Socialism…Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation

by Danny Katch

Opinion polls show that many people in the U.S. prefer socialism to capitalism. But after being declared dead and buried for decades, socialism has come to mean little more than something vaguely less cruel and stupid than what we have now. That's not exactly going to inspire millions to storm the barricades.

Danny Katch brings together the two great Marxist traditions of Karl and Groucho to provide an entertaining and insightful introduction to what the socialist tradition has to say about democracy, economics and the potential of human beings to be something more than being bomb-dropping, planet-destroying racist fools.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Economics, Philosophy, Social Justice, Theory

250 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2015

Reviews

[Prerna · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Can't Have Billionaires And Democracy

Capitalism today has acquired a religion-like status, and unsurprisingly enjoys the benefit of worship from an unsuspecting, unaware and brainwashed population. Because as Danny Katch points out, capitalism can be called many nasty names, but boring is not one of them. Most of us are happy to go along with the willy-nilly whims of the ironically named, invisible ‘free market’ that we have been convinced has the progress of humanity at heart. Never mind that this capitalistic humanity is an exclusive club full of egomaniacs who pledge their loyalty to development in more exclusive ceremonies designed to only inflate their egos through mutual jerking off.

You’d think that since democratic systems are in place in most of the world, the most important decisions that will have long term effects on our species as a whole (how do we deal with climate change? How do we effectively end world hunger and poverty when for the first time in human history we have more than enough resources to ensure it?) would involve majority consensus. But the fact that we still have these problems with not even an excuse of a solution is enough to prove that the current democratic systems are anything but majority run.

Contrary to the populist propaganda, capitalism is not a self-sustaining system. It requires continuous support and consent from the majority, that the one percent obtain by creating an illusion of choice. After all scores of products that we can’t afford, don’t even need but have an apparent access to are introduced into the market everyday.

But capitalism cannot be just wished away, mere liberal criticism won’t put an end to it. We need viable, efficient alternatives and throughout this book Katch justifies how socialism is just that. If you need your socially-imposed, profit-focused bias of ‘socialism will just create a boring dystopian state of tyranny and uniformity’ to be blasted off to smithereens, please read this book. Katch is not just an armchair theorist. While this book is a good introductory primer and the text largely uses accessible language with a few jokes sprinkled in, it definitely isn’t a comprehensive analysis of socialism as a political theory. However, this book is a commendable effort towards deconstructing the biases and baseless fears associated with socialism, and it deserves more attention for that.

[Cody Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Socialism has never once, in its history as an idea, been “proven wrong.” Every attempt to institute socialism has been met with brutal and bloody repression by capitalists. Which does not prove that socialism is wrong, it merely proves that capitalism is violent.
I’ll also point out that nobody learns about socialism from a book. We're all born socialists and then become indoctrinated into capitalism. Don't believe me? Go ask a 7 year old if we should give homeless people houses, hungry people food, and sick people medicine. Reading about theory, from a book, later in life, just helps us to unlearn the bullshit.
Enter: Socialism...Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation by Danny Katch. A small, yet, concise primer on why a society based on progress and equality has always been attractive to those tired of being exploited and undervalued.
As Katch explains in the book, socialism is worth exploring for two key reasons: firstly, most people agree that a system which prioritizes meeting all people’s needs, from food and shelter to culture (i.e. socialism) is more sensible than a system which requires extreme exploitation of resources, high levels of threatened and actual violence, and under which the people who do the work are paid as little as possible while a small minority of owners gain greatly (i.e. capitalism). Secondly, because socialism is clearly still seen by many as a threat, as it is so often used by right-wing politicians as a smear against their slightly-less-right-wing opponents.
There isn’t however, any hard and fast definitions of socialism it just depends on who you’re speaking to. With someone who already agrees with it, I find myself talking about it as a way for people to relate to each other (basically just sharing and pooling resources together instead of being greedy) but if I'm talking to someone who's afraid of it, I find it helps to say: "this is not a big overhaul of government, it's simply the next natural stage in our mode of production, like capitalism was resisted during the days of feudalism even though it's just a fairer version of feudalism, socialism is resisted today even though it's just a fairer version of capitalism.” You could of course argue successfully that socialism is not just a "fairer version of capitalism" but it helps to frame it this way when you're talking to people who think it's just another form of totalitarianism.
However, if you are one of these ridiculous people who looks at the world and says, “Yes, there are enough homes for people, yes there is enough food for people, but if we give it away for free they won’t have earned it and the economy will collapse.” Then you have chosen money (a constructed medium of exchange) over living beings who only want to continue living in peace and safety. And I have no qualms telling you, that is the wrong choice, and that you have been brainwashed by a destructive, exploitative economic system. I point this out, not to be smug, but to make you see what you refuse to see; the America you have always lived in is a fairytale, a facade. You need to stop trying to rebuild the past, which has led us here, and start trying to build something new. Something better.
Because if someone is physically strangling you, you're likely to fight back with everything you have. But when it's a system that's strangling you, people don't respond in the same way. They see that some people are strangled more than others, and so instead focus on how not to be among the ones that are the most strangled. But this is the wrong view. Considering the question before us is: who gets to own what no one has any choice but to use? It is an ancient question that has become, once again, central in our time.
Take the Netflix movie, The Platform: it’s clear that the prison and the platform are a metaphor for capitalism. If only the prisoners would agree to work together and ration their resources—like, say, in a democratic socialist society—everyone would be fed. Instead, it’s a winner-takes-all capitalist society that leaves the people on the bottom dying and eating each other. And while the main protagonist (Goreng) does eventually succeed in convincing the people at the bottom that change is possible, it’s much harder to convince the people at the top to care. The ending leaves it open-ended as to whether or not his message will be enough to convince the people at the top to change their ways. Goreng did all he could. It’s all in the prisoners hands now. But it’s also now in ours as well.

[Gerhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Capitalist economic theory borrows heavily from religion, replacing God with the Free Market, an invisible but omnipresent force that sometimes works in mysterious ways but should never be questioned because we live according to Its law.'

Review to follow. After a community meeting, full quorum, detailed agenda, notes, and a plan of action. Oh, and snacks.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so seriously. With recent events I wanted to learn more about socialism and why it appeals to so many. It's been years since I had to read 'The Communist Manifesto' and other similar works for school so I knew I was going to need something that was going to be a foundational, basic primer (or close to it). This sounded like a good fit: relatively short, supposedly funny and an approachable read for background.
 
The author takes the reader though what socialism is, what are the failure of capitalism, why capitalism has reached its limits and why we need a revolution for socialism, etc. Or something like that.
 
Honestly, I think this is a book that is for someone who is already very sympathetic or has socialist leanings. I really wanted to know the WHY and HOW. In retrospect, the how is much more difficult and probably not appropriate for this type of book. But the author seemed to spend a little too much time being against capitalism and not enough on being for socialism. There's nothing wrong in pointing out the problems and failures of capitalism for the sake of contrast but I just kept wanting to skip over those parts because I really wanted to know more about the positives of socialism. 
 
I also didn't find the book very funny. As previously mentioned, I really didn't want to read a tedious textbook and knew that something basic was going to be better suited for my current needs. But the snark just didn't work for me.
 
