A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism

by Doug Greene

Doug Greene takes an in-depth and critical look at the life and ideas of Michael Harrington, one of America's most important democratic socialists. A Failure of Vision discusses one of the most important champions for democratic socialism in the United States. Michael Harrington (1928–1989) is widely recognized for writing The Other America, a seminal expose of poverty in the United States that inspired the War on Poverty. He was also the founder of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which is currently the largest socialist organization in the United States. Michael Harrington hoped to transform democratic socialism from a marginal view into a major political force in the United States. To accomplish this, he advocated that socialists act as the “left-wing of the possible” inside of the Democratic Party in order to transform it into one that truly represented the people. In the end, Realignment proved to be a dead end to advance socialist politics. The questions proposed by Michael Harrington continue to be sharply debated by socialists. With an engaging style and critical approach to Michael Harrington's shortcomings, this book is essential reading to understand contemporary debates on the American left.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

260 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2022

Reviews

[Nathaniel Flakin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Doug Greene's biography of the social democrat and DSA founder Michael Harrington. This was a review copy — the book is set to appear on May 27. I plan to write a proper review for Left Voice, so all I will say here is that the book is excellent and you should get a copy.

[Rafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here lies Michael Harrington: founder of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), kinda-Catholic, kinda-socialist, loser, Bohemian layabout, fancy lad, Democrat tailist, and Bernsteinian Marxist revisionist. Harrington punched left his entire organizing career to gain nothing for the working class, but received a eulogy from Ted Kennedy and some backhanded compliments from Bill Buckley. If Harrington's intellectual contribution of "spiritual materialism" sounds like subjective mystification (i.e. liberalism), you would be correct.

Maybe all of Harrington's hooey sounded reasonable during the virulently anti-communist Cold War America, but thankfully we have the benefit of hindsight. The life, career, thought, and strategy of Harrington described by Greene serve as a valuable lesson of what NOT TO DO for anyone invested in building a better world and challenging capitalist hegemony. You will never reform the Democrats or liberals by gently suggesting social democratic reform and throwing everyone to the left of Hubert Humphrey under the bus, you will only reform yourself.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you know nothing about Michael Harrington, this is the first book you should read. Or, if you think you know everything about him, this is your next book, guaranteed.

Doug Greene does a masterful job of giving Michael Harrington the political biography he has long deserved, and nothing is left out. From Harrington's humble beginnings as a Jesuit student, to his bohemian sojourns in Chicago and New York, to his entry into socialist politics and organizing with Max Shachtman, and his years-long development of the 'realignment' strategy, Greene takes the reader through Harrington's triumphs and setbacks, carefully explaining his political development in accessible and elegant prose.

Rather than isolating the context to Harrington alone, the history and development of American radicalism is the battleground Greene immerses his readers in, to great effect.

Harrington's relevance today is heavily accented in the introduction and conclusion, and though the book was completed after the 2020 primary but before the general election, the Democratic Socialists of America is still today being rocked by the repercussions of its choices in that election.

Greene tops off the book with an appendix summarizing Harrington's views under the heading The Meaning of Democratic Marxism, which Greene has helpfully condensed from Harrington's works, speeches, etc. This section alone is a valuable guide to the reader in studying Michael Harrington, and is worth the price of admission alone.

[Megzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Well written and compulsively readable in a way that deftly mixes a biography of Michael Harrington while also chronicling much of the development of the American electoral left. Earlier this year I read Reform or Revolution and Other Writings by Rosa Luxemburg, which gave me a better grounding of the arguments Doug Greene makes. This is more of an updated version that is grounded in the mid 20th century to the present. Though Harrington is no longer well known, his ideas still live on in center-left to left wing voices that believe the Democratic party can be “reformed” and taken over in the same manner that the Tea Party and Trumpism took over the Republican party. Never mind the glaringly obvious, that right wing populism is not a threat to capital in the way that left wing populism is, which makes this impossible. So many of Harrington’s beliefs (his “both sideism” of the Vietnam war, his avid Zionism, his hostility to black liberation movements, etc.) can still be seen in parts of the American left to this day. Even though Greene finds Harrington’s beliefs to have long-lasting damage, the book is never outright hostile to its subject.

The Appendix to this book is a great dissection of Harrington’s analysis of Marx, and where his interpretations fall flat or were misguided. Some of the language (particularly the section on spiritual materialism) went over my head. Though Harrington’s baby, the DSA, has thankfully broken away from Harrington on certain issues, the organization’s lack of accountability for elected DSA officials, and the continued funneling of candidates into the Democrats, means that outside movements (black lives matter, LGBT issues, and now the Palestine solidarity movement) are continuously co-opted and neutered. The need for a third party is more relevant than ever. It’s a shame that few people will read this.

[Cody Strandquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly frustrating read. It's fairly tough to read about Harrington continually choosing pragmatism over principles again and again, with nothing to show for it. Equally frustrating is how relevant this book is to the current struggles within the Democratic party of the US.

The only thing missing in this book is more analysis throughout the biography. For the seasoned leftist, the descriptions of Harrington's politics might feel self evidently misguided, especially in hindsight. Equally though, I could see a few left-leaning Liberals read this book and completely miss the main critique.

[Mel Stead]

Reviewed in the July 2022 issue of the Socialist Standard:

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