The socialist awakening What's different now about the left

Judis, an author and editor at large at Talking Points Memo, argues against two ideological tendencies that have found homes in the Bernie Sanders--era Democratic Socialists of America (DSA): revolutionary Marxism and subcultural identitarianism. Informed by Eduard Bernstein, Karl Polanyi, Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe, and Michael Lind, Judis's preferred socialism would be achievable within (rather than beyond) capitalism and would unify (rather than divide) workers across educational lines. It would secure workers' material interests and democratic rights through state- and/or business-mediated policies, drawing inspiration from the New Deal, the Great Society, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as from Britain's National Health Service, Germany's codetermination law, and Sweden's Meidner Plan. Judis correctly ties Bernie Sanders's contemporary politics to this lineage, rather than to Eugene Debs--whose revolutionary Socialist Party lost mass appeal, Judis argues, because the capitalist parties implemented the reforms it sought. In Judis's cautionary tale, Sanders's millennial DSA base--college-educated, downwardly mobile, cosmopolitan--parallels Jeremy Corbyn's Momentum supporters, whose antipathy to populist nationalism (e.g., Brexit) prevented a potential Corbyn-led "socialist nationalism" from achieving majoritarian electoral appeal. For a fuller, more academic treatment of the history of American socialism, see Jack Ross's The Socialist Party of America: A Complete History (2015). Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers and undergraduates. --Edward Remus, Northeastern Illinois University

A self-described "longtime leftist" sees new interest in post-Marxist, post--Cold War socialism. Completing the trilogy he began with The Populist Explosion and The Nationalist Revival, journalist and political analyst Judis offers a cogent, incisive examination of growing interest in socialist ideals in the U.S., U.K., and Europe. "The failure of market capitalism," he writes, "has been heightened by the threat posed by the novel coronavirus. All the weaknesses of the previous era--from the over-reliance on global supply chains to underfunded social services; from tax avoidance by the wealthy and large corporations to the immiseration of what are known as 'essential workers'--have been laid bare." The recession of 2008, worries over climate change, and Donald Trump's presidency have all fueled anti-capitalist sentiments, causing membership in the Democratic Socialists of America to grow, especially among younger people. "In 2013," writes the author, "the average age of a DSA member was sixty-eight." By 2017, it was 33. New socialists, Judis asserts, "place a high importance on the ideals of justice as integral to socialism." The author chronicles the evolution of socialism in the U.S., beginning with Eugene V. Debs and culminating in Bernie Sanders, who calls himself a "Swedish-style socialist," and Elizabeth Warren, whose platform incorporated many socialist ideals. In the U.K., socialism has been embraced since 1918 by the Labour Party, although it's recently been undermined by the candidacy of Jeremy Corbyn. New leadership, Judis points out, is essential to instituting needed reforms, including partial public takeover of the health care industry, transportation, and energy production and use; public financing of elections; a guaranteed annual income; and massive investment in public welfare. Contrary to assumptions by some on the left, nationalism is integral to socialism: Any socialist or economically progressive appeal, Judis warns, depends on a "clearly defined" citizenry, "their common commitment to the nation assumed." A pragmatic view of systemic social change. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.