And as an off-shoot regarding tone, the author admits that he may sound like he's romanticizing socialism. He was right. In a chapter called "Revolution!" (which really is titled quite aptly), he talks about events like the Arab Spring and the Russian Revolution but it's not clear if he understands the genuine costs: to human life, to mental health, to emotional well-being, to finances, etc. Revolutions aren't at all pretty and I couldn't help but sigh in exasperation at his sentence of on how "Socialists are hopeless romantics--or at least they should be." (pg 106)
 
Overall, the book didn't seem like all that much more informative than social media posts. Again, I suppose there was only so much in depth he could go for an introductory work but it just ended up frustrating me. I'm not saying there isn't room for hopeless romantics, but I needed something that had more in substance and the practicalities of the processes and hows than not.
 
For the right person, though, this is probably a work that will really speak to them. Just don't think it should be the only work to read, though.

[Adriano Contreras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you tired of the same old dry and fact-filled 200 pager about why the system sucks and why socialism is the only solution? Danny Katch's "Socialism... Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation" is the antidote.

Don't get me wrong. I've read a number of great books making the case for socialism (Maass's "The Case for Socialism", Callinicos's "Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx" and stuff by Hal Draper) as the alternative to a system built off of profit expropriated from working people's labor. But Danny Katch's book really captures the humility and the seriousness of what its like to engage in the struggle to change the world.

Perhaps the most notable contribution he makes is his injection of humor. Humor is so much a part of the conversations about the failures of capitalism. I mean Jon Stewart rocked his criticism of society via humor for decades. When I chat with friends, you can't help but complain about inhumane work schedules, racist double standards, or the bizarre state of healthcare coverage in the US without injecting some humor to ease the pain but also highlight the absurd and hilarious contradictions that capitalism produces to continue to run. I mostly read the book on my subway commute to work and I could not help to laugh out loud. Every footnote was either super helpful or just plain hilarious. Or both.

Katch's book is an easy read. Its the book you want to share with people who are curious about socialism or aren't into texts filled with academic phrases and complex terminology. It gets to the point in such a fantastic way, with interesting analogies that you'll want to definitely take note of for the next political conversation you find yourself in. He deconstructs famous portions of Marx's writings, like the beginning of the Communist Manifesto, explains what he meant, and makes the case for its absolute relevance today. Check out Phil Gasper's annotated version of the Communist Manifesto if you decide you want more insight into the context behind what Marx was writing.

Katch spends the first half of the book deconstructing capitalism and also how politics work under capitalism. Super useful and invaluable stuff here.

The section of the book on Socialism begins with an account of a fictional day in the year 2051 after worker's have taken power and run society. This particular day is an account of a BAD day under socialism. But in imagining a bad day under socialism, Katch is able show the immense possibilities for what good days could be like. There's this misconception that socialism will be this society free of conflict, and in this account of a bad day under socialism, you get a glimpse of how the problems have shifted from how much freedom we have and the struggle to fight for liberation (like we struggle for now) but what to do with the freedom and democratic decision making dilemmas that arise when people are working together to solve and meet the world's needs instead of competing to make a profit at others expense. This exercise in thought alone is worth the price of the book.

The only criticism I have is that I wish there was some coverage of how anarchists fit into the picture. But its really a minor issue for me. This book is about making a convincing argument that this society isn't built for human need AND that the capacity to run it humanely, democratically, and in the interests of the majority of people is in fact completely possible and worth fighting for... but you have to organize and fight for it.

Buy the book. Read it and then give it to someone or encourage them to buy it. Danny Katch is a fantastic writer and he's written a book that could serve as the basis for getting people excited, organized, and confident about joining the life-long commitment to seeing worker's power in action.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

OKAY, so... anyone who knows me knows I skew pretty progressive, but I admit that I don't really know much about what socialism ACTUALLY is, vs what it is portrayed as. So, I decided to read a book about it. (Or listen to a book. Whatever, just assume I'm doing audio these days.)

And, it was interesting, sure. I learned enough to realize that I need to learn much, much more... but then I hit a major snag that made me realize that THIS book and author are not that resource for me. In a criticism of the "liberal Democratic party", which the author called one of the most criminal organizations to ever exist, some examples of said criminality were employed - two of which being 1) fighting on the side of slavery in the civil war, and 2) enacting Jim Crow laws in the south, among others.

Now I'm fully on board with criticizing political parties, including the one that I align with more closely than the one I don't. There is a lot to criticize them for. Absolutely. But it is not true to say that the flawed and imperfect Democratic party we currently have is the SAME Democratic party that he's referencing with those examples. It's well-known that there has been an ideological switch in the early to mid-20th century, and thus the Democratic party he's referring to with those statements is more aligned with the modern Republican party.

And if that kind of blatantly incorrect info is presented as fact, I just don't know if I can trust anything else this author presents. So DNF.

[mg · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Closes book*

*Grins*

*Mentally awards Danny Katch grade of A ++++++++++ á la Miss Shields in "A Christmas Story*

[Ferda Nihat Koksoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kapitalizm, doğadaki evrime benzetilerek insan doğasına en uygun sistem anlamında "Sosyal Darwinizm" olarak nitelendirilmektedir.
Eğer böyle ise, kapitalizmin evrimin bir aşaması olduğu ve sonrasında evrimin süreceği ve başka bir sisteme değişeceği de kabul ediliyor demektir.

Avcı-toplayıcı göçebe dönemde ortaklaşa komünal yaşam süren insan, yerleşik ve tarıma dayalı hayata geçtiğinde, fazla buğdayın nasıl bölüşüleceğine karar vermek üzere saygın yaşlı yöneticiler ortaya çıkmış, zamanla yöneticiler diğerlerinden ayrıştıkça egemenliklerini sürekli kılmak için yeni gelenek ve kurumları, fazlalığın bir kısmını kendilerine saklamak üzere özel mülkiyeti, mülk sahipliğinin ölüm sonrası devamı için miras kavramını geliştirdiler.
Tarım tarlada çalıştırmak üzere çok çocuğu, çok çocuk kadının eve bağlanmasını, miras gereği babanın kimliğinin belirlenmesi ise tek eşliliğin kadına daha katı biçimde dayatılmasını sağlayarak kadını erkek egemenliğine sokmuştur.

Kölelik, feodalite, aristokrasi gibi aşamalar sonrasında gelişen burjuva kapitalizmi, insan faaliyetinin neler yaratabileceğini ilk ortaya koyan sistemdir. Kapitalizm, aristokrasinin belirleyiciliği yerine, serbest piyasanın belirlediği arz-talep üzerinden, insan ortak faaliyeti ve işbölümüyle yürüten bir sistemdir.

Kapitalizm 200 yıldan fazla süredir dünyanın her köşesine yayılmış, piyasa serbest olmaktan çıkmış, emeğin arsızca sömürüsü (kârın gerçek kaynağı, kârdan giderek daha az pay alan emekçilerdir), azınlığın aşırı zenginleşmesi ve denetlenemezliği, sistem dışına itilen çoğunluğun büyük sefaleti ve doğanın akılalmaz katliamı gibi dehşetleri de beraberinde getirmiştir; devlet destekli sömürü ve baskı, sermayenin iş ortakları olmuştur.

