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Essential Works of Socialism
Collection of essays and extracts on socialism including works by Marx, Engels, Kautsky, Plekhanov, Wilde, Mill, Orwell, Shaw, Ricoeur, Kolakowski
850 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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About the author
Irving Howe
194 books46 followersIrving Howe was an American literary and social critic and a prominent figure of the Democratic Socialists of America.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 4, 2022
One of the greatest introductory books on socialism, with both Marxist and non-Marxist authors. On amazon it costs $200+, but the newest edition from The Reading Generation is available for only $23: link .
Original Preface:
Essential Works of Socialism is the most authoritative one-volume collection of major socialist writings to appear in English. Edited by Irving Howe, the well-known social historian and literary critic, it not only includes classic statements by Marx, Engels, Bukharin, Plekhanov, Lenin, Luxemburg, and Trotsky, but also analysis, polemic, and re-evaluations from such varied figures as Djilas, Silone, Ricoeur, Lichtheim, Orwell, Buber, Kolakowski, Cole, and Harrington. Howe's Introduction emphasizes that this is an anthology of socialist thought, not of Marxism. Marxism has, of course, been the most influential strand of thought in the development of modern socialism, but non-Marxist socialism is also well represented in this volume. Howe has managed to avoid the inclusion of esoteric and internal socialist controversies; the debates that are anthologized here, as with the assault Trotsky launched against Stalinism, or Plekhanov's anticipation of revolution leading to a new Asiatic despotism, have lost none of their relevance. Right-wing and left-wing socialists are both present, as well as the many who fit neither label, but the Essential Works of Socialism has been edited out of a conviction that no compromise is possible between democratic socialists and the various defenders of authoritarian and totalitarian despotism, who have appropriated the name of socialism.
Original Preface:
Essential Works of Socialism is the most authoritative one-volume collection of major socialist writings to appear in English. Edited by Irving Howe, the well-known social historian and literary critic, it not only includes classic statements by Marx, Engels, Bukharin, Plekhanov, Lenin, Luxemburg, and Trotsky, but also analysis, polemic, and re-evaluations from such varied figures as Djilas, Silone, Ricoeur, Lichtheim, Orwell, Buber, Kolakowski, Cole, and Harrington. Howe's Introduction emphasizes that this is an anthology of socialist thought, not of Marxism. Marxism has, of course, been the most influential strand of thought in the development of modern socialism, but non-Marxist socialism is also well represented in this volume. Howe has managed to avoid the inclusion of esoteric and internal socialist controversies; the debates that are anthologized here, as with the assault Trotsky launched against Stalinism, or Plekhanov's anticipation of revolution leading to a new Asiatic despotism, have lost none of their relevance. Right-wing and left-wing socialists are both present, as well as the many who fit neither label, but the Essential Works of Socialism has been edited out of a conviction that no compromise is possible between democratic socialists and the various defenders of authoritarian and totalitarian despotism, who have appropriated the name of socialism.
August 1, 2021
The 30th Book of 2021: Essential Works of Socialism Edited by Irving Howe
At the beginning of the pandemic, as I began to watch friends and family members throw themselves with little choice of their own into the jaws of capital, risking their lives for the means to live, and watched our elected officials bring home the brutality they regularly bring to other countries whose resources and labor we pillage to stay on top of this global economic system, it became very clear to me my personal politics were tepid and useless. Even after a year and change of personal education, diving deeper into the history of real, material social change in different epochs, I still feel that way.
If nothing else though, after reading the revolutionaries, political scientists, philosophers and critics compiled in this 850 pg book, I at the very least feel like I’m having the right conversation. No longer is my disdain born from a vague feeling that what we are seeing on a global scale is wrong, can be better, must be addressed, and will assuredly bring about our destruction by way of climate change, now I know why that is so.
The last 200 pages of this book in particular were very useful in considering what the role of state power will be in the challenges we face as a human race, as we move by way of necessity to a collectivist socialist world. Planning and centralization on a grand scale will be necessary, but we must also respect the pursuit of individualism by humans, the freedom of expression and culture, the joy of choosing what work to do and how to be of use. Historically this has been a challenge for nations tasked with primitive accumulation of resources and wealth, while fighting capitalism and imperialism at every turn. Ideally, more Democratic and smaller labor unions will be created to challenge and contend with the state, as the notion it will “wither away” as Lenin puts it, seems at odds with the nature of power. But we don’t have a choice. Planning on a grand scale is necessary.
