My grandfather Michael Evans, who has died aged 89, was a distinguished political theorist of rare moral integrity. For over three decades, he taught in the Department of Government at the University of Manchester, where he became known for the quiet rigour of his thought and the moral seriousness with which he approached ideas.
His landmark book, Karl Marx (1975), published by Allen & Unwin, remains a model of scholarly insight, cementing his reputation for meticulous scholarship. The book traced Marx’s political thought through his early works and journalism, offering a nuanced, historically grounded analysis without ideological bias. Michael sought neither to canonise nor dismantle Marx but to understand him.
His lectures, delivered with clarity and conviction, were unadorned yet exacting, encouraging students to read deeply and argue with evidence. He viewed political theory as a tool for understanding power, freedom and human obligations, shaping minds with quiet encouragement.
Born in Guildford, in Surrey, one of the three sons of Dora (nee Eeles) and George Evans, Michael inherited energy and tenacity from his mother, who had transformed a dockside newspaper stand in Sheerness into a thriving newsagent’s shop in Guildford, which she ran with her husband. At the age of six, inspired by the outbreak of the second world war, Michael embraced scouting, achieving the rank of Queen’s Scout and fostering a lifelong passion for hill-walking.
After leaving the Royal grammar school (Michael having passed the 11 plus, while his twin, David, went to the secondary modern), in 1961 he joined the final national service cohort, serving with the army in postwar Berlin before the wall divided the city. He mastered German, developed a deep appreciation for opera, classical music and art, and fraternised with Soviet soldiers in the Russian quarter.
This fluency in German shaped his academic career at Manchester University, where he was a student and from 1963 a lecturer in politics. Specialising in Marx, Michael became an international authority, and as well as his 1975 volume on Marx, also published Marx and the Rheinische Zeitung and Marx’s Doctoral Thesis (both in 1995)
After his retirement in 1998, Michael embraced technology, using digital tools to research climate change and meticulously cataloguing his walks across the Yorkshire Dales. His love for wine, Manchester United and the Guardian crossword became cherished rituals. In the sunset of his life, he was a caring and supportive husband to Sandra, and developed close relationships with his grandchildren.
Michael lived by the belief that ideas matter – not for fashion, but for justice. In an age of noise, his work endures with quiet authority, a testament to the dignity of serious thought.
He is survived by Sandra (formerly Lawton), whom he married in 1983, his children, Mark, Michaela and Nicola, from his first marriage, to Anne Richards, which ended in divorce; eight grandchildren; and four step-grandchildren. Another daughter, Nicola’s twin, Stephanie, and both Michael’s brothers predeceased him.