Bencilliği ve kazancı ödüllendirip paylaşmayı cezalandıran bir toplum yapısı, tepedeki insanlar için bile iyi değildir.
Kapitalizm özgür dünya yaratıyor diyen Adam Smith'in yanıldığı nokta şuydu: Bu özgür dünyanın vatandaşları insanlar değil sermayedir; insanlığı bir konakçı gibi kullanıp, sevgi, şefkat, hatta belki korunma gibi doğal dürtülerimizi zayıflatma pahasına kendini çoğaltan sermaye paraziti.

Kapitalistlerin artık hükmünü yitirmesi gereken bir dönem yaşanmaktadır.
Issız, tropik bir adada sıfırdan bir toplum kurduğumuzu düşünelim ve model olarak, bütün işi yapan insanlar kazanabilecekleri en az parayı kazanırken, hiçbir şey yapmayan ama hisse senedi olan insanlar hayatları boyunca harcayabileceklerinden fazla para kazansın; havayı, suyu, bitkileri, hayvanları işçilerden bile çok sömürelim; sorun çıkaran olursa da kitle imha silahlarıyla ve vahşi hapisanelerle barışı koruyalım' diye önerelim; herhalde hepiniz derhal kaçardınız.

Modeldeki her önerinin her gün yaşandığı dünyada, Meksikalı uyuşturucu kartelleri ve El Kaide için milyarlarca dolar aklayan HSBC bankasına bir şey yapılmıyor, Los Angelos'taki okul çocuklarına uyuşturucu transferinin altından CIA çıkıyor, istihbaratın herkesi izinsiz takip ettiği anlaşılıyor, 5 yılda Boeing ve General Electric'in tek kuruş vergi vermediği biliniyor, her yıl 7 milyon insan açlıktan ölüyor; bu insanları kurtaracak paranın nerede olduğu hiç bu kadar aşikar olmamıştı: En zengin 85 kişi, dünya nüfusunun en yoksul yarısı kadar varlığa sahip; tarihteki en zalim krallar bile açgözlülüğün böylesini görmedi.
Çoğunluğun ıstırabıyla milyarder olunabilir; toplumda hem milyarderlerin hem demokrasin olamaz.

Bugün, sosyalistlerin 100 yıl önce içinde bulunduğu durumdan hem daha iyi hem daha kötü durumdayız: Küresel işçi sınıfı çok daha büyük, çok daha iyi eğitimli ve dünyayı yönetmek için çok daha yetkin. İnternet, halk demokrasisi ve eğitim olanaklarını muazzam şekilde genişletti. Diğer yandan, sosyalist hareketler çok daha küçük ve işçi sınıfından çok daha kopuk ve hükümetlerin baskı ve gözetleme gücü çok büyük ölçekte artmış durumda.
Önemli olan, daha iyi bir toplum yaratmak için işçi sınıfının kapasitesine canı gönülden inanması ve bunun olasılık haline geldiği nadir anları elinden geldiğince yakalamasıdır.

"Talep edilmedikçe ve mücadele edilmedikçe, güç, hiçbir ödün vermez; hiç vermemiş, vermeyecektir; özgürlükten yana olduklarını ileri sürüp mücadeleye/çalkantıya itiraz edenler, toprağı sürmeden hasat isteyenlerdir (Siyahilerin köleliğine karşıt F.Douglass).

Hayatları boyunca her gün tersi öğretilip, sessizce işlerini yapıp dikkat çekmemeleri söylenerek baskılarla aşağılanırlarken, çalışanların sosyalist olmalarını ve işçi sınıfının toplumları yönetme yetisine sahip olduğuna inanmalarını nasıl bekleyebiliriz?
İşçi sınıfı birliği, hareket ettikçe zincirlerini farkeden işçilerin (R.Luxemburg), adaletsizliklerle, eşitsizliklerle, ırkçılıkla, yabancı düşmanlığıyla ve işçilerin özgürlük ve onur meseleleriyle, güvene dayalı ve uzun soluklu mücadeleriyle sağlanabilir.

Yeteneklerimizle hayal gücümüzü paylaşmanın dışında bir dünyanın olmadığı, işçilerin, üretenlerin yönetimindeki sosyalist toplum, halkın yiyecek-içecek, barınma ve sağlıktan sanat, kültür ve sosyalleşmeye varıncaya kadar tüm ihtiyaçlarının karşılanmasını birinci öncelik kabul eden toplumdur; sevgiyi bilenler içindir.
Sosyalizmde, tüm önemli kararlarda doğrudan rol alan çalışanlar hükümeti, hükümet ise ekonomiyi kontrol eder.

Biz sosyalistlerin, öcü sosyalizm masalına gerçek gayemizin beyanıyla karşılık vermesinin tam zamanıdır.
Kendi evrimimizin sorumluluğunu alma ve toplumdaki zenginliği yaratan çoğunluğun bu zenginliğin paylaşımını kontrol etmesini sağlama zamanı geldi; "İşçi sınıfının kendini özgürleştirmesi, işçi sınıfının kendisi tarafından başarılmalıdır."

Artık ABD'de bile sıklıkla sosyalizm kelimesi duyulmakta ve tercih edildiği bildirilmektedir; T.Eagleton'ın dediği gibi, "insanlar kapitalizm hakkında konuşmaya başladığında, kapitalizmin başı dertte demektir. Bu, sistemin soluduğumuz hava kadar doğal olmaktan çıktığı anlamına gelir".

Geçmiş sosyalizm deneyimlerindeki ciddi hataları ve başarısızlıkları anlayıp üstesinden gelebilir, kapitalizmin yerine sosyalizmi inşa edebiliriz.
Sınıf öncesi toplumların eşitliğini ve demokrasisini, kapitalizmin maddi bolluğu ve teknolojik imkânlarıyla birleştirme şansımız var; bütün insanlığın aynı kabilenin parçası olduğu o rüyayı gerçek yapabiliriz.
Kabuslarımızdan başka kaybedeceğimiz bir şey yok.

Sıradan insanların inisiyatifine kalacak olan sosyalizm demokrasisinde daha fazla günlük uzlaşmazlıkların, hatta kaosun olabileceği doğru; ama bu, mevcut adaletsiz yasalar ve emek sömürüsüyle kıyaslandığında, devede kulak bile sayılmaz.
Sosyalizm, önceden kurgulanabilecek, planlanmış bir toplum değil, insanlığın kapitalizmin kâr odaklı kurallarından özgürleştirildiğinde düşünerek ve deneyerek ulaşacağı toplumdur.

Zizek'in dediği gibi, "dünyanın sonunu getirecek bir göktaşını vs. kolayca hayal edebiliyoruz ama kapitalizmin sonunu bir türlü hayal edemiyoruz."
Dünyanın ne kadar farklı olabileceğini göstermek için hayal gücüne, değiştirmek için de örgütlü güce ihtiyacımız var; sosyalistlik, hayal gücü ve güç isimli iki vahşi atı aynı yönde koşmaya ikna etmeye çalışmaktır.
Kapitalizmin sonu, insan toplumunun tarih öncesi döneminin sonudur.

Kazanma şansımız olduğu sürece, gidişatın iç karartıcı olmadığını zırvalama ve kendine acımakla debelenmenin ikiz tuzağından uzak durmaya çalışın.
Deneyimlerime göre yoldan şaşmamanın en iyi yolu, -kapitalizmin absürtlüklerine ve bazı beceriksiz meydan okuma çabalarımıza- gülmek için sebepler bulmaktan geçiyor. Sosyalistlerin toplantılarına gitmeye başladığımda, öfke ve kuram arasına sıkıştırılan bol kepçe mizaha şaşırmıştım. Sosyalistlerin, bu kadar karanlık bir zamanda gamsızlığı uygun bulmayacağını düşünmüştüm (Herkesin karnı doyana kadar kimse gülmeyecek!). Anlaşıldı ki meseleyi tersinden anlamışım.
En coşkun kahkaha dünyanın boku yediğinin bilincinde olan ve hayatlarını bunu değiştirmek için ölümüne savaşmaktan daha iyi şekilde geçiremeyeceklerini bilen insanların arasındayken atılan kahkahadır.

[Mackenzie Brill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for anyone disillusioned by our current political and economic system, but isn't quite sure if there's another viable option out there. Consciously humorous (as a part of Katch's politics, which I find to be just as alluring as the content itself) and accessible to those of you who may not be intimately familiar with either the theory or history of socialism. Katch isn't blindly calling for a revolution that will fix all our problems; conversely, he's honest about the struggle to come and views the revolution as an ongoing activity for which we must be constantly preparing and adapting. The bottom line of this book: Socialism makes sense. And the road there will be funny, beautiful, full of setbacks, and immensely worth it.

After reading this (or before you read this, whatever.) I highly recommend "America's Deadliest Export: Democracy" by William Blum.

Then read "Blueprint for Revolution" by Srdja Popovic, which lays out detailed actions and applicable methods for nonviolent resistance.

[carly williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

socialism...seriously is a perfect introduction to socialism and the ideas surrounding it for beginners (like me).
danny katch does a wonderful job at straying away from complicated jargon and complex theories while also not dumbing his ideas down. katch includes quoted ideas from notable people such as marx and breaks them down to comprehension, and he includes other books to further educate yourself on the subject. not to mention he keeps it really funny and engaging.
above all, socialism...seriously negates the connotation that socialism is bleak and gray. in contrast, it actually adds an emotional depth to socialism as an idea and rationalizes the theory as the epitome of how humans can truly love one another.

[Jose Moa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet the Word socialism is a tarnished Word by a series of histhorical sins,Tha autor think ,develops and explains,with enthusiasm , that this concept has yet some to say in the today world,a world where the democratic values are in serious risk,where the most of wealthy is year after year concentrated in fewr people,where the supreme value is the fast and gratest profit without have accoun of people,nature or the planet itself,wher the market is the new god ,the only god and as such is worshiped,there is a alternative and that the god market is not the absolute truth.

The autor ,in view that the center of power and decisión if farer and farest stand up by direct democracy.

If we have to put a label to the exact Brand of socialism the autor is it would be troskism,by universality and direct democracy.
Ithink it is a valuable book to divulgate the basic concepts ,ideas of socialism and the role that yet could play.

[B Sarv · Rating 5 out of 5]

What interested me the most about this book was the fact that I have lived my whole life, spent my entire educational life and my life as a parent without anyone ever giving me a clear picture about Socialism. To say the United States education system is all about indoctrination is an understatement. The propaganda against Socialism was and still is irrational and unrelenting. So to become educated about socialism - and really about capitalism too - is a constant struggle. I am trying not to drag this out too much but it cannot be over-emphasized. I did several economics courses in my life and not once were the concepts of socialism really examined. I did several political science courses and not once was the political system of socialism really examined - except for why “it can never work.” I never really believed that it could never work, but after reading this book I am convinced that it is a system worth arguing for, striving for and fighting for.
Earlier today a colleague of mine quoted an ancient philosopher Marcus Aurelius, “It is the responsibility of leadership to work intelligently with what is given and not waste time fantasizing about a world of flawless people and perfect choices.” I think in some ways I agree with Marcus and in other ways, serious ways, I disagree. I am going to outline my agreements and disagreements in the context of this book.
First, Marcus Aurelius wants leaders to work with what is given; this is the part I have the problem with. It does not account for two things I think are critical in a leader: 1) empathy and 2) a sense of justice. If a system is rife with injustice - and you as a leader have inherited that system - a choice to work with what is given is an acquiescence to injustice. If a system is dehumanizing - and you as a leader inherit that system - a choice to work with it as given is a validation of a death cult: where lives have no meaning other than to serve the very system that dehumanizes people.

So how does this fit into the book I am reviewing (oh please get to the point!). Actually in many ways. To understand how requires that one open one’s mind to a way of thinking that is perpetually vilified by the propaganda machine of the corporatocracy of the United States. So let us turn to the words of the author to help us understand: “socialism is a society whose top priority is meeting all of its people’s needs—ranging from food, shelter, and health care to art, culture, and companionship.” (Location 54, Kindle Edition) In other words, there can be a system which is more just and values human beings beyond their ability to make a few people rich. While I agree with Marcus that we will not find flawless people I believe people, and societies, are capable of the system Mr. Katch describes.
One of the things I remember very well about my economics classes is the issue of scarcity and how it affects prices, supply, demand and production. One thing my reading has taught me in recent years is that there are various ways in which the current capitalist system creates scarcity - purposefully. Some examples may be useful. First, food is not actually scarce - it is just poorly distributed because capitalists are not interested in ensuring that people’s food needs are met. A perfect example occurred during the current pandemic where food producers from dairy farmers to potato growers dumped perfectly good food because putting it up for sale would drive the price down. Meanwhile millions of unemployed people are lining up for hours at food banks. Milk and potatoes can be processed and dried and people can rehydrate and eat them. A leader would find a way to ensure food was distributed properly and people had the food they needed.
There is also the idea of planned obsolescence. A space station, in the harshest environment possible, is engineered so that it operates for decades. But you will be lucky if your television lasts five years. With all the advances in engineering we are left to believe that we still cannot make a car or a television or a washing machine that you would only have to get once? This is another example of false scarcity. Companies plan for their devices to break down and stop working so that people must continue consuming. What Mr. Katch is saying here is that with socialism the fraud of scarcity can be brought to an end. “According to the global charity Oxfam, the eighty-five richest people in the world have as much wealth as the poorer half of the world’s population. . . .Yet it is in this world today that more than seven million people die from hunger each year, even though it has never been more obvious where to find the money that could save them.” (Location 117, 121, Kindle edition)
As I look back on the preceding paragraphs I realize I seem to have forgotten my purpose here is to review Mr. Katch’s book and not to make the case for socialism. So let me point out one of the principal reasons I liked this book: it was readable and at several points humorous. For readability, take this next passage as an example: “The future of all life on this planet is losing to the short-term opportunity for a few people to make even more money. This fact alone should make the case against capitalism a no-brainer.” In these two clear sentences the author describes the epitome of the failure of capitalism. (Location 131) To his credit, he does this frequently throughout this book. It is written so that anyone can understand it.
Mr. Katch systematically assesses each of the main arguments for capitalism and against socialism. Part of the appeal of the book is its organization along these lines. For instance, he analyzes the two corporate political parties in the United States, “Millions of people find themselves classified as liberals by default, ranging from those who march against banks and bombs to those who bail out the former and drop the latter. That’s not a very useful category.” (Location 232). He goes on to say, “While Republicans are haunted by the specter of socialist barbarians at the gates, liberals mock their fears but ultimately believe that the existing system merely needs a few repairs here and there, even as society approaches ecological collapse and economic degradation.” (Location 239) He perfectly explains the positions of the two corporate parties: “Essentially, the Democrats are the loud guy in the bar pretending to be held back by his friends to keep him from going after someone he has absolutely no intention of fighting. (Location 777). . . .Conservatives are usually the ones arguing for “small government,” and yet they are huge fans of the vast armed wings of the state that make up by far the biggest aspect of government bureaucracy: the military, police, border patrol, and spy agencies. These are the state’s core functions, the repressive apparatus at the heart of every society where some have and others don’t.” (Location 834)
He breaks down the economic collapse of 2007-2008 in a way that I may one day use to explain to my grandchildren how things were in the “olden days”. It is simple but not oversimplified:
“In case you’ve blocked it from your memory, here’s a recap in four steps:
1. Financial institutions commit massive fraud that brings the world economy to a halt because not even the bankers know how much of their money is real and how much is fake.
2. The US government bails out the criminal banks with trillions of dollars.
3. The same government then doesn’t help the millions facing layoffs, foreclosures, and student debt because of the recession caused by the banks.
4. During this process, George Bush is replaced in the White House by the very different Barack Obama, and yet almost nothing changes. No piece of socialist propaganda could make the case any clearer. These four steps read like an IKEA instruction manual for how to assemble an unjust system.” (Location 291-297)
Mr. Katch puts it so clearly and the examples at home and abroad and throughout history of capitalist created atrocities continue in abundance. Just look at mass incarceration and the corporate prisons. Look at the pay for play legislature called Congress that is a caricature of democracy. Very little is hidden about the Great Recession, that era in our recent history. Still, he explains, “conspiracy theorists are so intent on searching the deepest corners of the Internet for hidden plots that they don’t see that the most obvious conspiracies—like world financial summits and voter suppression—take place right out in the open.” (Location 863) The system will still put a man in jail for marijuana - but do you think it is for the marijuana? If jail was for criminals there would have been a lot of bankers in jail in 2008 and the following years.
I come now to the point Marcus Aurelius raised about waiting for “flawless people and perfect choices”. This book helps us understand this. It boils down to how we see one another and the world. Before you answer, ask yourself how much of that is based on the propaganda you are fed, the fear you are fed each time you listen to news or turn on the TV or visit social media platforms. In the long quote to follow Mr. Katch explains what these sources of information would have us believe:
“Capitalism fits the way we used to live when we were wild: dog-eat-dog, law of the jungle, and all that. But dogs don’t eat other dogs, and jungles have many laws, such as maintaining sustainable ecosystems and individual sacrifice for the good of the colony. How come capitalism doesn’t involve any of that?
“The whole civilization-as-jungle thing is a bizarre concept. Why did we spend the last ten thousand years discovering fire, painting on cave walls, developing writing, building Rome and Timbuktu, and creating philosophy and astronomy if the whole point was to eventually figure out how to live like we were back in the wild? And how could we possibly understand what laws jungles have when we are so busy chopping most of them down to build more Cinnabons? Ever since the theory of evolution was laid out by Charles Darwin, it has been distorted into an illogical justification of capitalism known as “Social Darwinism.”
“Evolutionary theory holds that species are constantly in the process of changing to better adapt to their environment—which itself is also constantly changing. Social Darwinists proclaim that nature favors the strong over the weak, and therefore the gross inequality of capitalism can never be changed. You can’t have it both ways. If capitalism is the result of evolution, which is dubious—after all, giraffes didn’t evolve by writing economics textbooks arguing that longer necks will produce 50 percent greater leaf consumption—then it also follows that capitalism is not the perfect system that we have finally discovered for all time but one more phase of evolution that will eventually be replaced by something more suitable.
“Socialists are big fans of Darwin—not just because his natural history makes more sense than the Bible’s six-day create-a-thon, but also because it is a wonderful illustration of dialectics, a philosophical approach based on change and contradiction. Dialectics stresses that things are both what they appear to be and a mess of conflicts underneath the surface that might eventually turn them into something else, sometimes over millennia and sometimes in an instant. A seed is a seed until one morning it is a plant. A population of apes evolves into a new species of early humans. Societies are also in a process of constant change, usually slow and barely detectable but sometimes explosive as conflicts beneath the surface come bursting out.” (Location 367)
This very long quote, I hope illustrates two points I want to make about Marcus Aurelius’ idea above. First, we must challenge the systems to do better and to be better, and doing so is not a waste of time if we care to have humanity continue into the future and if we have empathy for our fellow human beings right now. To me that is the very definition of leadership - challenging the system not accepting it. Second, while Mr. Katch never indicates that there are perfect choices and flawless people; the quote above provides a way of looking at ourselves in a much better light than a beastial “survival of the fittest”. Evolution as a process means we can do better than this: “A society that rewards selfishness and punishes sharing does not work very well even for some of those at the top of the capitalist food chain—and it’s a disaster for the rest of us.” (Location 682)
It was not until I read this book that I had a proper framework for understanding the critique of capitalism beyond my personal sense of injustice when everything is designed to make the few resources the poor man has flow upward, ever upward to a small number of people in the world. Mr. Katch is focused on this too: “What Adam Smith brilliantly understood was that capitalism created a world of freedom. The part he got wrong was that the citizens of this world would not be people but capital, a parasite that uses humanity as a host body to multiply itself even as it weakens our own natural instincts for love, compassion, and possibly even self-preservation.” (Location 709) It was here, when Mr. Katch spoke about love, that so many other great thinkers in recent times came to mind. This theme of love is one raised by James Baldwin, bell hooks, Dr. King and many others. Later Mr. Katch goes on to say that, “the contradictions of liberalism, in which your freedom may flourish only at the expense of mine, may be resolved. Only through others can we finally come into our own. This means an enrichment of individual freedom, not a diminishing of it. It is hard to think of a finer ethics. On a personal level, it is known as love.” (Location 1934)
So I say to Marcus Aurelius that I prefer to defer to Frederick Douglass, “If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” (Location 1182) This quote is a reminder of what must take place. Never, ever, concede to the negative influences that would have us believe that we are living in the best possible system when we know we are better than that. We can be better than that.
What have I left out of this review? You probably won’t believe me but there is still a lot more to this book than I have let on. I found it inspiring to read about an alternative because the system we are now facing - and have been facing for hundreds of years. Read the book, I am out of characters. #BLM

[Kyle Minton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being from the Midwest, I think the ascendancy and eventual victory of Donald Trump came as less of a surprise to me than many people on the coasts. Michigan was an absolutely essential victory for the Donald and he carried it exactly the way I predicted he would; losing the wealthiest/most diverse counties and sweeping everything else.

I called this victory in Michigan, not from luck, but because this is exactly how Sanders took the win from Clinton in the primaries. Almost county by county. Clinton’s loss in the Mitten speaks volumes about the limitations of Democrats, but this is a book review on a short book, so I’ll keep it short.

So many who consider themselves left leaning value the world the Democratic Party claims it fights for. We care about the environment, economic empowerment, minimum wage increases, ending poverty and war. There is a lot of speculation why the rest of the nation isn’t onboard with the Democrats despite their supposed dedication to the causes listed above. These explanations range from racism, to stupidity, to brainwashing and corruption. While these could all be a little right, they don’t explain the limitations of the Democratic Party.

Think about the inadequate responses environmentalists have when talking about the jobs that are lost when coal plants are shut down, or of labor activists when advocating the minimum wage, or of democrats advancing agendas of global trade when auto jobs are shipped to Mexico.

Even Bernie Sanders, considered the furthest left in the party, gives some wildly inadequate answers to perfectly understandable questions. Just the other day when he was debating Ted Cruz (of all people) about health care on CNN; he was posed with questions from a business owners about their inability to afford the ACA provisions enforced on their business. Sanders’ answer pretty much amounted to “sorry, but you have to offer insurance, if you can’t, go out of business”. That is a nightmare answer for small business owners and probably the reason why so many of them hate the government.

So, why can’t the Democrats answer these questions? Because they are all operating under the assumption that their ideal world - the one devoid of war and poverty and injustice - can be achieved under capitalism. But capitalism doesn’t account for the jobs of coal miners when plants are shut down, or of minimum wage employees, or the sustainability of a salon in Texas that offers health care.

Enter Socialism...Seriously by Danny Katch. A short introduction to Trotsky inspired Socialism via humor and laymen terms. There are a lot of working parts in the book, Katch is asking his readers to imagine a world that isn’t structured by capital or profit, driven by a purer democracy than we have today, and all while debunking some of the major criticisms hurled at the ideology.

At times it seems like Katch has the answers Democrats lack. For example, in a world that doesn’t conform to the rules of “profit first”, full employment and environmentalism seem more compatible. When you really consider that we have to sell our labor to survive (something Katch goes into in perhaps his strongest section of the book; Freedom isn’t Free) suddenly it makes sense that coal miners and auto-workers and displaced lumber workers banded together in Michigan to elect Donald Trump. They see Clinton and the left as job cutters, destroyers of livelihood. There isn’t much indication that they are wrong either, Obama himself admitted that coal refinery workers might hate him for legitimate reasons. When Donald Trump enters that scene promising to bring back lost jobs and protect future ones he makes sense to people who have no choice but to work for a living. Katch is offering a vision of a world in which you don’t lack basic needs or a job just because society decided to automate truck driving.

This short, airtight book is a great one to share. Even if those you give it to aren’t going to run out and buy a copy of the Communist Manifesto, it still offers succinct and radical criticisms of capitalism and government, essential for anyone who is interested in answers beyond the standard liberal talking points.

Where Socialism...Seriously deludes itself is not in the ideology or implementation, but rather its perceived accessibility. I don’t find Katch very funny, his humor parades as edgy but is actual banal and overly safe. One wonders if he favored a poppy, referential humor over a more biting one for fear of isolating readers or if that is just his sense of humor. Either way, it is easy to imagine this sense of humor pissing off actual laborers. Then there are some passages about religion toward the end that seem rushed and incoherent, after a few sections of savage capitalism take-downs the section titled “Is Socialism a Religion?” seems like it’s attempting to win over an abundance of people who associate Socialism with Atheism, which isn’t to say those people exist, but rather that they would never read this book.

Which really speaks to another limitation on the left. This book is great to share with liberal friends and family, or maybe people who don’t consider themselves very political but voice concerns about social justice and human decency. Yet even after all the imagining of a socialist America this book got me to do, it still couldn’t get me to imagine a Trump voting machinist in Up-North Michigan reading it, let alone being convinced of anything it has to offer.

[สฤณี อาชวานันทกุล · Rating 2 out of 5]

ตอนซื้อคิดว่าเป็นหนังสือที่อธิบายว่าแนวคิดสังคมนิยมจะนำมาใช้ในยุคปัจจุบันอย่างเป็นรูปธรรมได้ยังไง ดีกว่าทุนนิยมยังไง แต่สิ่งที่ได้กลายเป็นหนังสือที่ด่าทุนนิยมฉบับเมกันทั้งเล่ม 🙄 ให้คะแนนเล็กน้อยจากการบรรยายปัญหาของทุนนิยมซึ่งบางเรื่องก็ตรงจุด และใช้สำนวนจิกกัดฉายภาพความบ้าจี้ของคนเมกันจำนวนมากที่พอเห็นอะไรดีๆ เป็นสวัสดิการโดยรัฐ นิดหน่อยเอะอะก็สังคมนิยม แต่สรุปรวมๆ คือเนื้อหาไม่ตรงปก

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bloody awful. Hardly any references, just assertions and sweeping statements how bad capitalism is and how socialism will save the world

[Alex Shepherd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars.
There's some things in here that Katch does quite well. Showing connections within capitalism, and the toll that this mode of production takes upon humanity, is explained succinctly, but effectively. We see the wrath that capital takes upon our existence in our daily lives through even the most boring of activities, but more often than not, many people simply don't see the connection between the many problems that plague them and capitalism. For an entry level text, I think that this book's sections discussing the power, reach, and omnipresence of capital could definitely be very beneficial for curious readers.
That said, Katch has a very apparent admiration of Trotsky, and uses this favoritism to deeply dig at and attack other tendencies of the Left, specifically those that adhere to Anarchism (of any form) or Marxist-Leninism. It should be noted that the most prevalent source Katch cites while discussing the Russian Revolution is Trotsky's own work upon the Russian Revolution, presenting a deeply biased view of the Soviet Union, painting a very bleak picture that is honestly reminiscent of US Cold War propaganda. The way Katch presents the Soviet Union will inevitably lead the reader to think that anything the Soviet Union did post-Lenin was either brutal in nature, or "wasn't socialism". As for anarchy, Katch dismisses anarchists as those that abhor and completely disregard any form of structure within society, painting the picture that anarchists are misguided, without direction, and without the theory to back them up. It is for these discussions of revolution, and the specifically singling out the USSR (followed by blatant contradictions, needless ideological attacks, and a true disregard for critical examination of historical events) that I would feel quite uncomfortable recommending this book to someone that is just starting out or getting a feel for the possibilities socialism may offer them. Due to this, the 3rd part of this text (ironically the section titled "Socialism") will undoubtedly give a misguided view of socialist potential and the socialist movements that have occurred in the last century.
The humor of this book is pretty lacking as well, in case a reader was hoping for excellent socialist comedy, just as a heads up. That said, there are some valuable and rather motivational bits of text that are nicely uplifting, and were quite enjoyable to read. I believe it is mainly the ideological message pushing behind this book that is mainly off-putting for myself, along with the lack of constructive discussion of socialism outside of "an economy that works for all", but the sections on capitalism are well written.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5: Concise, readable, and illuminating introduction to socialism -- but I just couldn't stand Danny Katch's humor. Props to him for providing sufficiently in-depth observations and explanations without being over-intellectual, though.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro to socialist topics but very basic. Didn't appreciate the author's condescension towards anarchism, but that's the anarchist in me! Was an easy read and gave my book club a good foundation to move onto more dense material.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the non-DSA political book club, folks were interested in learning a thing or two about socialism, because it's so hot right now. I am trying to read a lot of super intro-y stuff to socialism so I've got something to point people to when they show up to meetings or email the working group account asking for somewhere to start, because "Start with Das Kapital and then continue to read 100 years of primary sources" is usually not what people are interested in when they just want to get a little bit situated. Therefore, we landed on a book that has been recommended around a bit, Danny Katch's Socialism... Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation. This is, inexplicably, the second book I've read about socialism this year that uses ellipses in the title, which I can't help but be bugged by even if both ellipses are more or less grammatically correct.

