Man who coined term ‘Eurocentric’ dead at 86

World-acclaimed Egyptian thinker Samir Amin passed away on Sunday in Paris at the age of 86.

Born in Egypt in 1931 to an Egyptian father and French mother, Amin grew up in Port Said. He studied in Egypt and then continued in Paris, where he got a degree in statistics, followed by a doctorate in economics.

Amin worked first in Cairo at the Institute for Economic Management from 1957 to 1960, then moved between countries until becoming director of the Third World Forum in Dakar, Senegal in 1980.

The Marxist economist authored many influential books, most notably The Liberal Virus (2003), A life Looking Forward (2006), Accumulation on a World Scale (1970) and Capitalism in the Age of Globalisation (1997).

He is probably best known for coining the term ‘Eurocentric’, in his 1989 book, Eurocentrism, which has been described as “a classic of radical thought”.

Amin’s death comes as a result of serious complications following a brain tumour. He was hospitalised on July 21, and returned home on Saturday, only to pass away the following day.