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A review by mwplante
The ABCs of Socialism by Bhaskar Sunkara
4.0
This seems like a good starting point for folks who are curious about socialism but don't understand why it has become so popular in recent years.
The structure of the book is to be lauded. It takes the form of a series of short articles answering FAQ-style questions about socialism. There are three broad categories of question in the book - (1) questions about what socialism and capitalism are and are not in the broadest terms (is America already socialist?, is capitalism more democratic?) (2) common arguments against socialism (will it be boring?, will they take my personal property?) (3) and questions that situate socialism in the broader landscape of struggles for a better future (is socialism only for white men?, does it ignore the environment?). This format was very engaging, and kept driving me forward through the text even though I went into the book thinking that I already knew everything they were going to say. I did learn some new approaches, examples and terminology for age old arguments about socialism. Ultimately, this is a book for beginners, but a short, engaging and fact-filled enough read that even those who have already devoted a great deal of time to learning about socialist theory, history and politics will be able to appreciate a quick skim of the book.
The book does an excellent, empathetic job of addressing the issues with intersectionality which have been a major stumbling block in spreading socialist organizing among some of the most oppressed people in the United States. Taking each in turn, articles in this volume address groups such as women and people of color, as well as issues such as environmentalism and peace activism. Finally, an article by Vivek Chibber (author of the ABCs of Capitalism companion pamphlets) reminds us of the strategic reasons, arising from the structure of the capitalist mode of production, which confirm workers as the central constituency of the socialist movement. Collective action by workers, cross-cutting all divisions of society, have a unique potential to crash the capitalist system, and thereby extract concessions from the capitalist ruling class. This process is proven in historical movements for suffrage, civil rights and the 8-hour work week.
Thankfully, the book does not come off (in my opinion, at least) as hectoring those with reservations about socialism into abandoning their own, potentially valid, pre-commitments. Each article seems very aware of the duty to not only promote socialism to other progressive groups of interest, but to remind would-be socialists of the fundamental importance of solidarity with the many progressive struggles that don't take class as the area of immediate focus. I am hopeful that the book can serve as a starting point for allaying some fears and promoting conversation between committed socialists and our natural allies such as peace activists, environmentalists, feminists, anti-imperialists and anti-racists.
Some questions are not answered entirely satisfactorily, but this is to be expected in a short introduction-style pamphlet such as this. Thankfully there is a large bibliography, consisting mainly of articles in Jacobin magazine, the publisher of this volume. One example of a question that is not fully engaged with by this volume is the environmental question. The article does a pretty good job of establishing why capitalism, with its short-term, fragmentary, profit-centric mode of logic, will never be sufficient to deal with the large scale problems of ecological devastation. However, they make the assertion that the concerns of the minority groups most impacted by environmental devastation will be centered in making ecologically impactful decisions in the socialist future, without fully explaining what it is about socialism that will bring about this centering of the formerly-disenfranchised. Hopefully, any future revision of this section of the book will do a better job fleshing out this point, but, again, there is only so much one can expound upon in a basic introduction like this.
The ABCs of Capitalism pamphlet series is perhaps a better starting point for those who are of a more conservative/libertarian bent, whereas I feel this book is the better starting point for people who identify as liberal or progressive and see the downsides to capitalism pretty clearly but maybe have concerns about misogyny or racism in socialist circles. I am excited to recommend it to my friends and family during the next dust-up about politics.
The structure of the book is to be lauded. It takes the form of a series of short articles answering FAQ-style questions about socialism. There are three broad categories of question in the book - (1) questions about what socialism and capitalism are and are not in the broadest terms (is America already socialist?, is capitalism more democratic?) (2) common arguments against socialism (will it be boring?, will they take my personal property?) (3) and questions that situate socialism in the broader landscape of struggles for a better future (is socialism only for white men?, does it ignore the environment?). This format was very engaging, and kept driving me forward through the text even though I went into the book thinking that I already knew everything they were going to say. I did learn some new approaches, examples and terminology for age old arguments about socialism. Ultimately, this is a book for beginners, but a short, engaging and fact-filled enough read that even those who have already devoted a great deal of time to learning about socialist theory, history and politics will be able to appreciate a quick skim of the book.
The book does an excellent, empathetic job of addressing the issues with intersectionality which have been a major stumbling block in spreading socialist organizing among some of the most oppressed people in the United States. Taking each in turn, articles in this volume address groups such as women and people of color, as well as issues such as environmentalism and peace activism. Finally, an article by Vivek Chibber (author of the ABCs of Capitalism companion pamphlets) reminds us of the strategic reasons, arising from the structure of the capitalist mode of production, which confirm workers as the central constituency of the socialist movement. Collective action by workers, cross-cutting all divisions of society, have a unique potential to crash the capitalist system, and thereby extract concessions from the capitalist ruling class. This process is proven in historical movements for suffrage, civil rights and the 8-hour work week.
Thankfully, the book does not come off (in my opinion, at least) as hectoring those with reservations about socialism into abandoning their own, potentially valid, pre-commitments. Each article seems very aware of the duty to not only promote socialism to other progressive groups of interest, but to remind would-be socialists of the fundamental importance of solidarity with the many progressive struggles that don't take class as the area of immediate focus. I am hopeful that the book can serve as a starting point for allaying some fears and promoting conversation between committed socialists and our natural allies such as peace activists, environmentalists, feminists, anti-imperialists and anti-racists.
Some questions are not answered entirely satisfactorily, but this is to be expected in a short introduction-style pamphlet such as this. Thankfully there is a large bibliography, consisting mainly of articles in Jacobin magazine, the publisher of this volume. One example of a question that is not fully engaged with by this volume is the environmental question. The article does a pretty good job of establishing why capitalism, with its short-term, fragmentary, profit-centric mode of logic, will never be sufficient to deal with the large scale problems of ecological devastation. However, they make the assertion that the concerns of the minority groups most impacted by environmental devastation will be centered in making ecologically impactful decisions in the socialist future, without fully explaining what it is about socialism that will bring about this centering of the formerly-disenfranchised. Hopefully, any future revision of this section of the book will do a better job fleshing out this point, but, again, there is only so much one can expound upon in a basic introduction like this.
The ABCs of Capitalism pamphlet series is perhaps a better starting point for those who are of a more conservative/libertarian bent, whereas I feel this book is the better starting point for people who identify as liberal or progressive and see the downsides to capitalism pretty clearly but maybe have concerns about misogyny or racism in socialist circles. I am excited to recommend it to my friends and family during the next dust-up about politics.