Instead Of Socialism

After being proclaimed dead, there is now a major revival of socialism ideology in the West. But what does socialism mean? This book shows that it is irretrievably associated with common ownership. The twentieth-century experience of comprehensive national planning with state ownership has been disastrous, and in no case has democracy endured within large-scale socialism. This volume explains why. The alternative socialist option of worker-owned cooperatives must accept a major role for markets that many socialists reject. Further experiments in that direction must be subordinate to higher principles of liberal solidarity, involving a mixed market economy with a welfare state.

The bastard step-child of Milton Friedman and Anthony Bourdain, Socialism Sucks is a bar-crawl through former, current, and wannabe socialist countries around the world. Free market economists Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell travel to countries like Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, and Sweden to investigate the dangers and idiocies of socialism—while drinking a lot of beer.

Excerpt from Instead of Socialism: And Papers on Two Democratic Delusions Just as 'Christians, ' in all ages, have confused Christianity with what is not the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, so have Socialists confused Socialism with what is not Socialism. In the following papers I have avoided attributing to Socialists sentiments which are no more peculiar to them than to many of their opponents. It is no argument to talk of Brotherhood and Altruism as characteristic of Socialism. It is likewise no argument to assert, as many Socialists do, that Socialism is synonymous with Christianity. Socialists may, or may not, be brotherly and altruistic. They may, or may not, believe Christianity to be synonymous with Socialism. But all this does not define Socialism for us. It is as illogical to credit Socialism with the intentions and beliefs of some Socialists as to credit the Roman Church with the virtues of some of its saints. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A primer on Democratic Socialism for those who are extremely skeptical of it. America is witnessing the rise of a new generation of socialist activists. More young people support socialism now than at any time since the labor movement of the 1920s. The Democratic Socialists of America, a big-tent leftist organization, has just surpassed 50,000 members nationwide. In the fall of 2018, one of the most influential congressmen in the Democratic Party lost a primary to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old socialist who had never held office before. But what does all this mean? Should we be worried about our country, or should we join the march toward our bright socialist future? In Why You Should Be a Socialist, Nathan J. Robinson will give readers a primer on twenty-first-century socialism: what it is, what it isn’t, and why everyone should want to be a part of this exciting new chapter of American politics. From the heyday of Occupy Wall Street through Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and beyond, young progressives have been increasingly drawn to socialist ideas. However, the movement’s goals need to be defined more sharply before it can effect real change on a national scale. Likewise, liberals and conservatives will benefit from a deeper understanding of the true nature of this ideology, whether they agree with it or not. Robinson’s charming, accessible, and well-argued book will convince even the most skeptical readers of the merits of socialist thought.

Proposed Roads to Freedom is a philosophical treaty written by Bertrand Russell which explores the different ways of improving society with the aim to create a better life for everyone, a life that is aimed at creation instead possession. In a society structured around possession, such as the imperialist capitalism, people who own property can force the masses who own nothing or next to nothing to do whatever they want. In practice, this leads to violation of human rights and exploitation of men, women and children. Russell discusses movements and theories to change society in order to eliminate problems of capitalism. He considers and gives a detailed and informative overview of the systems of anarchism, syndicalism and socialism; and propounds his views as to the most desirable form of societal organization.