Marcus Goodman Raskin (April 30, 1934 – December 24, 2017) was an American progressive social critic, political activist, author, and philosopher.

At the age of 16, Raskin left home to study piano performance at the Juilliard School under Rosina Lhévinne and Lee Thompson.

As the secretary, Raskin linked the House members with notable intellectuals, including sociologist David Riesman, historian H. Stuart Hughes, and former finance advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt, James Warburg.

[2] In 1968, Raskin was indicted -— along with William Sloane Coffin, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Michael Ferber, and Mitchell Goodman—for conspiracy to aid resistance to the draft.

Not long after his acquittal, Raskin published the book Washington Plans an Aggressive War with Barnet and Ralph Stavins.

These two books would begin Raskin’s critique of the "national security state", a term he coined, which he would continue to assess critically in future works.

"[3] Raskin's thinking was largely influenced by the work of American pragmatist John Dewey, French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, and the politics of the New Left.

[citation needed] Raskin’s most recent scholarship included serving as the editor of a series of books laying out how to achieve peace and justice for the think tank's Paths for the 21st Century.

The goal of this project was to generate ideas and proposals, across disciplinary lines and founded upon Raskin's notion of "reconstructive knowledge", which catalyze citizen action and help other scholars and activists pursue a progressive basis for a new society.

The collection includes correspondence, biographical information, essays, lecture notes, and materials related to the Institute for Policy Studies.