As Rosa Luxemburg said, and after reading as much as I can and witnessing the carnage of the year we’ve all been through, I believe the only outcomes viable are “Socialism or Barbarism”.
At the beginning of the pandemic, as I began to watch friends and family members throw themselves with little choice of their own into the jaws of capital, risking their lives for the means to live, and watched our elected officials bring home the brutality they regularly bring to other countries whose resources and labor we pillage to stay on top of this global economic system, it became very clear to me my personal politics were tepid and useless. Even after a year and change of personal education, diving deeper into the history of real, material social change in different epochs, I still feel that way.
If nothing else though, after reading the revolutionaries, political scientists, philosophers and critics compiled in this 850 pg book, I at the very least feel like I’m having the right conversation. No longer is my disdain born from a vague feeling that what we are seeing on a global scale is wrong, can be better, must be addressed, and will assuredly bring about our destruction by way of climate change, now I know why that is so.
The last 200 pages of this book in particular were very useful in considering what the role of state power will be in the challenges we face as a human race, as we move by way of necessity to a collectivist socialist world. Planning and centralization on a grand scale will be necessary, but we must also respect the pursuit of individualism by humans, the freedom of expression and culture, the joy of choosing what work to do and how to be of use. Historically this has been a challenge for nations tasked with primitive accumulation of resources and wealth, while fighting capitalism and imperialism at every turn. Ideally, more Democratic and smaller labor unions will be created to challenge and contend with the state, as the notion it will “wither away” as Lenin puts it, seems at odds with the nature of power. But we don’t have a choice. Planning on a grand scale is necessary.
As Rosa Luxemburg said, and after reading as much as I can and witnessing the carnage of the year we’ve all been through, I believe the only outcomes viable are “Socialism or Barbarism”.
April 27, 2020
If I was asked to name one book as a primer for someone wanting to learn about democratic socialism as a concept, I would recommend this anthology.
Read
June 6, 2023An interesting showcase of the decline of Marxism in euro-american left circles, into revisionism. Not a single non white author is included, only one woman, nor any international movements, nor the almost-contemporaty Black Panthers. Wonder why.
October 22, 2017
so much good stuff here, i wish this was still in print. The Oscar Wilde, Kolakowski, and Evan Durbin were particular standouts.
April 3, 2009
At this writing, the USA has been worked up into a lather for a year, from the lead-up to the national elections of 2008 and continuing in the first days of the Obama Administration, over an alleged slide into "socialism."
Usually, the word is used as a simple epithet or bugaboo, with little or no reference to any meaningful definition of socialism. So what is socialism? As the United States was gearing up to elect Barack Obama as its 44th President, I found this edition in one of my favorite used book shops, a fat collection of essays starting with "founding fathers" such as Marx and Engels, and moving on to an eclectic and international array of writers writing from or about socialist perspectives from the days of Marx through the 1970's. It offers the perspective of bureaucratic collectivism and democratic socialism, demonstrating through literature the different approaches within the spectrum of socialist thought, even if the contributions are more on the theoretical side than on details of policy. Was the choice of red for the cover intentional?
Usually, the word is used as a simple epithet or bugaboo, with little or no reference to any meaningful definition of socialism. So what is socialism? As the United States was gearing up to elect Barack Obama as its 44th President, I found this edition in one of my favorite used book shops, a fat collection of essays starting with "founding fathers" such as Marx and Engels, and moving on to an eclectic and international array of writers writing from or about socialist perspectives from the days of Marx through the 1970's. It offers the perspective of bureaucratic collectivism and democratic socialism, demonstrating through literature the different approaches within the spectrum of socialist thought, even if the contributions are more on the theoretical side than on details of policy. Was the choice of red for the cover intentional?
June 13, 2011
if you want to know how collectivists think, this will help.
November 29, 2013
Some essays didn't seem quite that "essential".
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews