea), and Fool's Gold: The Fate of Values in a World of Goods (Harper Collins, 1993). ). 1997 saw the publication of his personal and philosophic memoir on illness, aging and mortality in the human condition, Living Posthumously: Confronting the Loss of Vital Powers (Henry Holt and Co.).
Dr. Schmookler's most recent book (published by M.I.T Press) is Debating the Good Society: A Quest to Bridge America's Moral Divide, which explores some of the basic issues that underlie this country's political and cultural polarization.
For the past decade, Dr. Schmookler has conducted regular radio conversations -in both red states and blue states-- about the important political and moral controversies of our times. He makes monthly appearances as a guest (by phone) on radio programs on stations in Ohio (WOSU-AM), Minnesota (KAXE-FM), and Virginia (WSVA-AM) to discuss such controversial issues.
Schmookler has been a commentator on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and "Living on Earth," and on "Monitor Radio." His commentaries have been broadcast frequently on the "Morning Edition" program of the Washington, D.C. NPR affiliate, WAMU. An interview with him was included in Bill Moyers' and Elie Wiesel's PBS television program, "Beyond Hate." Schmookler's commentaries on social and political issues appear regularly in the Christian Science Monitor, the Baltimore Sun, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Albuquerque Tribune.
Dr. Schmookler makes regular speaking appearances, presenting his ideas to audiences at places such as Harvard University, St. John's College in Annapolis, the University of Wisconsin, Loyola University in Chicago, Principia College, as Presidential Lecturer at the University of Montana, and at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C., as well as to Unitarian congregations around the country and to the Ethical Societies of both St. Louis and Washington.
Andrew Bard Schmookler is married and is the father of three children.
