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Socialist Reconstruction: A Better Future for the United States
A vision of the first decade of socialism in the United States. The diverse multinational working class has achieved political supremacy and is actively eliminating bigotry, racism, and national oppression as it expands economic, social, and political democracy.
“This courageous and visionary book provides a realistic and realizable socialist alternative to our decaying predatory capitalist civilization! It grounds a grand socialist reconstruction of the present US regime in our present sufferings and struggles, especially in the crucial role of an awakening of working peoples! Genuine hope trumps despair in this prophetic text!”
—DR. CORNEL WEST
"Every project that is fed up with the failed capitalist system must develop a vision for socialism that builds the confidence of people that such a post-capitalist world is possible. Sharp clarity of thought based on experiments by people around the world defines this crucial book, a roadmap for our work."
—VIJAY PRASHAD
"This book is a great political and pedagogical tool for everyone who dares to imagine the end of capitalism and oppressive structures in the United States. It comes at a crucial time and should be utilized by organizers as a conversation starter within every community in the US to explore the concrete ways in which socialism can and must be constructed as a real social, economic and political project."
—CLAUDIA DE LA CRUZ
“This courageous and visionary book provides a realistic and realizable socialist alternative to our decaying predatory capitalist civilization! It grounds a grand socialist reconstruction of the present US regime in our present sufferings and struggles, especially in the crucial role of an awakening of working peoples! Genuine hope trumps despair in this prophetic text!”
—DR. CORNEL WEST
"Every project that is fed up with the failed capitalist system must develop a vision for socialism that builds the confidence of people that such a post-capitalist world is possible. Sharp clarity of thought based on experiments by people around the world defines this crucial book, a roadmap for our work."
—VIJAY PRASHAD
"This book is a great political and pedagogical tool for everyone who dares to imagine the end of capitalism and oppressive structures in the United States. It comes at a crucial time and should be utilized by organizers as a conversation starter within every community in the US to explore the concrete ways in which socialism can and must be constructed as a real social, economic and political project."
—CLAUDIA DE LA CRUZ
196 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 11, 2022
226 people are currently reading
2494 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
October 6, 2022
A much needed intervention in the struggle for working class consciousness in the US. So often in the debates about socialism vs capitalism, people are left with a caricature of what they believe socialism to be based on a lifetime of anti-communist propaganda. These debates occur without any serious discussion of what a socialist society would look like. This book provides a realistic look at exactly that, how a new society in the United States might look after a socialist revolution.
Critically this vision does not rely on some sort of magic developments in technology or anything else that would make it a dream permanently deferred. Everything this book lays out is immediately possible, today. The society this text describes could be realized in the short term through collective struggle. A society free from homelessness, hunger, poverty, militarism, institutionalized bigotry, and all the other horrors capitalism creates. A society where each is free to pursue their own self actualization alongside our collective obligations to each other. A society where true democracy finally exists, where communities are self controlled, and everyone has a say in their own lives.
We can make this vision a reality, it will just take all of us pulling together in struggle.
We have a world to win.
Critically this vision does not rely on some sort of magic developments in technology or anything else that would make it a dream permanently deferred. Everything this book lays out is immediately possible, today. The society this text describes could be realized in the short term through collective struggle. A society free from homelessness, hunger, poverty, militarism, institutionalized bigotry, and all the other horrors capitalism creates. A society where each is free to pursue their own self actualization alongside our collective obligations to each other. A society where true democracy finally exists, where communities are self controlled, and everyone has a say in their own lives.
We can make this vision a reality, it will just take all of us pulling together in struggle.
We have a world to win.
January 19, 2023
What a beautiful thing, to imagine a world without capitalism - even more beautiful to know that it is possible if we fight for it.
March 30, 2025
This book is a must read to understand what is possible under a socialist reconstruction of the United States and why we must fight to make it reality. Let’s just try it and see what happens lmao
September 12, 2023
Very good manifesto of sorts that outlines clearly both the current institutions that need to be destroyed or dismantled, and the new institutions that need to be created. There were times I found the rhetoric to be a bit repetitive and general (a limitation the book acknowledges about itself, as many of the prescriptive solutions cannot be fully articulated in advance), but there's still a lot of great stuff in here that could be accessible to a broad population of working people, left-adjacent and apolitical people.