Socialism... Seriously clocks in at about 150 pages, which makes it a bit more substantial than The ABCs of Socialism, but still quite bite-sized. A good deal of the page space is taken up by jokes, and while it is up to the taste of the reader whether they are good jokes or bad jokes (they tend to be very dad jokes), I think they are generally fairly illustrative. Katch also has a specific argument about why he makes so many jokes, which is essentially that jokes are necessary to not drive yourself nuts when thinking seriously about capitalism. In this, I agree with him fully.

The book is split into four parts, each of two or three chapters. The first two chapters are a sort of "Why might you want to read this book" sort of recap of the way socialism has been portrayed in U.S. political discourse and why people might be interested in it anyway, especially following the 2008 financial crash. The second part is called "Capitalism," and mainly gives a brief Marxist analysis of how capitalism functions -- and dysfunctions. It also gives some very 101-level intros to Marxist class theory and critique of the bourgeois state.

Section 3 is called "Socialism," which is where things really get interesting. Katch kicks off this section with a thought experiment about what an ordinary bad day would be like in a socialist future. I think this might be one of the strongest parts of the book, since it ditches the soaring rhetoric and acknowledges that everyday life will still be quotidian, full of regular human messiness and pettiness, while still showcasing how much better things could be if we weren't buried under the highly specific and somewhat absurd constraints of capital. It also acknowledges that doing democracy all the time can be pretty exhausting. There is also a chapter on revolution, which blessedly skips much of the waffling about what "revolution" means that I've seen other writers engage in (he doesn't define it at any point, but he at least seems to be writing from the idea that revolution is in fact what most people think it is, instead of bait-and-switching repeatedly between the normal definition of "regime change brought about by popular action" and the super special socialist definition about the fundamentalness levels of change). Then there is chapter 9, "What's in a name?" which is, broadly, about the different tendencies and strains of thought within the socialist movement. I will come back to that in a minute because I have Many Very Large Problems with this section.

Section 4 is a couple of odd-out essays, one of which is about why socialism is not a religion. Honestly, this section feels a bit tacked on and doesn't really flow. But I suppose it's informative if you were wondering whether or not socialism is a religion. The book concludes with a short but very, very on-point advice section called "The 5 Habits of Relatively Undamaged Socialists."

While overall I do like this book, I do have three small nitpicks, which perhaps loom larger than they would otherwise if the book were not so short. Seriously, a book this short should have zero fuckups in it.

Fuckup one: In his litany of complaints against the Democratic Party, Katch lists stuff by pre-Southern Strategy segregationists, who were, at the time, southern Democrats. This is true in a very technical way that's going to tank the speaker's credibility with the sort of dissatisfied progressives who might be interested in this whole socialism thing in the first place. There's plenty of real stuff to dunk on the Democrats for without playing dumb about the most significant shift in modern U.S. party politics, and pulling out disingenuous right-wing talking points is a very counterproductive thing to do unless your goal is to cause embittered left-Democrats to rediscover their partisan loyalties. Are there no editors at Haymarket who retain any contact with mainstream progressives in their lives? Rookie mistake.

Fuckup two: "Socialists should be romantics." If you want to build a mass movement you might want to stay away from telling people what kind of personalities to have? Considering that any future socialist society will still have optimists and pessimists, romantics and cynics, introverts and extroverts, what have you. Just a thought.

Fuckup three: Katch's explanations of the various socialist tendencies are... lacking. He basically says there are three: Trotskyists, Stalinists, and social democrats (anarchists exist but have apparently never done anything and have nothing to do with socialism; also, he misdefines anarchism in the one sentence he dedicates to it). Katch is a member of the ISO, which is a Trotskyist organization, and perhaps if you're in a dedicated Trotskyist organization, you only need to know three things: Who's us, who's more Soviet than us, and who's less Soviet than us. I, however, am in DSA and in the middle of attempting to put together a project on different socialist tendencies, and so my reaction to this section was roughly "HOLY HELL NO WAIT STOP DON'T SAY THAT". I want to be able to recommend this book to new members who are just trying to find their feet, and "Everyone who isn't a Trotskyist is either a Stalinist or a social democrat" is N O T the sort of thing I could in good conscience allow anybody to tell an unsuspecting DSA newbie like it was some sort of uncontested factual claim. Almost all of the probably 95% of DSA members who aren't Trotskyists don't identify as either Stalinists or social democrats. The more-pro-Soviet-than-Trotskyists people call themselves Marxist-Leninists; the democratic socialists draw a distinction between democratic socialists and social democrats -- and the distinction is that a social democrat is someone whose political end-goal is to build social democracy, so being called a social democrat is means being accused of not wanting to build socialism at all and is therefore fightin' words; anarcho-socialists are a thing (and they have a whole fuckin' caucus). Literally just this one section on explaining tendencies is, at four pages, misleadingly sectarian enough for me to entirely reconsider whether I should recommend this book to new folks. I mean, I probably will but just with a BIG OLD CAVEAT not to go around uncritically repeating what it says about tendencies to other people.

These three gripes aside (and yes, I know I got heated about those three gripes, I like griping), it's a pretty decent primer on That Thing All The Kids Are Into These Days.

Originally posted at Socialism 101?.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Socialism. What is it? Should I support it? Didn’t it kill billions of people? What do these young radicals think they’re doing?

I really liked reading this. As a currently practicing leftist I didn’t have any life-changing insights reading it, but I absolutely recommend this is as a primer, or the second/third book after whatever was your primer. It includes a rundown of the wrongs of capitalism, some socialist/communist history, a concise explanation of what socialists and communists actually want, and a rebuttal to some common objections most people would have against socialism.

The only thing I’m kind of missing is an outline of how socialism would be implemented, other than the rather abstract “revolution!”. But perhaps that is a task bestowed upon other works; this still works really great as an introduction.

A lot of leftist writings are kind of grim at best. That’s understandable, because using socialism as a framework to analyse our current world does make everything look pretty damn grim. But it is not always effective, especially not for an audience that either doesn’t enjoy reading or can’t stand books that take themselves way too seriously and end up feeling snobbish at best.
From this naturally follows that, for me, the best part was that this book doesn’t take itself too seriously. Instead, Katch jokes, most enjoyably at himself, in a way that reminds me of videos essays or (gasp!) vlogs. The light-hearted tone makes everything very digestible and fun. Get the E-book if you can, it makes flipping to humorous (and useful) footnotes a lot easier.

In conclusion, if you’re new to socialism, this book a great place to start. If you’re a seasoned leftist, this book isn’t a necessary work, but you can still enjoy it!

[Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all let me inform that I gave one extra star purely for the creative use humor, irony and wit in the book .This is the uniqueness of this book. There are lots of books on socialism and if you are looking for a fun introduction to socialism then this is it.

The structure of the book involves initial part where author analyzes capitalism and reasons why its such an insane and exploitative system. He consciously brings out the idiocy of the Capitalist system with interesting thought experiments such as the following.

