What do you think?
Rate this book
American Democratic Socialism: History, Politics, Religion, and Theory
A sweeping, ambitious history of American democratic socialism from one of the world’s leading intellectual historians and social ethicists
“The movement whose tangled history Gary Dorrien tells in American Democratic Socialism has deep roots in the very ‘American’ values it is accused of undermining. . . . The version of the socialist left that emerges is one that deserves more attention.”—Hari Kunzru, New York Review of Books
Democratic socialism is ascending in the United States as a consequence of a widespread recognition that global capitalism works only for a minority and is harming the planet’s ecology. This history of American democratic socialism from its beginning to the present day interprets the efforts of American socialists to address and transform multiple intersecting sites of injustice and harm. Comprehensive, deeply researched, and highly original, this book offers a luminous synthesis of secular and religious socialisms, detailing both their intellectual and their organizational histories.
“The movement whose tangled history Gary Dorrien tells in American Democratic Socialism has deep roots in the very ‘American’ values it is accused of undermining. . . . The version of the socialist left that emerges is one that deserves more attention.”—Hari Kunzru, New York Review of Books
Democratic socialism is ascending in the United States as a consequence of a widespread recognition that global capitalism works only for a minority and is harming the planet’s ecology. This history of American democratic socialism from its beginning to the present day interprets the efforts of American socialists to address and transform multiple intersecting sites of injustice and harm. Comprehensive, deeply researched, and highly original, this book offers a luminous synthesis of secular and religious socialisms, detailing both their intellectual and their organizational histories.
752 pages, Hardcover
Published September 14, 2021
16 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Gary J. Dorrien
38 books30 followersGary John Dorrien is an American social ethicist and theologian. He is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York and Professor of Religion at Columbia University, both in New York City, and the author of 18 books on ethics, social theory, philosophy, theology, politics, and intellectual history.
Prior to joining the faculty at Union and Columbia in 2005, Dorrien taught at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where he served as Parfet Distinguished Professor and as Dean of Stetson Chapel.
An Episcopal priest, he has taught as the Paul E. Raither Distinguished Scholar at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and as Horace De Y. Lentz Visiting Professor at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Prior to joining the faculty at Union and Columbia in 2005, Dorrien taught at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where he served as Parfet Distinguished Professor and as Dean of Stetson Chapel.
An Episcopal priest, he has taught as the Paul E. Raither Distinguished Scholar at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and as Horace De Y. Lentz Visiting Professor at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 23, 2024
2023 was a good year for Labor (https://jacobin.com/2023/12/2023-labo...) and lots of low-wage earners get a pay bump in 2024 (https://www.npr.org/2023/12/26/122152...) (even if $15 an hour is still an unlivable wage in most metropolitan areas), but as most people should be keenly aware of, things have gotten exponentially worse since 9/11/2001 (and if you don’t think so, then you’re sleepwalking through it all).
For the United States of Stupidity, 2024 will most certainly be a . . . how do I say this without being flagged for a vulgarity . . . imagine a literal mountain of cow manure, fresh and still steaming, magically pumped through a jet turbine going at maximum velocity and behind it, splashed across the largest movie screen known to humankind, filmed and archived for all-time. 2024 could become the largest constitutional crisis since the Civil War, and our government could come grinding to a halt (not that it’s essentially ineffective anymore overall: our political system is nearly broken as it is [https://www.npr.org/2023/12/22/122011...]). We have so many targets to cast blame at, most especially ourselves. Eighty million Americans voted for a career grifter, certified racist, bonafide insurrectionist, and pathological liar the second time around. How many will show up at the polls this year? I’m ashamed to report that, apparently, my fellow Gen-Xers are the worst (https://www.npr.org/2023/12/27/121787...), poorly educated, easily deluded, idolizing the “reality TV” shows of the past twenty years, ignorant of accurate history, voting against their own interests, and willing to toss representative democracy down the toilet for . . . what? The cost of gasoline?? I honestly can’t figure it out, but obviously I’m far afield of their simplistic mindsets and pathetic worldviews.