November 10, 2022
Excellent book that provides a realistic vision on a socialist America. Non-pretentious and well written. Recommended for anyone who is a socialist or wants to dip their toes into socialism but still has doubts on how to dismantle capitalism’s structures.
December 26, 2025
The world yearns for the liberation from the tyranny of the settler-bourgeoisie and the creation of a better future inshallah
November 3, 2022
An interesting exercise in imagining what socialism could look like in the US, were the working class and oppressed communities to take power. There are more pressing strategic questions - such as how to realistically break the political hegemony of the capitalist class - but this book presents a powerful vision of an alternative society. Certainly useful at a time when many millions are utterly clueless about socialism but are nonetheless enthusiastic to know more about it (and even somewhat sympathetic towards it).
December 20, 2022
The Socialist Reconstruction is an infinitely useful and infinitely simple tool to aid those of us who are fighting to build a new and more just world. Vijay Prashad said once that the Socialist Reconstruction is a book full of common sense solutions to our everyday problems. I don't think a review can get much better than that. This book follows the main areas of society including government, health care, education, policing, energy, and foreign policy, and it provides the most obvious solutions to the problems that capitalism throws at us. Not only this, but it presents them in such a tangible way that you can really envision what socialism would look like not in the USSR or Cuba or China but in the US. I highly recommend that everyone, regardless of your political stance, read this book and consider the solutions it proposes and the examples it gives. Go out and talk to your friends and your neighbors about what a better society can look like. This book shows plainly that socialism is not some phantom that we should be scared of and shy away from but in fact an extraordinary vision and remedy for the problems plaguing our modern world—a remedy that is necessary for the survival of humanity.
October 25, 2022
wonderful amazing and inspiring
November 2, 2022
hey maybe we could try this out and just see what happens
December 7, 2022
I was quite impressed by PSL's program for the first decade of socialism in the US.
The production quality, readability matching the engaging content of the book and far surpassed what I've come to expect from most small political parties.
The largest weakness of the book in my perspective was its lack of clear prescription for how we get to the revolution. I understand this wasn't the point of the text; however, without a clear strategic vision of how to advance the class struggle, this reads more as a pleasant daydream than a concrete, realizable future. Ironically, many Marxists end up recreating the idealism of the oft-derided utopian socialists rather than putting forward a strong material analysis.
In a similar vein, reading the book, I often returned the widely paraphrased passage by Marx that 'we are not in the business of writing recipes for the cooks of the future.' I'm not sure I see the value in presenting a vision for what socialism will look like, because we simply don't know and at this point, to do so seems like imaginative world building. In fact, it reminded me of how as child I would often naively consider how I would structure a social order in an ideal world.
That said, I don't want to detract from the work of the authors. I think there is a limited value in showing what an alternative to capitalism would look like as it can help inspire some layers of the working class to struggle. Also, thinking through these systems can just be an entertaining mental experiment.
However, the place the book really shines is in its clear break down of the structures of capitalism as they currently exist. Socialist Reconstruction provides a highly valuable, condensed and readable genealogy of how many of the systems of oppression in the capitalist system came to be and how they advance the interests of the ruling class. I was very happy to see the book packed with citations and engaging with thinkers from across the left rather than the myopic, self contained ecosystem often characteristic of the work put out by small Marxist groups. The work is a profound success in the areas of synthesis, clarity and readability.
The production quality, readability matching the engaging content of the book and far surpassed what I've come to expect from most small political parties.
The largest weakness of the book in my perspective was its lack of clear prescription for how we get to the revolution. I understand this wasn't the point of the text; however, without a clear strategic vision of how to advance the class struggle, this reads more as a pleasant daydream than a concrete, realizable future. Ironically, many Marxists end up recreating the idealism of the oft-derided utopian socialists rather than putting forward a strong material analysis.
In a similar vein, reading the book, I often returned the widely paraphrased passage by Marx that 'we are not in the business of writing recipes for the cooks of the future.' I'm not sure I see the value in presenting a vision for what socialism will look like, because we simply don't know and at this point, to do so seems like imaginative world building. In fact, it reminded me of how as child I would often naively consider how I would structure a social order in an ideal world.
