Reviews

Socialism... Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation by Danny Katch

gracie_reads_everything's review against another edition

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2.0

Though both humorous and addressing many of the questions I have about socialism, as well as the misgivings I have about capitalism, this book’s light-hearted-ness does make it more difficult to take seriously or properly interpret answers to questions people may have about the various political philosophies.

I found this book useful for broadening my view of socialism as a whole, but it doesn’t really delve into what socialism actually is or explain its polices and distinctions in more than a general way. I found the jokes distracting from the actual content, and the actual content rather lacking in it of itself.

The author distinguishes himself as a Marxist later in the book & allows for different forms of socialism to exist and describes an ideal society in which it exists, but fails to give more concrete explanations and examples that would help a reader who’s trying to understand these new concepts, particularly in relation to all the other forms of socialism.

The book doesn’t really serve an informative purpose, but more of a long personal rant on the topic by the author. The author seeks to critique capitalism, which I acknowledge as a flawed system, but I wish he would’ve provided better explanations for his critiques rather than just that capitalism is evil.

nomadtla's review against another edition

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4.0

A surprisingly entertaining and fun overview of socialism. The author makes solid points and lays out the basic ideas. It is an easy to digest book that does not get deep in the weeds of specific policies or revolutions. The author avoids any real giant dogmatic conclusions and in the end kind of gently leads the reader to just examine the systems around them and make their own decisions.

ellwoo's review against another edition

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informative lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

sydthebeesknee's review against another edition

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4.0

I would recommend this book to friends and family because it is introductory and un-intimidating. It is far from comprehensive and doesn't intend to be. I didn't find the humor and jokes to be too off-putting, but I definitely was not reading this book for the humor. Nonetheless, I appreciated the casual tone.

semmons99's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

3.0

ex_libris_volantes's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Barely a primer, but the voice of this intro to Socialism is relatable, so I think that’s an important thing to educate without alienating. 

austinhahn's review against another edition

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4.0

Nice light beach reading

Good introductory book on socialism, very approachable without sacrificing substance

bradherring's review against another edition

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5.0

Breezy, powerful, and oh so relevant right now. Helps shatter many of the myths around the s-word and starts to shed light on what a better world might look like.

barium_squirrel's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm not a socialist, but I am curious about other belief systems. This is a really good introduction to socialism as an ideology. Socialism is a word with no well-defined definition, this author uses it to mean "fighting for equality and the end of capitalism's tenure as the dominant economic theory". I did learn a lot about socialist theory, and would recommend this book to anyone looking to learn.

darar's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5⭐️
Funny, educational, and actionable. I especially loved the imagined day in the life in post-revolutionary, socialist Philadelphia in chapter 6.