The Blueprint: How Socialism Can Work in the Real World

by Bhaskar Sunkara, Ben Burgis, Mike Beggs

Capitalism isn't working. But is there a plausible alternative? The Blueprint lays one a system where workers control every lever of production, and competitive markets and state planning coexist side by side. Drawing on the history of socialist experiments and the economic debate over planning and markets, The Blueprint confronts the hardest questions about what went wrong in the past-and why it can go right in the future. The result is a socialism worthy of the twenty-first century.

Genres: Politics, Economics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, History

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 29, 2026

Reviews

[Charles Andrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

( Our detailed review, "A Market Socialist Tackles DSA’s Dilemma," is at
newworker.us/theory-history/a-market-... )
Sunkara thinks the economy must be capitalist. He supposes that the state could tax most of the profits from the firms and use the funds for lots of good things. The history of Yugoslavia, Sweden, and the Mondragon corporations in Spain demonstrate that such a scheme falls back to open capitalism.
Nor does Sunkara have any idea of socialism moving toward communism: overcoming divides between mental and manual work and between managing and being managed, narrowing wage differences and eroding the link between job and income.
And how do you get to socialism? Sunkara's recipe in practice is accumulating victories in elections. It didn't work for Salvador Allende in Chile!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a tour de force. The authors have succeeded at writing something "[accessible] but at a level of detail that can’t easily be dismissed." I think this will be a real contribution to the public discourse in general and among the activist left. They don't assume that you're already a Marxist, that you already have a handle on economics, or conversely that you already subscribe to markets. In the spirit of G.A. Cohen, they explain the arguments of their "opponents" at length and in good faith, incorporate many of their genuine contributions, and handle their concerns in the spirit of free inquiry, be they neoclassical economists or planners. This is a radically intellectually honest book - they're clear about the trade-offs they're making, and if you disagree with their view (which you no doubt will at some point or other), they make it very easy for you to identify where and what the impact of your disagreement will be.

I was very impressed by their lengthy analysis of the failures of Soviet planning - no doubt it will manage to make people on every side unreasonably mad lol. My biggest gripe with the book is that they don't do something similar with Yugoslavian markets (they relegate their discussion of Yugoslavia to one page toward the end of the book), but it's clear that their model addresses many of the issues of that system (for instance, by ensuring that the financial system is responsible for increasing investment in firms, not the firms themselves). And to be fair, you can only expect your intended reader to take in so much information; the Soviet example was undoubtedly the most important one for all sides. But it's something I'd have selfishly liked to see addressed in an appendix or a Catalyst article or something.

This is outside the scope of the book, but it deserves to be said that even in our wildest dreams of revolution, it's not possible to simply wipe away existing institutions and erect a new model from scratch. To Lenin's dismay, one of the most important lessons of the Russian revolution was that you can't simply take over a tsarist bureaucracy and make it do whatever you want. The next step in left discourse ought to develop Leo Panitch's notion of "state transformation" so we can think seriously about how to get to a model like this. Importantly, the institutions described here are recognizable enough that such a discussion would be quite fruitful.

All in all, though, this does an amazing job respecting the intelligence of a broad set of readers. It's one of those books that many people will have disagreements with, but everyone will have to respond to.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Verso Books for an advanced copy of this book.
While I appreciate a well-written dystopia as much as the next reader, I think it is important that leftists cast a vision of that better world we are supposed to think is possible. The Blueprint is a thought provoking and well researched attempt at casting said vision. Sunkara, Burgis and Beggs first take us through the successes and failures of the various command economies of the 20th century. Then, the authors offer their view of various economic sectors in their envisioned market socialism, attempting to answer common economist critiques of democratized economies. The picture the authors paint is not fully-automated, luxury space communism, but a world where regular people still work and budget, but have all the things necessary to thrive and share. Honestly, it's a world that is far easier for me to picture myself living in than fully-automated luxury.

[Eliza's Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really excited when I saw this book available. The Blueprint: How Socialism Can Work in the Real World was written as more for the academic in mind I believe. So when I began reading, I had to slow down and spend time digesting the information. Be prepared to take some notes or highlight items to review again. I found the argument and research was well done and throughly argued. This is exactly the kind of information that people need to understand and be shown regarding socialism. The authors discuss the ways socialism has worked in some countries and the failures in others. The critiques are very thought-provoking and enlightening for someone who has heard for over fifty years that socialism and communism are the same and never work.

The solutions the authors, Bhaskar Sunkara, Ben Burgis and Mike Beggs offer up are interesting and actually feel like they will get us out of this unsustainable economic system of end stage capitalism we are living at the moment. This book is a great read for anyone who is feeling hopeless about their future ability to survive and prosper. I can definitely get behind a world where my children can experience peace of mind that not only will they survive financially but they will have a life full of possibilities.

Thank you, Bhaskar Sunkara, Ben Burgis, Mike Beggs and Verso Books for providing this e-ARC via NetGalley for review.

[Coaiemici123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally everyone should read this

[C.K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I think it's important to read social and political nonfiction, it can be frustrating (and depressing) when books focus entirely on the problems we have and how we got here, without offering any real solutions or next steps. Obviously, offering solutions is MUCH more complex than simply offering criticism, so it was incredibly refreshing to read a book that is focused on where we go from here.

The book does read a bit academic, and while I think that is a strength and helps ground the arguments in fact and history, this is definitely not a book for more casual readers looking for ideas. (That said, I do think a more pop/accessible version of this book would sell by the boatload).

While I might not necessarily agree with every solution presented, I nevertheless think that it's important to at least be looking for solutions and victories wherever we can find them. Overall, I think this is a must-read for anyone looking for solutions in a world beset by serious (and ever-increasing) — but not insurmountable — problems.

Thank you you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Lottie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Really fascinating content which was well written and researched

[Paige McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I awaited this book for quite a while. I have been looking for something to replace capitalism. I like this book in that it dees provide a vision beyond the neoliberalism we have been living under. It gives a view outside of Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism. The vision offered is a bit of the Mondragon model of democratically run worker firms, with a socialist state running it like an umpire. It is a form of market socialism because the author thinks a Soviet style command economy will ultimately fail, and these firm do need a price signal to coordinate production of course; the details matter in how the market mechanism works, and the tension between individual firms and collective direction of public wants and needs for the greater society is there. Of course, the capitalist owning class won't be there to rule over the firms, and people will not be able to pass on accumulated worker income into family dynasties of inheritance. Society would be much more egalitarian, and the state would pick up the slack for individual needs. Many of the landmarks of capitalist modernity will still exist but would be transformed/ The book tersely deals with these topics and a slew of organizational worries that go into building its socialist society; what is remarkable is how down-to-earth and quotidian it all seems, very worldly and familiar.

[Trenton Delao · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

This book is dense, it makes great points for market socialism & tackles many of the criticisms well. That being said the authors obviously tried to write this book in a pretty simple way, so as to be as consumable as possible, however this caused the writing style to suffer.

I found this book extremely boring due to the lack of colorful prose, which is a shame because the few times the authors do write in metaphors and analogies it is quite beautiful. I wish they used their own voices more.

[Trent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Market socialism ftw.

[NC32 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have nothing but sympathy for the political aims of these writers but find some of the economic commentary baffling. They accept way too many premises of the libertarians they like to argue with