Socialism Unbound: Principles, Practices, and Prospects (Columbia Studies in Political Thought / Political History)

ISBN: 0231153821

Author: Bronner, Stephen Eric

Condition: New

Product Description Published more than twenty years ago, Stephen Eric Bronner's bold defense of socialism remains a seminal text for our time. Treating socialism as an ethic, reinterpreting its core categories, and critically confronting its early foundations, Bronner's work offers a reinvigorated "class ideal" and a new perspective for progressive politics in the twentieth century.Socialism Unbound is an extraordinary work of political history that revisits the pivotal figures of the labor movement: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Karl Kautsky, Vladimir Lenin, and Rosa Luxemburg. Examining their contributions as well as their flaws, Bronner shows how critical innovation gave way to dogma. New practical problems have arisen, and this volume engages with the relationship between class and social movements, institutional accountability and democratic participation, economic justice and market imperatives, and internationalism and identity. With a foreword by Dick Howard and a new introduction by the author, Bronner's classic study remains indispensable for scholars and activists alike. Review A humane and erudite book. Bronner's bold analysis of the labor movement in theory and practice explores its past contributions and mistakes, reshapes its socialist legacy for the present, and illuminates the emancipatory project for the future.--Frances Fox Piven, author of Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change AmericaPraise for the first edition: "A humane and erudite book. Bronner's bold analysis of the labor movement in theory and practice explores its past contributions and mistakes, reshapes its socialist legacy for the present, and illuminates the emancipatory project for the future."--Frances Fox Piven, author of Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America"Provides one of the finest historical accounts of the socialist tradition yet written."--New Political Science"Bronner has written a book which helps prepare the groundwork for the realization of our collective dreams."--New Politics"An interesting, sophisticated, and deeply principled examination of socialism's past and future and will appeal to readers with a theoretical bent and an interest in its emancipatory project."--The American Political Science ReviewPraise for the first edition: "A humane and erudite book. Bronner's bold analysis of the labor movement in theory and practice explores its past contributions and mistakes, reshapes its socialist legacy for the present, and illuminates the emancipatory project for the future."--Frances Fox Piven, author of "Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America""Provides one of the finest historical accounts of the socialist tradition yet written."--"New Political Science""Bronner has written a book which helps prepare the groundwork for the realization of our collective dreams."--"New Politics""An interesting, sophisticated, and deeply principled examination of socialism's past and future and will appeal to readers with a theoretical bent and an interest in its emancipatory project."--"The American Political Science Review"Praise for the first edition: "This is a humane and erudite book. Bronner's bold analysis of the labor movement in theory and practice explores its past contributions and mistakes, reshapes its socialist legacy for the present, and illuminates the emancipatory project for the future."--Frances Fox Piven, author of Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America"Bronner provides one of the finest historical accounts of the socialist tradition yet written."--New Political Science"The integrity of his discourse and his insistence on greater democracy help preserve the idea of socialism as a qualitatively freer society than what we have today in postmodern America. Bronner has written a book which helps prepare the groundwork for the realization of our collective dreams."--New Politics"An interesting, sophisticated, and deeply principled examination of socia