Socialism: Past and Future

By ``democratic socialism,'' Harrington means something vastly different from the Soviet or Chinese systems, which he regards as ``bureaucratic collectivisms.'' Calling socialism the major hope for human freedom and justice in the 21st century, the author of The Other America and The New American Poverty demands meaningful worker-involvement in decision-making, reorganization of markets away from pure profiteering, decentralization and a move toward an egalitarian global economy. Today's ``free market'' economies, he argues, are controlled by socially authoritarian, militarist, debt-financed regimes like those of Reagan and Thatcher. Harrington is a nondogmatic thinker, and this succinct, readable synthesis of the various strands of his thought conveys a sense of urgency deepened by his struggle with inoperable cancer. His blueprint for a ``visionary gradualism'' deserves a reading. (July)