This book discusses socialism and democracy. It approaches socialism not as a label but as an ideology. Based on a careful examination of what socialism is, traced back to Karl Marx, this book explains the tense relationship between socialism and democracy and how it has influenced political thought and practice in both Europe and America. This book carefully avoids conventional wisdom, seeking instead to originate its definition and analysis of socialism in its political theory and practice. Building on the relationship between socialism and democracy, the book explores how this uneasy roommate agreement may affect America’s future.
Author(s): Sven R. Larson
Edition: 1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 202
Tags: Political Theory
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Defining Socialism
Why the Definition Matters
Communism and Intrinsic Tyranny
Unavoidable Economic Demise
Conclusion
References
Economics of Socialism 1: Prices vs. Labor Value
Marx and Socialism in Practice
Prices vs. Labor-Value Theory
The Static Nature of Marxist Theory
The Iron Law of Wages
Labor Value and Central Planning
Central Planning and Human Nature
Conclusion
References
Economics of Socialism 2: Planning vs. The Market
Capitalist Decline: A False Notion
The Welfare State: Socialism Without Central Planning?
An Unsustainable Blend
The Inevitable Conflict
Conclusion
References
From Strife to Spring
History Is Perfect Hindsight
Russia 1917: From Chaos to Lenin
Prague 1968: Modest Reforms
Passing the Point of no Return
Solzhenitsyn’s Challenge
A Note on Charta 77
Democratic Socialism Gets a Boost
A Penultimate Moment in Sweden
An Ideological Lesson
Conclusion
References
The American Welfare State Today
Ideological Metamorphosis
Welfare-State Entrenchment
Welfare-State Consensus
Neoconservative Endorsement
Capitalism, Nihilism, and Socialism
Conclusion
References
The American Welfare State Tomorrow
Expansion Is Inevitable
A Note on Government Size and Economic Growth
Equality or Solidarity
Bipartisanship and Welfare-State Unity
Monetized Socialism
Hyperinflation: Lighting the Torch
US Hyperinflation
Conclusion
References
Index
