Liberalism And Socialism

In times of pandemic and global economic crisis, little more than a decade after the last, there are serious questions about how the liberal order can stand, who its friends are, and what the future will look like. This edited collection provides a comprehensive overview of the principles and stakes at play in the dispute between liberalism and socialism. It explores the 21st century appeal of socialism, particularly to millennials and other relatively young citizens, and shows why modern classical liberalism and neoliberalism have generated tepid support, leading to the resurgence of socialism after it was thought dead and buried due to the dramatic failures of statist models in 1989. The authors put modern socialism and liberalism into renewed dialogue with another to examine whether the two can coexist peacefully, or even reach an overlapping consensus on social reform going forward. It delves into the history and theory of both liberalism and socialism to determine points of overlap and tension, in addition to a cross-disciplinary interpretive analysis of the present epoch to determine how both traditions have evolved since the 20th century. The book is interdisciplinary and provides a broad array of perspectives including a diversity of ideological perspectives ranging from committed Marxists to libertarians. It will be of interest to academics and students in economics and contemporary political culture.

This book addresses the question of what socialism is according to fundamental values rather than institutions. Arguing that Marxist socialism is not only more gradual but also more radical than how it is usually understood, this book shows that socialism extends liberalism by inheriting and furthering liberal justice, including fundamental human rights. Simultaneously, socialism ultimately rejects liberalism because it does not consider liberal values, such as liberty and equality, society’s primary principles. Satoshi Matsui offers a new theory: alienation has two dimensions. Marxists seek to rectify policies that violate justice in a capitalist society, and injustice in capitalism is alienation’s first dimension. From a communist society’s perspective, however, justice itself is an alienated idea and the second dimension of alienation. Marx’s theory of alienation does not deny the liberal theory of justice but is rather a universal system that encompasses it. By fundamentally reexamining Marxism, this volume provides a basic guideline for overcoming capitalist society and constructing a communist society.

First published in 1930, amidst the collapse of socialist ideals and the onset of fascism throughout parts of Europe, Liberal Socialism is a powerful and timely document on the ethics of political action. During his confinement for his anti-fascist beliefs, the Italian political philosopher Carlo Rosselli (1899-1937) wrote this work not only as a critique of fascism, but also as an investigation into the history of Marxism and the need for a liberal reformulation of socialism. In this first English- language edition, Nadia Urbinati highlights both the historical and theoretical importance of Liberal Socialism, which continued to inspire the anti-fascist movement "Giustizia e Liberta." long after Rosselli's assassination by Mussolini's agents, and which outlines a possible rebirth of the socialist and democratic movements. Rosselli's analysis provides an illuminating interpretation of the ideological crisis of Marxism, in its positivistic version, during the late nineteenth century and exposes the intellectual weakness of revisionist efforts to delineate new versions of Marx's doctrine. He encourages readers to view socialism as an ethical ideal and to consider whether Marxist or liberal methods combine better with socialism to achieve that ideal. Rosselli opts for a liberal socialism that avoids the shortcomings of uncontrolled laissez-faire but favors state intervention to secure public services and social rights. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Should we be looking for alternatives to the western world’s status quo of neo-liberal capitalism? Should we be seeking a new form of freedom for a more just and better social world? Drawing on Rawls’s theory of justice and Marx’s critique of capitalism, this book answers those questions in a resounding affirmative. Some think that a just society for Rawls cannot promote a better social world unless it is acceptable to all but, this wrongly treats Rawls as a supporter of minimal government. Setting this aside, the book argues that the ideas of justice behind political and media pundit support of neo-liberal capitalism are faulty, and should be replaced with a Rawlsian idea of justice. Resistance to the idea that an acceptable theory of justice can say that capitalism is unjust is overcome by showing that capitalism, as Marx sees it, must be unjust on Rawls’s theory of justice because it breaches the difference principle and involves exploitation of employees. Reasons are then given for a new society that will be just under a modified Rawlsian idea of justice and will promote the Marxian good of free social cooperation on projects pursued independently of demands of nature. What a free life lived in this new society means is spelled out and shown to be acceptable. This book concludes by asking whether society can set out on a path to a better social world.

This book is about the relationship between liberalism and socialism in Britain in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

What is wrong with capitalism, and how can we change it? Capitalism has transformed the world and increased our productivity, but at the cost of enormous human suffering. Our shared values—equality and fairness, democracy and freedom, community and solidarity—can provide both the basis for a critique of capitalism and help to guide us toward a socialist and democratic society. Erik Olin Wright has distilled decades of work into this concise and tightly argued manifesto: analyzing the varieties of anticapitalism, assessing different strategic approaches, and laying the foundations for a society dedicated to human flourishing. How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century is an urgent and powerful argument for socialism, and an unparalleled guide to help us get there. Another world is possible. Included is an afterword by the author’s close friend and collaborator Michael Burawoy.

This insightful book sheds light on three competing ideological windows on the world: conservatism, liberalism and socialism. David Reisman explores the importance of these perspectives not only to generating public policy, but also in our capacity to explain the very nature of reality.