Richard Jackson Barnet (May 7, 1929 – December 23, 2004) was an American scholar who co-founded the Institute for Policy Studies.
He served as its co-director until 1978, and remained active at the institute he had helped create until his retirement in 1998.
He also wrote, with his wife, Ann, Youngest Minds: Parenting and Genes in the Development of Intellect and Emotion (1998).
Barnet often contributed to The New Yorker, Harper's, The Nation and Sojourners Magazine, among other publications.
He was a talented violinist, and taught music to children from poor neighborhoods toward the end his life.