Reviews

The ABCs of Socialism by Bhaskar Sunkara

dawsonthehughes's review against another edition

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5.0

This was a fun little book. It is more of a FAQ’s of Socialism rather than the ABC’s, but that isn’t as catchy

colin_cox's review against another edition

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4.0

I like this volume because it delivers what it promises: a brief, accessible introduction to socialism and socialist thought. With its emphasis on workers and the rights of workers, The ABCs of Socialism pivots off the enthusiasm of the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. This is not meant to sound like a criticism. If anything, the Sanders campaign illuminated the value of and zeal for a particular variation of socialism, while also dispelling a popular narrative about this country's antagonism toward socialist thought. To its credit, this is also what The ABCs of Socialism does so well.

elienore's review

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challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

kalifer's review

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challenging hopeful informative fast-paced

4.0

gmzzn's review against another edition

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5.0

really good intro book!
deals w/ many questions and misconceptions, about different topics related to socialism (workers, democracy, feminism, antiracism etc). it doesn't go very deep in each question but it's good and easy to understand so in my opinion a must read if you'd like to learn about socialism and have no idea where to start.

skarayol's review

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informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

v_parmesan's review

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informative fast-paced

3.5

tyberius's review

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good primer/FAQ on how modern (democratic) socialists generally think about a number of issues - race, feminism, war, etc. perfect for those for whom Sanders was an introduction and are wondering what's next.
Jacobin continues to prove itself a valuable beacon of the modern left.

Agree w/ other commenters that the writing/vocabulary was obtuse at times, which can be particularly unhelpful in persuasive leftist literature for obvious reasons. Most effective when handed out in reading circles rather than the streets, but motivating nonetheless.

maxain's review against another edition

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4.0

¿no es ya américa un poco socialista?
Pero al menos el capitalismo es libre y democrático, ¿no?
El socialismo suena bien en teoría, pero ¿la naturaleza humana no lo hace imposible de realizar?
¿no merecen los ricos quedarse con la mayor parte de su dinero?
¿No acaba siempre el socialismo en dictadura?
¿Es el socialismo un concepto occidental?
¿Y el racismo? ¿A los socialistas no les importa sólo la clase social?
¿No están a veces en conflicto el socialismo y el feminismo?
¿no significaría un mundo más democrático una mayor crisis medioambiental?
¿son pacifistas los socialistas? ¿no están justificadas algunas guerras?
¿por qué los socialistas hablan tanto de los trabajadores?
¿El socialismo será aburrido?

Estas son algunas de las preguntas que se plantea este libro introductorio al socialismo, aunque no se lo recomendaria a nadie que quiera empezar a leer teoria socialista/marxista/comunista, si plantea algunas preguntas que siempre esta bien tener en cuenta.

kitkats's review

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funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

4.5

An excellent primer for socialism in an interesting q&a format that works wonders to answer basic questions socialists might face. Still though this book really is the ABCs of Socialism through and through and should hopefully inspire people to continue to learn and imagine a new world.