Socialism (Concepts in Social Thought)
by Bernard R. Crick
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bernard R. CrickEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1988-03
ISBN: 0816616671
Number of pages: 130
Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr
Book Reviews of Socialism (Concepts in Social Thought)
Book Review: Review
Summary: 4 Stars
This review is non-political and only looks at whether or not the author gives a clear and concise account of his themes. The twin themes of this book is that Socilism's origins are little understood which leads to a modern misunderstanding and the other theme is that there was a socialism before and apart from Karl Marx.
The first chapter looks at proto-socialism and the preconditions. By preconditions he means Judaeo-Christian traditions, ancient democracies, the English traditions, and J.J. Rousseau and others. He argues that socialism is truly a modern idea and did not exist before the 19th century. He adequately makes his points and backs them up with the historical record.
The second chapter discusses the French Revolution and its aims. He states that originally the French wanted a government not unlike the English model but this failed. He discusses this failure, the conservative reaction, and the legacy of the revolution on the political discourse and the possiblities it opened up as well as the changes that were made by other European governments.
The third chapter looks at early socialism, its schools of thought, its schisms, practical application successes and failures. He discusses the different thinkers that contributed to forming the various socialist ideologies. This time is loosely from the French Revolution to 1848 or Karl Marx. He discusses events of the French Revolution but barely mentions the revolutions of 1848.
Chapter four is devoted to Marx. Marx made the largest impact and Crick shows how his disciples did not follow Marx's teachings any more than the Jacobins followed Rousseau's and neither are to blame for the horrors carried out in their names. He readily admits that most nations with Socialist in their title were usually despotic governments and these governments perverted socialist ideology for their own ends.
In chapter five Crick lists important English writers in socialist thought that shaped and influenced it from the 1880s to the 1980s. He leads in with a short introduction but then lets the selected texts stand for themselves. This sets the stage for the next chapter and his arguement of the values of democratic socialism. Of these he lists five, liberty, equality, fraternity, and individualism. He discusses how these were shaped and how they are perceived by most people today.
The last chapter is advice on how socialists should work through government to acheive the goals and values of socialism. He doesn't list it as one of the values of socialism but he continually underpins all his arguements with it and that is progressivism. In other words, man and governments are still progressing to a better future and he implicitly states that socialists are the wardens and constructors of this future. He is not speaking of a utopia which he explicitly rejects and he makes no predictions nor gives any clear vision of what the end result will be. But he does state that anything less is a poor alternative.
Overall the book is well thought out and doesn't get bogged down in the various arguments on the various events in history. It is a brief sketch and maybe more could be said but that would limit its utility as a text book for studies in political science. His two main themes are plainly elucidated and I would recommend this book for graduate or undergraduate studies.
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