That said, I don't want to detract from the work of the authors. I think there is a limited value in showing what an alternative to capitalism would look like as it can help inspire some layers of the working class to struggle. Also, thinking through these systems can just be an entertaining mental experiment.
However, the place the book really shines is in its clear break down of the structures of capitalism as they currently exist. Socialist Reconstruction provides a highly valuable, condensed and readable genealogy of how many of the systems of oppression in the capitalist system came to be and how they advance the interests of the ruling class. I was very happy to see the book packed with citations and engaging with thinkers from across the left rather than the myopic, self contained ecosystem often characteristic of the work put out by small Marxist groups. The work is a profound success in the areas of synthesis, clarity and readability.
June 19, 2025
Socialist Reconstruction is a powerful and unprecedented read. Although there are parts I disagree with or think could have been fleshed out more, I think it represents a step in the right direction - away from simply bashing capitalism, and towards presenting a viable and desirable socialist alternative. A Third Reconstruction in this country is long overdue, and through struggle may it be achieved.
In more detail, my main objection is to the application of centralization. Centralization to some extent is necessary to combat the climate crisis, and the framework presented does provide a backstop for oppressed nations against white majoritarianism, but doing away with local sovereignty also means stalling on the question of New Afrikan and Indigenous sovereignty - two highly important struggles for self-determination - not to mention the various other oppressed nations contained within the US. In my reading, the book's stance does not outright reject self-determination for oppressed nations in the US, but it fails to properly address the question. Centralization versus national sovereignty is a difficult question that must be solved through struggle.
I do agree with most of the book, however, and one place where I think that deserves to be highlighted is in the book's treatment of the policing question. With calls to abolish the police becoming the norm in the US left, and gaining a small base of support within the masses, it is important to figure out what comes next. Socialist Reconstruction avoids offering easy, utopian answers, acknowledging that imprisonment and criminal punishment will have to exist for a certain period, but also highlights that restorative justice, decriminalization of addiction, and the provision of everyone's basic needs is better at addressing the vast majority of crime than capitalist policing. Post-revolutionary justice will be administered neither by people's tribunals nor spontaneous armed mobs, but by organized local structures working in the spirit of community care.
In more detail, my main objection is to the application of centralization. Centralization to some extent is necessary to combat the climate crisis, and the framework presented does provide a backstop for oppressed nations against white majoritarianism, but doing away with local sovereignty also means stalling on the question of New Afrikan and Indigenous sovereignty - two highly important struggles for self-determination - not to mention the various other oppressed nations contained within the US. In my reading, the book's stance does not outright reject self-determination for oppressed nations in the US, but it fails to properly address the question. Centralization versus national sovereignty is a difficult question that must be solved through struggle.
I do agree with most of the book, however, and one place where I think that deserves to be highlighted is in the book's treatment of the policing question. With calls to abolish the police becoming the norm in the US left, and gaining a small base of support within the masses, it is important to figure out what comes next. Socialist Reconstruction avoids offering easy, utopian answers, acknowledging that imprisonment and criminal punishment will have to exist for a certain period, but also highlights that restorative justice, decriminalization of addiction, and the provision of everyone's basic needs is better at addressing the vast majority of crime than capitalist policing. Post-revolutionary justice will be administered neither by people's tribunals nor spontaneous armed mobs, but by organized local structures working in the spirit of community care.
November 9, 2023
Karl Marx famously did not write a blueprint for what a socialist future would look like. And it makes perfect sense as to why he had no desire to prescribe such a detailed program: this is a task of the working-class once they conquer political power. The writers of 'Socialist Reconstruction' have written a pretty decent manifesto of what an alternative program could potentially look like in the United States. This is an important task because I do feel that keeping the support of the working-class would be difficult if socialists are unable to articulate what a new, alternative world could potentially look like.
The authors here do a pretty good job at detailing how capitalist markets - across a multitude of industries - fails to adequately meet the needs of the working-class and how it privileges the interests and profits of shareholders over stakeholders (consumers, workers). The goal here is to decommodify and decarbonize the industries that produce our basic necessities (agriculture, housing, transportation, medicine, education) and to transform our economy so we can end exploitation and increase leisure time. I don't know about you, but free time sounds very appealing to me as it would allow me to engage in work/hobbies without fear of losing my home or going hungry.
