Dusan Pokorny
Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics and Political Science University of Toronto

Dusan Pokorny, a much-loved Professor at the University of Toronto, died July 11, 2005 after a long debilitating illness. In the course of almost 30 years at both the St. George and Erindale campuses he influenced and shaped the lives of countless students and colleagues. His rigorous intellect challenged conventional wisdom, ranging from critiques of Marxian thought to Hegel, Habermas and others. Among his many publications is the two volume opus Efficiency and Justice in the Industrial World: The Failure of the Soviet Experiment and The Uneasy Success of Postwar Europe. He thrived on intellectual discourse, in the classroom and out, with colleagues, many students who went on to become colleagues, and family.

He brought his family to Canada after the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968. While in Czechoslovakia he served in the diplomatic service in India and elsewhere and was one of the key behind-the-scenes figures in the liberalization process of Prague Spring in 1968, working closely with the Soviet- deposed Alexander Dubcek. He had a profound belief in the potential for improvement, whether that be in putting a ‘human face’ on socialism or in daily interactions. He was a kind, gentle, unassuming man, adoring his wife of 40 years, the prominent Slovak writer Jaroslava Blazkova. She, his stepsons Andrew and Mark Stancek, and all who met him have lost a true giant of a man.

Published by The Globe and Mail on Jul. 23, 2005.