Taking Socialism Seriously

Socialists today understand that they need to justify their belief that another world is possible. This confidence rests on traditional Marxist beliefs that it is only a matter of time before capitalism collapses to be replaced by a socialist order. What that alternative order would be like, socialists have been reluctant to ask because Marx and Engels condemned such inquiries as utopianism.Taking Socialism Seriously raises essential questions about what socialism is and how socialists will reach it by addressing a long list of quandaries confronting socialists. The authors examine how socialism differs from a reformed and more humane capitalism, suitable forms of love and family in a socialist society, and economic arrangement. How will we reach socialism? A long discussion of social movements contributes a partial answer to that question. Taking Socialism Seriously breaks important new paths for significant social change by examining detailed questions seriously that have previously been neglected. It sets a new direction for radical theorists. Most of the critics, convinced that there is no alternative, are content to reform capitalism. Taking Socialism Seriously affirms that another world is possible.

AnatOle Anton is professor emeritus of philosophy at San Francisco State University. Richard Schmitt is professor emeritus of philosophy at Brown University. He currently teaches philosophy at Worcester State University.