Overall, the book is decent. I have a few quibbles with a few details, but I have no fundamental disagreements. But what I love most is the acknowledgment that this is not a rigid program, but a roadmap that requires the democratic participation of the people. The people are who will frame the political and socioeconomic project.
The authors here do a pretty good job at detailing how capitalist markets - across a multitude of industries - fails to adequately meet the needs of the working-class and how it privileges the interests and profits of shareholders over stakeholders (consumers, workers). The goal here is to decommodify and decarbonize the industries that produce our basic necessities (agriculture, housing, transportation, medicine, education) and to transform our economy so we can end exploitation and increase leisure time. I don't know about you, but free time sounds very appealing to me as it would allow me to engage in work/hobbies without fear of losing my home or going hungry.
Overall, the book is decent. I have a few quibbles with a few details, but I have no fundamental disagreements. But what I love most is the acknowledgment that this is not a rigid program, but a roadmap that requires the democratic participation of the people. The people are who will frame the political and socioeconomic project.
March 29, 2023
For someone who is a beginner in socialist readings, this was very easy to understand and gave a vision into what the future can look like under socialism. It’s very possible, we just have to try!
January 8, 2023
This book is incredible and does achieves something in 2022/23 that all socialist movements throughout the world, particularly in the imperialist core, should look to emulate. Why? Let me tell you.
This book is accessible to anyone, written in modern language, for seasoned activists and workers new to socialist thought alike. This book creates a realistic vision of what can be possible when Socialism is achieved in the United States. It also, importantly, outlines that it is just a guide, and emphasises things may be somewhat different in reality, because the foundation of socialism will be built upon the input, through a revolutionary democratic process, of millions of workers coming together.
It's very common for socialists to get so wrapped up in their struggle against capitalism, we forget to outline their goals and what they are working to build. This leaves workers wondering what really will happen under socialism, and allows capitalist propaganda to use that void of vision to introduce fear of the project.
Each of the 10 chapters covers a very important component of the new socialist society. It presents the why, the what, and the most importantly the how. How will socialism actually solve these issues? It gives you very realistic but very vivid guidance on how these solutions can work.
This book is critical for the workers living under the boot of American capitalism, but can also serve as inspiration and guidance for workers living through the western imperialist core.
As someone who doesn't live in the United States, I just want to thank the revolutionaries of the PSL for their hard work going into this very easy to read masterpiece. It goes to show what activists can do and accomplish.
This book is accessible to anyone, written in modern language, for seasoned activists and workers new to socialist thought alike. This book creates a realistic vision of what can be possible when Socialism is achieved in the United States. It also, importantly, outlines that it is just a guide, and emphasises things may be somewhat different in reality, because the foundation of socialism will be built upon the input, through a revolutionary democratic process, of millions of workers coming together.
It's very common for socialists to get so wrapped up in their struggle against capitalism, we forget to outline their goals and what they are working to build. This leaves workers wondering what really will happen under socialism, and allows capitalist propaganda to use that void of vision to introduce fear of the project.
Each of the 10 chapters covers a very important component of the new socialist society. It presents the why, the what, and the most importantly the how. How will socialism actually solve these issues? It gives you very realistic but very vivid guidance on how these solutions can work.
This book is critical for the workers living under the boot of American capitalism, but can also serve as inspiration and guidance for workers living through the western imperialist core.
As someone who doesn't live in the United States, I just want to thank the revolutionaries of the PSL for their hard work going into this very easy to read masterpiece. It goes to show what activists can do and accomplish.
August 26, 2024
The PSL set themselves a challenge in writing this book, explicitly setting themselves in defiance of a stated socialist reluctance to write cookbooks of the future. I'm not able to evaluate how true the avoidance of this has practically been across a diversity of socialist movement history, however I know it does exist frequently in some form or another. To my mind, the medium-term propositional visions of a socialist future as are put forward here are essential. However, at least one of the reasons for an organisation to avoid writing something like this, is that there are so many necessary limitations and commitments to specifics which can be disagreed with. PSL have clearly engaged with creating this text in a manner to invite comradely differences and pushing at these limits, which to me can only be a positive.
