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The Intelligent Human's Guide to Socialism Socialism ... Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation Danny Katch Haymarket Books, 2015,165 pp., Paperback, $ 13.95
This is the book MANY SOCIALISTS have been waiting for, although we probably didn't know it. In just over 150 pages it describes the core socialist ideas in a clear, highly accessible way. The fact that the book is frequently laughout-loud funny makes it even better. Socialism ... Seriously is written for people who are new to socialism and want to find out what it's all about.
The first question about a book that sets out to explain socialism is, of course, what the author means by socialism.
In the introduction Katch says, "A short answer is that socialism is a society whose top priority is meeting all its people's needs-ranging from food, shelter and health care to art, culture and companionship."
Later he spells it out as:
1. Working people control the government.
2. The government controls the economy.
Ina chapter on "Workers' Power" he writes, "The simplest definition of Marx's socialism is that it is what society would look like if the working class were in charge."
Danny Katch is a member of the Interna- tional Socialist Organization (ISO), and the book is written from that point of view without being a recruiting tool. The underlying theme is what Hal Draper called "socialism from below" and what Marx set forth as "the emancipation of the working classes must be conquered by the working classes themselves."
In the final chapter on "Five Habits of ^strike-through Highly Effective^ Relatively Undamaged Socialists," Katch recommends,"Organize with other socialists," but he doesn't say, "Join the ISO." This means that you can recommend ?socialism ... Seriously even if you're not in the ISO and you have no intention of joining.
Still the book can't help but reflect the ISO's basic politics. It makes it clear that Russia, China, Cuba, and their ilk aren't socialist because the workers aren't in control. In the age ofBemie Sanders, "the Democrats are that loud guy in the bar pretending to be held back by his friends...