Andrew Hacker (August 30, 1929 – April 21, 2026) was an American political scientist and public intellectual.

Life and career

Andrew Hacker was born in Manhattan on August 30, 1929. He was the son of Louis M. Hacker – a professor of economics at Columbia University. His mother, Lilian, was also on the faculty as a lecturer at the Teachers College. He was educated at the Lincoln School which was an experimental and progressive school, run by the Teachers College to try new methods of education. After the 10th grade, he transferred to the Horace Mann School in the Bronx which was a similar experimental school run by the Teachers College.

He did his undergraduate work at Amherst College, followed by graduate work at the University of Oxford and Princeton University, where he received his PhD degree.

He was a professor in the department of political science at Queens College in New York. Hacker taught at Cornell before taking his position at Queens.

Hacker was a member of Mark Lane's Citizens’ Committee of Inquiry, and introduced Lane to Edward Jay Epstein. Hacker was described by Epstein as the "initial stimulus" for his master's thesis which he later developed into his book Inquest (1966) that was critical of the Warren Commission.

His book Higher Education? was written in collaboration with his wife, Claudia Dreifus. In his article Is Algebra Necessary?, Hacker questioned whether mathematics is necessary, claiming "Making mathematics mandatory prevents us from discovering and developing young talent."

Hacker died at a hospital in Manhattan on April 21, 2026, at the age of 96, from complications of stomach cancer.

Publications

• Hacker, A., (1961) Political Theory: Philosophy, Ideology, Science, The Macmillan Company

• Hacker, A., (1968) The End of the American Era. New York: Atheneum

• Hacker, A., (1992) Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal, Scribner.

• Hacker, A., (1998) Money: Who Has How Much and Why, Simon and Schuster.

• Hacker, A., (2003) Mismatch: The Growing Gulf Between Women and Men. Scribner.

• Hacker, A. and Claudia Dreifus, (2010) Higher Education?: How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids - and What We Can Do About It Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.

• Hacker, A., (2012) "Is Algebra Necessary?", New York Times, Published July 28, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html

• Hacker, A., (2016) "The Math Myth: And Other STEM Delusions," The New Press.

• Hacker, A., (2020) Downfall: The Demise of a President and His Party, Skyhorse Publishing.

References

External links

• "The Math Myth And Other STEM Delusions"—an argument that requiring all students to master a full menu of mathematics is causing more harm than good. http://themathmyth.net/

• Author page at The New York Review of Books

• Blurb written by the author for "Mismatch" on the Simon and Schuster website

• Article about Claudia Dreifus at the East Hampton Star website