# Adam Swift > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Adam_Swift > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Adam_Swift.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Swift > Source revision: 1350356497 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|British political philosopher and sociologist}} {{for|the rugby league footballer|Adam Swift (rugby league)}} {{Notability|date=April 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{EngvarB|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1961}} | birth_place = | education = [Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford)
[Nuffield College, Oxford](/source/Nuffield_College%2C_Oxford) | occupation = [Political philosopher](/source/political_philosophy) and [sociologist](/source/sociology) | parents = [Clive Swift](/source/Clive_Swift)
[Margaret Drabble](/source/Margaret_Drabble) | relatives = [Rebecca Swift](/source/Rebecca_Swift) (sister)
[Joe Swift](/source/Joe_Swift) (brother)
[David Swift](/source/David_Swift_(actor)) (uncle)
[A. S. Byatt](/source/A._S._Byatt) (aunt) | website = {{website|https://www.adamswift.uk}} }} '''Adam Swift''' (born 1961) is a British [political philosopher](/source/political_philosophy) and [sociologist](/source/sociology) who is professor at [University College London](/source/University_College_London). He has published books on liberalism and communitarianism, on social class, social mobility and social justice, on the philosophical aspects of school choice, on the ethics of the family, on how to make education policy, and on the regulation of religious schools, as well as an introduction to contemporary political philosophy. ==Family and education== Swift's father was the actor [Clive Swift](/source/Clive_Swift) and he is the nephew of [David Swift](/source/David_Swift_(actor)). His mother is the novelist [Margaret Drabble](/source/Margaret_Drabble). He is the brother of the poet and essayist [Rebecca Swift](/source/Rebecca_Swift) and television presenter [Joe Swift](/source/Joe_Swift). Swift studied PPE at [Balliol College](/source/Balliol_College), [Oxford](/source/Oxford). He then did an [MPhil](/source/MPhil) degree in Sociology at [Nuffield College, Oxford](/source/Nuffield_College%2C_Oxford), and subsequently became a [Fellow](/source/Fellow) of [Balliol College](/source/Balliol_College). His [DPhil](/source/DPhil) thesis was on the topic of "A Sociologically Informed Political Theory".[https://archive.today/20120716175628/http://library.ox.ac.uk/WebZ/GeacFETCH?sessionid=01-40672-451562103:recno=7:resultset=2:format=F:next=html/geacnffull.html:bad=error/badfetch.html::entitytoprecno=7:entitycurrecno=7 Bodleian Library Catalogue] ==Career== Swift was the Founding Director of the Oxford Centre for the Study of Social Justice.{{Cite web |url=http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/index.php/profile/adam-swift.html |title=Politics Department Profile |publisher=University of Oxford|access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022140308/http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/index.php/profile/adam-swift.html |url-status=dead }} Since September 2018, he has been Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Political Science at [University College London](/source/University_College_London). Swift writes for both academic and non-academic audiences, and is an occasional contributor to political debates about education.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2003/mar/26/schools.uk|title=Schools {{!}} The great liberal dilemma|first=Adam|last=Swift|newspaper=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|date=26 March 2006}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/adam-swift-it-s-hard-but-let-me-defend-diane-abbott-76183.html|title=It's hard, but let me defend Diane Abbott|first=Adam|last=Swift|newspaper=[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)|date=2 November 2003}} Swift is a member of [Giving What We Can](/source/Giving_What_We_Can), a community of people who have pledged to give at least 10% of their income to [effective charities](/source/effective_altruism).{{Citation|url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/about-us/members/|title=Members|website=www.givingwhatwecan.org}} == Books == * ''How To Think About Religious Schools: Principles and Policies'' (with Matthew Clayton, Andrew Mason and Ruth Wareham) [2024] * ''Educational Goods: Values, Evidence and Decision Making'' (with Harry Brighouse, Helen F. Ladd and [Susanna Loeb](/source/Susanna_Loeb)) (2018) * ''Family Values: The Ethics of Parent-Child Relationships'' (with Harry Brighouse) [2014] * ''Political Philosophy: A Beginner’s Guide for Students and Politicians'' [2001, 4th edition 2019] {{Cite web | url=http://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9780745652368 |title = Polity | Polity Books}} * ''How Not To Be A Hypocrite: School Choice for the Morally Perplexed Parent'' [2003] * ''Against the Odds? Social Class and Social Justice in Industrial Societies'' (with [Gordon Marshall](/source/Gordon_Marshall_(sociologist)) and Stephen Roberts) [1997] * ''Liberals and Communitarians'' (with [Stephen Mulhall](/source/Stephen_Mulhall)) [1992, 2nd edition 1996] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[https://www.adamswift.uk Personal website] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Adam}} Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:British political philosophers Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Category:Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford Category:Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford Category:English Jews Adam {{UK-philosopher-stub}} {{UK-sociologist-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Adam Swift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Swift) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Swift?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.