In format, the book treads the line competently, though not always in the most exciting flow, between potted histories, manifesto proposals, and utopian visions for a first stage of socialist in the USA. Having listened to the audiobook (and waited a while to write this review) I don't have thoughts on any specific policy areas put forward here- though much of it felt familiar in a positive sense i.e. knitting together many useful proposals I've encountered into a wider vision.
As for limitations, both of my main points were acknowledged by the book early on, but are worth highlighting in the structural difficulty of this kind of propositional writing. Firstly, this book looks at a USA once it has reached it's first stage of socialism, but takes the leap there as a given- abstracted from the actual, messy process of building revolution in the historically specific conditions of the 21st century US. Secondly, the crucial part of the specificity of this revolution, is that it would mean a complete reconstitution of the current global imperial hegemon. Hence imagining a socialism in the US begs various questions i.e. is there a revanchist capitalist alliance of countries coordinating remaining imperialism; what of the many adjoined states which may not see the US disarm peacefully i.e. Israel. All of these questions and considerations are ones which I praise the PSL's work in pushing on here.
(AUDIOBOOK)
In format, the book treads the line competently, though not always in the most exciting flow, between potted histories, manifesto proposals, and utopian visions for a first stage of socialist in the USA. Having listened to the audiobook (and waited a while to write this review) I don't have thoughts on any specific policy areas put forward here- though much of it felt familiar in a positive sense i.e. knitting together many useful proposals I've encountered into a wider vision.
As for limitations, both of my main points were acknowledged by the book early on, but are worth highlighting in the structural difficulty of this kind of propositional writing. Firstly, this book looks at a USA once it has reached it's first stage of socialism, but takes the leap there as a given- abstracted from the actual, messy process of building revolution in the historically specific conditions of the 21st century US. Secondly, the crucial part of the specificity of this revolution, is that it would mean a complete reconstitution of the current global imperial hegemon. Hence imagining a socialism in the US begs various questions i.e. is there a revanchist capitalist alliance of countries coordinating remaining imperialism; what of the many adjoined states which may not see the US disarm peacefully i.e. Israel. All of these questions and considerations are ones which I praise the PSL's work in pushing on here.
(AUDIOBOOK)
March 10, 2024
The structure of this book is to dedicate each chapter to discuss how a socialist America would look. It delves into areas including criminal justice, banking, climate change, and foreign policy. Politically, I think I likely align with most of the values of socialism, focusing on people over profits, attempting to repair historical harms, and a general distrust of America's current political landscape, and the current political system, which fails to address the tangible problems in our world today. I was hoping this book would help me to feel less overwhelmed by these intractable problems. Perhaps that was too much for this book to bear. I would say that my criticism is two-fold, one was the importance of centralization within socialism. It's nicely explained how leadership needs to be rotating and invested in the people (as opposed to the elites), but when thinking about America's unique history, policies, and internal animosity, it is hard to imagine a truly centralized government as it would be such a meaningful shift from the current system. I am a product of a capitalist system, but it is also hard for me to imagine the kind of rotational leadership they reference, as it appears to me one of the things that ail our current system is entrenched leadership. Perhaps, I just feel hopeless, but it was challenging to see how we could go from our current issues to what the authors were naming. The second area is around the legacy of systems of oppression. There were many parts of those discussions that felt salient and powerful to me, particularly in addressing policing, but it also often felt that these were tacked on, and often felt like it was not as flushed out in how these systems would continue to perpetuate harm in a socialist system, and thus needed to be attended to.
December 3, 2024
A glimpse into what a realistic socialist United States could look like. The PSL covers its ground, addressing the most detrimental aspects of capitalism and its consequences and offering attractive alternatives to the hell we live in today. For a college educated individual who studied anthropology and politics, this book makes sense. This is where my big problem with this book lies--its inaccessibility to who its designed to serve: the proletariat. If this movement desires any real chance of coming into fruition, works like these need to stop feeding to the echo chamber of upper-middle class individuals who have the cultural capital to understand the jargon that anyone without a college degree wouldn't understand. The United States' most recent election reveals the discontent among working class Americans, and while its easy to point to historically entrenched misogyny and racism (two integral reasons, no doubt) as the culprits of Trump's reelection, these misguided frustrations have much to do with their material conditions as a disgruntled and manipulated working class. The mantra that all the workers of the world must unite ought to be conveyed not through academically written and constructed literature but through the lived realities of these very workers. Without trying to speak the language of the proletariat, the Marxist movement will amount to nothing but the passions of a few upper-middle class individuals.
