Socialism : past and future

Argues that socialist renewal is the only viable means of achieving progress and freedom in the twenty-first century and illustrates the imperative for placing human values before doctrinaire political or solely monetary motivation In this major new work, one of America's leading thinkers of the democratic Left argues convincingly that socialist renewal is the only hope for progress and freedom in the twenty-first century. A new civilization is already in the making, Harrington maintains, one of increasing automation and unprecedented international interdependence. Old frontiers are crumbling around the world as huge multinational companies, often in collaboration with their respective governments, already engage in global planning. The costs of this transformation are borne not only by the Third World but also by the new poor and precarious middle classes of the co-called advanced nations. Tracing two centuries of socialist history, Harrington shows that despite all its flaws and failures, the basic principles are sound. Because it places human values before doctrinaire political or blindly monetary considerations, it may also well be, Harrington says, our only hope for the future. - Jacket flap. The author of The Other America discusses the evolving nature of socialism, examining its past, present, and future and discusses the work of Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, and others. Reprint. NYTimes Hypotheses Socialisms Authoritarian collectivisms The Realpolitik of utopia The end of socialism? The third creation of the world Socialization revisited Market and plan Visionary gradualism