“Capitalism is a bad idea. Imagine if we start a society on an uninhabited tropical island, and I propose that the people who do all the work will be paid as little as possible while the people who don’t do anything but own stocks will have more money than they could possibly spend in their lifetimes. You would all be looking at each other and shaking your heads. “Wait, wait, hear me out,” I might say. “We’ll also treat air, water, plants, minerals, and other animals as objects to be exploited even more ruthlessly than workers!” Now you’d slowly back away because there’s obviously something not right with me, even as I continue on: “Wait, don’t go! We can maintain peace by creating massively destructive weapons and violent prisons. Why is everybody leaving?”

After bringing out clearly the unjust exploitative side of capitalism he then proceeds to introduce the idea of socialisms [Yes there are lots of types] and delves into Marx's communism[Marxian verity of socialism] and contemporary social democracy.

Overall its a good introductory book. My only complaint is that the book ignores to engage with Anarchism or libertarian socialism as much as it does with Marxism.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style is at times over the top silly and then there are moments, perfectly placed that underscore the gravity and possibility of really dedicating one’s self to the pursuit of a socialist movement. The later chapters seemed to increase in the level of seriousness but not too much. In the midst of a global pandemic, the brief histories and suggestions in this book are perhaps more timely than ever. Thanks to Haymarket books for making this volume available for free download in these times.

[Jesse Slater · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3.5/5]
The author presents a good survey of their iteration of socialist thought. Perhaps most usefully, a good amount of time is spent on concepts of how a society may function in a non-capitalist socialist framework. Even explicitly defining the 'means of production' (in this case, being used to mean the capital behind production, not just the literal means itself) is a step better than many works at this introductory level. I've wanted to see more engagement with what Marxism looks like in a post-industrial context, and this didn't dive into that, but gave me more than I'd expected. The quotes from Das Kapital are frequent enough, often expanding sections people are familiar with but lacking context, that I would classify this as nearly being a Marxist commentary. I would probably read that, if the author expanded out a full one. More of those are needed in conversational language.

The tone stays conversational and decently engaging. The author generally keeps at least one foot on the ground, with their more 'Imagine'-like moments usually being fully admitted as such. I do wonder (due to a mention of them in the introduction) how much I missed out on by listening to the audiobook and not being able to read the footnotes.

The author does do something that I call out conservatives for, and must here as well. In encouraging the sympathetic reader to actively identify as a socialist, and distinguishing between socialism and liberalism, the author reads the riot act on the Democratic Party. This includes a litany of their wrongdoings, going back to being the party slavery and the Confederacy during the civil war. While historically accurate, this always gets drug out in conversations to demonize the Democratic Party in a way that ignores the major shifts in political platforms and allegiances between both major US parties over the last century and a half. The philosophical argument of whether a boat with all its parts replaced is the same boat can be had, and the Democratic Party is far from reproach, but this method of attacking them is weak no matter who uses it.

Towards the end, the rallying cry to the cause of the book becomes a bit more surface level, and the direction of the last few chapters (aside from the one regarding the Russian revolutions) wavers. That being said, I will be recommending this book to friends, as I want to discuss it with them.

[Ollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Socialism... Seriously" might be a small book, but boy is it powerful. Unfortunately , ever since I decided to bone up on my Socialist/Communist/Anarchist literature I've had to piece together the basic idea of each movement from various other books by various other authors. I'm still looking for that perfect Anarchism and Communism book that lays it all out and I can recommend to friends, but for Socialism, I think I've hit the jackpot with "Socialism... Seriously." We all have, actually.

First off, the fact that this is a short book should be noted, because it definitely helps make it inviting. Second, Danny Katch's lighthearted approach to the subject really makes this an easy and fun book which is more than I can say for Lenin or Marx. And finally, this "Socialism...Seriously" splendidly summarizes all you need to know about what Socialism is all about, how it's a reaction to the exploitation caused by capitalism, how its driving force is laborers, and what the lessons are that we've learnt from previous revolutions. Katch explains these concepts concisely and with a decent amount of humor. He even adds to the scope of this book by describing the exploitation in our current society, depicting how a socialist society could function (it's all a blueprint still), and what we can do to contribute to the movement in our daily lives.

So yes, this book is pretty vital, and even though I have a small issue with the way Katch depicts the Anarchists and the Russian Revolution (and his complete negligence of how the hierarchical state-run bureaucracy failed the workers), he really nails it on most accounts. I'm not going to say this is our generation's Communist Manifesto, but it's pretty damn close.

[Gracie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though both humorous and addressing many of the questions I have about socialism, as well as the misgivings I have about capitalism, this book’s light-hearted-ness does make it more difficult to take seriously or properly interpret answers to questions people may have about the various political philosophies.

I found this book useful for broadening my view of socialism as a whole, but it doesn’t really delve into what socialism actually is or explain its polices and distinctions in more than a general way. I found the jokes distracting from the actual content, and the actual content rather lacking in it of itself.

The author distinguishes himself as a Marxist later in the book & allows for different forms of socialism to exist and describes an ideal society in which it exists, but fails to give more concrete explanations and examples that would help a reader who’s trying to understand these new concepts, particularly in relation to all the other forms of socialism.

The book doesn’t really serve an informative purpose, but more of a long personal rant on the topic by the author. The author seeks to critique capitalism, which I acknowledge as a flawed system, but I wish he would’ve provided better explanations for his critiques rather than just that capitalism is evil.

[celestine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a charming and humorous "introduction" into the ideas of socialism. It's a very easy read and is over before you know it. It's more of a 3.5 than it is a 4, as it sometimes feels kinda scattershot, and because Katch's definition of socialism wiggles around like a wet noodle pretty frequently. At the end of the book, it proclaims you are a socialist now basically, but I was like, am I? Did Danny Katch define it well enough for me to be one? I dunno. I also think with how much communism is brought up, anarchism is given a rude short shrift. Anarchism is a good way to get right-minded/libertarians on the side of socialism.

[Katelyn Entzeroth]

“Socialism...Seriously” is a brief and entertaining introduction to socialism for anyone new to the subject and curious about alternatives to capitalism. Katch does an excellent job of concisely and effectively debunking commonly held assumptions about the history of socialist movements (with a great section on Russia). While I am personally not a huge fan of Katch’s sense of humor, I still valued its presence in the book, as it made the content more digestible.

Note that this is intended to be a broad overview of socialism, so if you’re looking for something more detailed and academic, look elsewhere. You’ll be disappointed by this book.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book while looking for a light, plain-language introduction to socialism to send to one of my incarcerated penpals. I think the book does a great job laying out the general outline of concepts (capital, class, etc), and this background can be helpful when trying to get into denser texts. It's also full of great suggestions for further reading on a wide variety of topics. Despite being published in 2015 (full of references to the housing crisis and OWS, before Bernie/M4A were household names), I would recommend it for anyone looking for an easy-to-read introduction to socialism in 2021. (Will update once I know what my penpal thought.)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great primer to hand to anyone. It's short, funny, and does a great job translating ideas to non-academic speech. I especially liked the section where the author narrates a bad day under socialism in the year 2051. It highlights the commonalities of today and the positive changes while making it seem achievable, so it was inspiring.

I listened to the audiobook, and the reading was great at capturing the sarcasm and familiar tone of the text.

[James Lees · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one! Pretty light and easy to get through but with some realistic advice and solid conceptualisation of the fundamentals of what it means to be a socialist.
The message of revolting against capitalism one day really resonates with me so I found the middle stages of this book truly captivating! A good one to recommend to your Young Liberal mates.