With American Democratic Socialism: History, Politics, Religion, and Theory, Dr. Dorrien gifts us with the only comprehensive tome one needs to understand the subject of American Democratic Socialism in all its complexity, and it takes a solid 300 pages before he gets to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the tumultuous civil rights movement of the 1960s, which was categorically progressive and democratic-socialist in design. From Dr. King to Uncle Bernie is almost another 300 pages. A weighty tome it is. A “tour de force” through the lost opportunities, mangled alliances, dysfunctional factionalism, broken records, fierce opposition, and gloomy outlooks. This book is a purposeful slog through the past 150 years and printed at probably a 9- or 10-point font to boot (I acquired the hardcover on sale this past summer directly from Yale University Press). Every few months a new and more dire global warning report comes out, the science honing down massive amounts of data to create ever-clearer pictures of the future of this precious aquarium world, grim as those pictures are. Humanity’s priorities are horribly misaligned and it will take some godly effort to realign them quickly. I hold no faith in divine beings saving us from ourselves. The future is made or ruined by what each and every one of us does today.
Progressivism, Democratic Socialism, Social Democracy, etc., etc.; we could split hairs with the variations, as well as the red-bait slander and weaponized disinformation used to malign all of us who sincerely care about the greater good. Doreen does a very nice job of hashing it all out, from its inception philosophies to the academic arguments through the decades to the current resurgence of progressive ideologies and agendas that have renewed the world with fresh outlooks, if only from the ground up. What might be truly fascinating to newbies is how Christian socialism was wildly popular in past eras—actual Christians supporting the teachings of their dark-skinned Arab Jew, Jesus of Nazareth; imagine that. While my memories may be rusty from long-ago Catholic Sunday school programming, I have a vague recollection of something like “love thy neighbor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, etc. etc.”. No where do I remember a white Jesus brandishing an AR-15. Progressivism could be made much stronger with religious people of all stripes actually following through with their ancient teachings.
Cast the utopian dreams of socialism aside and envision the fairly clear dystopian future that beckons us to keep sleepwalking into it. Is there a better way forward than continued neoliberal capitalism and globalization and oligopolies of entire industries, with unfettered welfare for the filthy rich, their corporations, and the precious stock market, and the constant pillaging of the planet? Read how the top 10% avoid billions in taxation and accountability every year (https://www.propublica.org/article/th...), then read Uncle Bernie’s speech to students at George Washington University in June of 2019 and decide for yourselves what you want for your future and the future of your offspring (https://www.vox.com/2019/6/12/1866321...).
“What I believe is that the American people deserve freedom – true freedom. Freedom is an often used word but it’s time we took a hard look at what that word actually means. Ask yourself: what does it actually mean to be free?
Are you truly free if you are unable to go to a doctor when you are sick, or face financial bankruptcy when you leave the hospital?
Are you truly free if you cannot afford the prescription drug you need to stay alive?
Are you truly free when you spend half of your limited income on housing, and are forced to borrow money from a payday lender at 200% interest rates.
Are you truly free if you are 70 years old and forced to work because you lack a pension or enough money to retire?
Are you truly free if you are unable to go to attend college or a trade school because your family lacks the income?
Are you truly free if you are forced to work 60 or 80 hours a week because you can’t find a job that pays a living wage?
Are you truly free if you are a mother or father with a new born baby but you are forced to go back to work immediately after the birth because you lack paid family leave?
Are you truly free if you are a small business owner or family farmer who is driven out by the monopolistic practices of big business?
Are you truly free if you are a veteran, who put your life on the line to defend this country, and now sleep out on the streets?
To me, the answer to those questions, in the wealthiest nation on earth, is no, you are not free.
While the Bill of Rights protects us from the tyranny of an oppressive government, many in the establishment would like the American people to submit to the tyranny of oligarchs, multinational corporations, Wall Street banks, and billionaires.
It is time for the American people to stand up and fight for their right to freedom, human dignity and security. This is the core of what my politics is all about.
In 1944, FDR proposed an economic bill of rights but died a year later and was never able to fulfill that vision. Our job, 75 years later, is to complete what Roosevelt started.
That is why today, I am proposing a 21st Century Economic Bill of Rights.
A Bill of Rights that establishes once and for all that every American, regardless of his or her income is entitled to:
* The right to a decent job that pays a living wage
* The right to quality health care
* The right to a complete education
* The right to affordable housing
* The right to a clean environment
* The right to a secure retirement”
Freedom is not your YouTube algorithm. Freedom is not for-profit healthcare. Freedom is not prohibiting women from absolute bodily autonomy. Freedom is not indebtedness, living paycheck to paycheck. Freedom is not warmongering and war-profiteering. Freedom is not sociopathic police officers hiding behind a blue wall of silence. Freedom is not gross inequality with broken infrastructure. Freedom is not the prison industrial complex.
