Jean Ziegler, Swiss Gadfly Who Provoked His Countrymen, Dies at 92

Jean Ziegler, a prolific Swiss writer, sociologist and politician who infuriated his compatriots by calling attention to the dark underside of their cuckoo-clock paradise, earning him lawsuits, death threats and fierce reprobation, died on Wednesday in Geneva.He was 92.His death, in a retirement home, was confirmed by his son, Dominique.Mr.

Ziegler was a rare figure in a country that sees itself as a tranquil oasis of contented prosperity and business virtue.He didn’t go along with that vision.Police were stationed near his house to protect him from his numerous critics.

More than half a dozen defamation lawsuits over the years bankrupted him with fines and legal fees; his salary from the University of Geneva was garnished.Mr.

Ziegler persisted and didn’t leave Switzerland.He was its “national troublemaker,” according to a profile of him in Le Monde in 1997.After nearly 30 books — many of them sharp critiques of global capitalism and, especially, its Swiss variant — that made him a hero of the European left, The Guardian called him “Switzerland’s most notorious public intellectual,” in an article last year.A former Socialist Party deputy in Switzerland’s parliament and a former sociology professor at the University of Geneva, Mr.Ziegler attained that notoriety by taking direct aim at his country’s pride: the vaunted banking culture.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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