Author(s): Bhaskar Sunkara

Politics

The success of Jeremy Corbyn's left-led Labour Party and Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign revived a political idea many had thought dead. But what, exactly, is socialism? And what would a socialist system look like today? In The Socialist Manifesto, Bhaskar Sunkara, editor of Jacobin magazine, argues that socialism offers the means to achieve economic equality, and also to fight other forms of oppression, including racism and sexism. The ultimate goal is not Soviet-style planning, but to win rights to healthcare, education, and housing and to create new democratic institutions in workplaces and communities. The book both explores socialism's history and presents a realistic vision for its future. A primer on socialism for the 21st century, this is a book for anyone seeking an end to the vast inequities of our age.

What, exactly, is socialism? What would a socialist system look like today? In The Socialist Manifesto, Bhaskar Sunkara, editor of Jacobin magazine, argues that socialism offers the means to achieve economic equality, and also to fight other forms of oppression, including racism and sexism. The ultimate goal is not Soviet-style planning, but to win rights to healthcare, education, and housing and to create new democratic institutions in workplaces and communities. The book both explores socialism's history and presents a realistic vision for its future. A primer on socialism for the 21st century, this is a book for anyone seeking an end to the vast inequities of our age.

Review: "Accessible, irreverent and entertaining, Bhaskar Sunkara has delivered a razor-sharp guide to socialism's history, transformative promise, and path to power. This book also serves as an irresistible invitation to join in building that power, and in shaping the radically democratic future that is our best hope in these make-or-break times." - Naomi Klein "From one of the brightest stars of the American left, essential reading for anyone who wants to build a new society based on people's needs, not profit for the elite." - Owen Jones, author of Chavs "Through his work pioneering work with Jacobin, Bhaskar Sunkara has been one of the most important global voices provoking a new worldwide conversation about socialism for a whole new generation of people, drowning in wealth inequality and economic crises, who are newly receptive to its core precepts. In the Socialist Manifesto, Sunkara strengthens his arguments even more powerfully, offering not just a compelling economic case for socialism, but a deeply moral one. Written with the kind of urgency and clarity that can move people, while dispensing with much of the ossified academic jargon that has often plagued and crippled discourse around Socialism, Sunkara's book is crucial for obliterating the myths and propaganda that have often drowned socialism, and instead illuminating its genuine virtues." - Glenn Greenwald

Author Biography: Bhaskar Sunkara is the founder and editor of Jacobin, which he launched in 2010 as an undergraduate at George Washington University. He has written for the New York Times, Le Monde, VICE, and the Guardian. Sunkara lives in Brooklyn, New York.