There are relatively simple solutions to our society’s chronic issues and widespread global concerns, but the forces of pure greed and grift are titanic and in a militantly polarized society, nothing is ever simple. We need to build massive coalitions to focus on the Big Picture, tear down the systems of oppression, reorganize the distribution of wealth, and reform it all into a system that works for everyone equally. Not burn the flag, but wash it clean and unfurl it proudly. I fear 2024 will be a breaking point for representative democracy, and the Democratic National Committee may very well be making a final fatal decision backing Biden again, but we get what we deserve. It’s been a long time coming.
Mother Jones finally released their “American Oligarchy” piece and it's very much worth the read (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/...). This is the true United States of Hypocrisy laid bare.
Be safe out there and good luck for the new year.
For the United States of Stupidity, 2024 will most certainly be a . . . how do I say this without being flagged for a vulgarity . . . imagine a literal mountain of cow manure, fresh and still steaming, magically pumped through a jet turbine going at maximum velocity and behind it, splashed across the largest movie screen known to humankind, filmed and archived for all-time. 2024 could become the largest constitutional crisis since the Civil War, and our government could come grinding to a halt (not that it’s essentially ineffective anymore overall: our political system is nearly broken as it is [https://www.npr.org/2023/12/22/122011...]). We have so many targets to cast blame at, most especially ourselves. Eighty million Americans voted for a career grifter, certified racist, bonafide insurrectionist, and pathological liar the second time around. How many will show up at the polls this year? I’m ashamed to report that, apparently, my fellow Gen-Xers are the worst (https://www.npr.org/2023/12/27/121787...), poorly educated, easily deluded, idolizing the “reality TV” shows of the past twenty years, ignorant of accurate history, voting against their own interests, and willing to toss representative democracy down the toilet for . . . what? The cost of gasoline?? I honestly can’t figure it out, but obviously I’m far afield of their simplistic mindsets and pathetic worldviews.
With American Democratic Socialism: History, Politics, Religion, and Theory, Dr. Dorrien gifts us with the only comprehensive tome one needs to understand the subject of American Democratic Socialism in all its complexity, and it takes a solid 300 pages before he gets to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the tumultuous civil rights movement of the 1960s, which was categorically progressive and democratic-socialist in design. From Dr. King to Uncle Bernie is almost another 300 pages. A weighty tome it is. A “tour de force” through the lost opportunities, mangled alliances, dysfunctional factionalism, broken records, fierce opposition, and gloomy outlooks. This book is a purposeful slog through the past 150 years and printed at probably a 9- or 10-point font to boot (I acquired the hardcover on sale this past summer directly from Yale University Press). Every few months a new and more dire global warning report comes out, the science honing down massive amounts of data to create ever-clearer pictures of the future of this precious aquarium world, grim as those pictures are. Humanity’s priorities are horribly misaligned and it will take some godly effort to realign them quickly. I hold no faith in divine beings saving us from ourselves. The future is made or ruined by what each and every one of us does today.
Progressivism, Democratic Socialism, Social Democracy, etc., etc.; we could split hairs with the variations, as well as the red-bait slander and weaponized disinformation used to malign all of us who sincerely care about the greater good. Doreen does a very nice job of hashing it all out, from its inception philosophies to the academic arguments through the decades to the current resurgence of progressive ideologies and agendas that have renewed the world with fresh outlooks, if only from the ground up. What might be truly fascinating to newbies is how Christian socialism was wildly popular in past eras—actual Christians supporting the teachings of their dark-skinned Arab Jew, Jesus of Nazareth; imagine that. While my memories may be rusty from long-ago Catholic Sunday school programming, I have a vague recollection of something like “love thy neighbor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, etc. etc.”. No where do I remember a white Jesus brandishing an AR-15. Progressivism could be made much stronger with religious people of all stripes actually following through with their ancient teachings.
Cast the utopian dreams of socialism aside and envision the fairly clear dystopian future that beckons us to keep sleepwalking into it. Is there a better way forward than continued neoliberal capitalism and globalization and oligopolies of entire industries, with unfettered welfare for the filthy rich, their corporations, and the precious stock market, and the constant pillaging of the planet? Read how the top 10% avoid billions in taxation and accountability every year (https://www.propublica.org/article/th...), then read Uncle Bernie’s speech to students at George Washington University in June of 2019 and decide for yourselves what you want for your future and the future of your offspring (https://www.vox.com/2019/6/12/1866321...).
