Taking Socialism Seriously (Critical Studies on the Left) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0739166352 ISBN 13: 9780739166352

Publisher: Lexington Books, 2012

Synopsis

Taking Socialism Seriously raises essential questions about what socialism is and how socialists can reach it by addressing a long list of potential quandaries. The contributions compiled by Anatole Anton and Richard Schmitt describe how socialism differs from a reformed and more humane form of capitalism. Various chapters discuss suitable forms of love and family in a socialist society and economic arrangements within a socialist system. They also break important new paths by calling for significant social change, examining detailed questions that have previously been neglected and setting a new direction for radical theorists. Critics are often convinced that there is no alternative and therefore are content to reform capitalism. This book affirms that another world is possible.

About this title

About the Author:

Anatole Anton is professor emeritus of philosophy at San Francisco State University. Richard Schmitt teaches philosophy at Worcester State University.

Review:

Taking Socialism Seriously raises questions on what socialism concretely is and how we can get there. . . .The Occupy movement organized the greatest radical movement in recent memory, it could possibly have persisted longer with a convincing, coherent vision of an alternative to capitalist economy. In such a political environment, Taking Socialism Seriously offers an important and useful contribution. . . .Taking Socialism Seriously indeed engages with these questions that must be significant for all of us seeking to build the world without oppression and exploitation. (Against the Current)

[T]his collection will take its place as both an organizing and invigorating force for change alongside those books detailing viable paths to socio-economic alternatives for the 21st century. It should also be recognized as supporting and extending the vision of those who throughout history have sought to develop a working alternative to capitalism. Feeling a part of this historical mission may have the greatest effect on enthusiasm for its eventual achievement. (Science & Society)

After a seemingly endless period of quiescence, resistance to the depredations of the capitalist system has once more erupted throughout the world, reawakening a widespread awareness of the many evils capitalism brings in its wake. However with the end of Communism and the seemingly permanent crisis of socialist politics, it has become unclear what the alternatives to capitalism are. The essays in this collection explore that issue from a variety of perspectives—with a view to determining what remains living in the socialist tradition, what can be retrieved or reconstructed from it, and what must ultimately be discarded. (Andrew Levine, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies and author of In Bad Faith: What's Wrong with the Opium of the People)

This timely volume shows that—whatever one calls it—it is essential to take the non-capitalist alternative seriously. Rejecting pat answers, the authors creatively explore topics ranging from romantic love and human nature to the division of labor, the 'information age,' how to combine democratic planning with the market, and the importance of social movements in the transition, thereby showing the necessity and viability of building a genuine alternative to capitalism. (Nancy Holmstrom, Professor Emerita, Philosophy, Rutgers University - Newark)

A half dozen of our finest Marxist philosophers have outdone themselves in Taking Socialism Seriously. The Occupied Wall Street movement will not find a better guide to help them think through the deeper problems and possibilities of the new political landscape with which they have surprised us all. HIGHEST MARX (and an additional gold star for the exemplary clarity with which even the most difficult questions have been presented throughout)! (Bertell Ollman, New York University, author of Dance of the Dialectic: Steps in Marx's Method)

About this edition

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0739166352
• ISBN 13: 9780739166352
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 276
• Editor: Schmitt Richard, Anton Anatole