February 12, 2025
Yes it’s a wish list - but I think a fantasy version of the future (even if no engagement with how to achieve it) at least let’s you engage with the vision as to whether it’s something you want or not.
(Personally for me lots of good stuff like human dignity, housing and healthcare - but central planning, endless community committee meetings and the banning of staircases in schools sounds wearisome).
The history it alludes to is selective and the arguments for feasibility are assertions but I don’t think this book claims to be either a history or a manual.
Read it for what it is - both interesting/important and limited.
In some ways I think we are in a revolutionary moment now - just not panning out the way these authors want…
(Personally for me lots of good stuff like human dignity, housing and healthcare - but central planning, endless community committee meetings and the banning of staircases in schools sounds wearisome).
The history it alludes to is selective and the arguments for feasibility are assertions but I don’t think this book claims to be either a history or a manual.
Read it for what it is - both interesting/important and limited.
In some ways I think we are in a revolutionary moment now - just not panning out the way these authors want…
April 28, 2025
10/10 recommend this read! This book lays out what the first ten years under socialism would look like in the US, with historical context as well (shoutout historical materialism!!) and it was done REALLY really well. It’s super accessible and easy to read, and the thorough analysis is presented in a really clear way. This book is a great starting point if you’re wanting to learn more about socialism (especially in the context of the US) and are maybe a bit intimidated by communist theory. Socialist Reconstruction makes it crystal clear: we need a new system by and for the working class!!!!
October 30, 2022
A really easy read that imparts lots of information and knowledge on how Socialism in the United States could look. I loved how although it's a book that keeps bombarding you with information and data, it never feels too heavy to read. I'd argue that this book conveniently leaves out discussing how to organize, agitate and bring this socialism in the first place. But I guess it was out of their scope and/or not the purpose of the book. Hopefully they supplement this book with another that talks on such topics.
December 10, 2023
this was super interesting. i do think it was a bit idealistic- but we should be idealistic. i think that this is a great recommendation for your leftist friend. certainly is not going to change the mind of your republican family. i think mine would probably laugh in my face after reading the phrase 'body of oppressed nations.' that being said, i thought this was definitely an interesting read.
April 14, 2025
“Peace requires justice, particularly for those who for so long have been denied it. Where there is hunger, homelessness, and other forms of deprivation; where there is the denial of self-determination for oppressed peoples; where six billionaires own as much wealth as half the population of a country: there is no justice and there can be no peace. Peace requires the socialist reconstruction of the United States.”
January 9, 2025
super interesting look at what a socialist society might look like in the near future, slightly repetitive at times but this is a shortcoming that the book at least acknowledges to be the case due to the required knowledge needed to understand different concepts. Thoroughly enjoyed reading tho !!!
November 25, 2025
honestly a must read! we have a world to win 🫶
June 6, 2025
really strong purpose, good read, very accessible, but very very repetitive and formulaic. i would recommend for collaborative reading and shared dialogue rather than reading alone. if i read it in that manner, this would be 5/5
September 10, 2025
An amazing read!! I want everyone in the country to read this book. It was sooo inspiring to eye-opening to read about how a full implementation of a socialist system has the potential to provide us, as people, and this country SO much - from more free time, to community, to meaningful work. I can't wait to build this future
December 3, 2022
One of the most important books ever written. We could change our society and world for the better by living in a truly socialist state. This is what that world would look like during the first 10 years.
We should strive for a world without war, without racism, without sexism, without violent crime, and without classes.
This is how we do it.
We need this to be a reality more than anything else in the history of humankind.
Please read this book.
We should strive for a world without war, without racism, without sexism, without violent crime, and without classes.
This is how we do it.
We need this to be a reality more than anything else in the history of humankind.
Please read this book.
July 10, 2024
Amazing! Everyone should read.
January 3, 2023
This book had a lot of valid criticisms of our present system and described some promising alternatives, but offered zero suggestions for how to get there. I understand their premise that we can't predict how these changes will happen, but that shouldn't stop them from providing some ideas on that.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews