Understanding Socialism

I’ve read very few books about socialism, but this seems to be one of the best introductory overviews for the subject. In my view, Wolff provides the most convincing definition of socialism which encapsulates its many diverse forms. In my own rephrasing, socialism is generally reaction to capitalist......more

Lenin said the Russian Revolution had achieved “state capitalism” – the employers had been changed but the employer/employee structure of capitalism had been retained. Lenin never said he had achieved socialism, but knew it was the goal. He knew that the state capitalism Russia had achieved still ne......more

This book Understanding Socialism reveals an encapsulated history of Socialism in an easy to understand short book (129 pages). We see why the binary economic structures of the past have produced an angst among the populations of the world for something better. First there was the master/slave binary......more

Author Richard D. Wolff is an economist and advocate for workers' self-management. Understanding Socialism provides an overview of socialist history, ideas, and relevance to contemporary society. Wolff asserts that socialism is essentially born out of the longing for “something better than capitalism......more

This is a nice introduction to socialism, delving into the roots of socialism and its historical development up to the current day. You can learn a lot about socialism from this book, including the different types of socialism. It is also useful to learn that Communist regimes have not been trully s......more