“What I believe is that the American people deserve freedom – true freedom. Freedom is an often used word but it’s time we took a hard look at what that word actually means. Ask yourself: what does it actually mean to be free?
Are you truly free if you are unable to go to a doctor when you are sick, or face financial bankruptcy when you leave the hospital?
Are you truly free if you cannot afford the prescription drug you need to stay alive?
Are you truly free when you spend half of your limited income on housing, and are forced to borrow money from a payday lender at 200% interest rates.
Are you truly free if you are 70 years old and forced to work because you lack a pension or enough money to retire?
Are you truly free if you are unable to go to attend college or a trade school because your family lacks the income?
Are you truly free if you are forced to work 60 or 80 hours a week because you can’t find a job that pays a living wage?
Are you truly free if you are a mother or father with a new born baby but you are forced to go back to work immediately after the birth because you lack paid family leave?
Are you truly free if you are a small business owner or family farmer who is driven out by the monopolistic practices of big business?
Are you truly free if you are a veteran, who put your life on the line to defend this country, and now sleep out on the streets?
To me, the answer to those questions, in the wealthiest nation on earth, is no, you are not free.
While the Bill of Rights protects us from the tyranny of an oppressive government, many in the establishment would like the American people to submit to the tyranny of oligarchs, multinational corporations, Wall Street banks, and billionaires.
It is time for the American people to stand up and fight for their right to freedom, human dignity and security. This is the core of what my politics is all about.
In 1944, FDR proposed an economic bill of rights but died a year later and was never able to fulfill that vision. Our job, 75 years later, is to complete what Roosevelt started.
That is why today, I am proposing a 21st Century Economic Bill of Rights.
A Bill of Rights that establishes once and for all that every American, regardless of his or her income is entitled to:
* The right to a decent job that pays a living wage
* The right to quality health care
* The right to a complete education
* The right to affordable housing
* The right to a clean environment
* The right to a secure retirement”
Freedom is not your YouTube algorithm. Freedom is not for-profit healthcare. Freedom is not prohibiting women from absolute bodily autonomy. Freedom is not indebtedness, living paycheck to paycheck. Freedom is not warmongering and war-profiteering. Freedom is not sociopathic police officers hiding behind a blue wall of silence. Freedom is not gross inequality with broken infrastructure. Freedom is not the prison industrial complex.
There are relatively simple solutions to our society’s chronic issues and widespread global concerns, but the forces of pure greed and grift are titanic and in a militantly polarized society, nothing is ever simple. We need to build massive coalitions to focus on the Big Picture, tear down the systems of oppression, reorganize the distribution of wealth, and reform it all into a system that works for everyone equally. Not burn the flag, but wash it clean and unfurl it proudly. I fear 2024 will be a breaking point for representative democracy, and the Democratic National Committee may very well be making a final fatal decision backing Biden again, but we get what we deserve. It’s been a long time coming.
Mother Jones finally released their “American Oligarchy” piece and it's very much worth the read (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/...). This is the true United States of Hypocrisy laid bare.
Be safe out there and good luck for the new year.
February 8, 2025
This is a very good resource book for a proper historical analysis of the failure of the left to become more relevant in the US. The internal rivalries in the left were so destructive. Way too much intellectual bickering. The author succeeds in presenting the long historical evidence of the left's problems. One historical fact that I was not aware of was the large political influence that the German socialists in America had on Lincoln.
Read
December 16, 2024I skipped around quite a bit, but I deserve the stats for reading this thick, dry book.
This is the most anti-either two party system book I have read LOL. Totally good with it. But mans criticized every president from 1933, I swear LOL.
Very informative, however!
This is the most anti-either two party system book I have read LOL. Totally good with it. But mans criticized every president from 1933, I swear LOL.
Very informative, however!
August 26, 2025
Great overview history of Socialism in the US with a majority of the time spent on the Socialist party of the early 20th century and the Harrington era. Would highly recommend to any one interested in American political history.
Read
January 1, 2022This is really out of my field, but I read it for a class. I'm not particularly into the material, but Dorrien is a real expert in the field.
January 10, 2025
Fantastic book, only reason I gave it 4 and not 5 is because it was a little too long and I am a wimp
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews