Socialism 0841501416, 9780841501416

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BANTAM POLITICAL

SCIENCE

THE ADVANCE M A N : A N OFFBEAT LOOK AT WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS by Jerry Bruno and Jeff Greenfield ATTICA: The Official Report of the New York State Special C o m m i s s i o n

o n Attica

CHE GUEVARA’S BOLIVIAN DIARIES edited by Robert Scheer

CHINA! INSIDE THE Committee

REPUBLIC by the

PEOPLE’S

of Concerned

Asian Scholars

CRUISING SPEED by William F . Buckley, Jr. THE ESSENTIAL WORKS OF AN ARCHISM edited by Marshall S . Shatz

ESSENTIAL WORKS OF CHINESE COMMUNISM edited by Winberg Chai ESSENTIAL WORKS OF LENIN edited by Henry Christman ESSENTIAL WORKS OF MARXISM edited by Arthur P . Mendel

ESSENTIAL

WORKS OF SOCIALISM edited by Irving

Howe THE G O D THAT

THE

FAILED

edited b y Richard Crossman

INDOCHINA STORY by the Committee of Con-

cerned

Asian

Scholars

THE ISRAEL/ARAB READER edited by Walter Lacqueur ISRAEL, THE ARABS AND THE MIDDLE EAST edited by Irving Howe and Carl Gershman

MEMOIRS by George F. Kennan THE PENTAGON PAPERS THE PRINCE AND SELECTED DISCOURSES: MACHIAVELLI edited by Daniel Donno QUOTATIONS FROM CHAIRMAN MAO TSE-TUNG edited by Stuart R. Schram

SOCIALISM by Michael Harrington THE S O M E T I M E GOVERNMENTS Conference o n State Legislatures

by the

Citizens

UP FROM LIBERALISM by William F . Buckley, Jr. THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE IN AMERICA by Hugh

Davis Graham

and Ted Robert

THE WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA

Gurr

AND CHINA by Har-

rison E . Salisbury WHO RUNS CONGRESS? Ralph Nader Congress Project by Mark J . Green, James M . Fallows and David R. Zwick

A VOICE OF REASON, POWER AND HUMAN

ITY

Michael Harrington is America’s leading socialist. He was head of the American Socialist Party from 1 9 6 8 to 1 9 7 2 and led the American delegation to

the Socialist International. The Other America, his bestselling firSt book, had a far-reaching influence on two Presidents (Kennedy and Johnson) and was responsible for many

policies and programs of the sixties. A noted author, lecturer and syndicated columnist, Harrington has written three other books: The Accidental Century, The Retail Clerks, and T owarda Democratic Left. Of his new book, SOCIALISM, critics and scholars have this to say: “An American prophet . . . As we march through history, our direction so much influenced by the past, our time and energy by the demands of the present, there consumed always seem to be, thank God, a few visionaries around.” — T h e New Republic

“Harrington’s honesty, his iron resistance to fanaticism, his relentless attention to the concrete deof our time will inspire those . . . who velopments will treat themselves to a close reading of this, his

finest book.” —Comm0nw eal

“Harrington is a good and honest man. His book deserves, and will get, the most serious attention.” —Business Week

“There is something heroic about a man who can keep alive a self-critical vision of socialism in

America . . . [He] cuts away from the sterility of so much academic sociology and political science . . . He has issued a series of brilliant and important books, of which this is the most brilliant and important.” —Gary Wills, The N e w York Times Book Review

“Achieves a rare mastery of theory, history and contemporary

social problems.” —Theodore

Draper

“A wide-ranging and creative analysis of the changing world. eration

The most important

book

of the gen-

on socialism.”

—Library Journal

“His main purpose is to apply [Marx’s and Engels’] wisdom, and the world’s experience since their death, to the future of the United States and the world. Whatever Mr. Harrington says—whether he is arguing or hoping—his decency is radiant.” —T he New Yorker

BANTAM POLITICAL

SCIENCE

THE ADVANCE M A N : AN OFFBEAT LOOK AT WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS by Jerry Bruno and Jeff Greenfield ATTICA: The Official Report of the New York State on Attica

Special C o m m i s s i o n

CHE GUEVARA’S BOLIVIAN DIARIES

edited by Rob-

ert Scheer

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC by the

CHINA! INSIDE THE Committee

Asian Scholars

of Concerned

CRUISING SPEED by William F . Buckley, Jr. WORKS OF AN ARCHISM edited by THE ESSENTIAL Marshall S. Shatz

ESSENTIAL

WORKS OF CHINESE

edited b y Winberg

ESSENTIAL

COMMUNISM

Chai

WORKS OF LENIN

edited by Henry

Christman

ESSENTIAL WORKS OF MARXISM edited by Arthur P. Mendel

ESSENTIAL

WORKS OF SOCIALISM

edited by Irving

Howe

THE GOD THAT FAILED edited by Richard Crossman THE I N D O C H I N A STORY cerned Asian Scholars

by the Committee

of Con-

THE ISRAEL/ARAB READER edited by Walter Lacqueur ISRAEL, THE ARABS AND THE MIDDLE EAST edited by Irving Howe and Carl Gershman MEMOIRS by George F . Kennan THE PENTAGON PAPERS THE PRINCE AND SELECTED DISCOURSES: MACHIAVELLI

QUOTATIONS

edited b y Daniel Donno

FROM CHAIRMAN MAO TSE-TUNG

edited by Stuart R . Schram

SOCIALISM by Michael Harrington THE S O M E T I M E GOVERNMENTS Conference o n State Legislatures

by the

Citizens

UP FROM LIBERALISM by William F . Buckley, Jr. THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE IN AMERICA by Hugh

Davis Graham

and Ted Robert

THE WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA

Gurr

AND CHINA by Har-

rison E . Salisbury

WHO RUNS CONGRESS? Ralph Nader Congress Project by Mark R. Zwick

J . Green,

James

M . Fallows

and David

This low-priced Bantam Book has been. completely reset in a type face designed for easy reading, a n d was printed from n e w plates. I t contains t h e complete text of t h e original hard-cover edition. NOT ONE wont) HAS BEEN OMITTED.

R L I ' VLM 12 (VLR 1 2 - 1 2 + ) I L 10—adult ‘ SOCIALISM

A Bantam

Book

/ published by arrangement

Saturday

Review

with

Press

PRINTING HISTORY R e v i e w edition published January 1972 2 n d printing . . . . . . . . J u n e 1972 3rd printing ..... October 1972 B antam Edition / September 1973 3rd printing . . . . . March 1977 . . . . . . July 1974

Saturday

2nd printing

A portion of this book first appeared in DISSENT magazine, 1970, Volume X V I I , Number 3

Cover

photo of the author by Fred

May,

McDarrah'

A l l rights reserved. Copyright © 1 9 7 0 , 1972 by Michael Harrington. This book m a y n o t be reproduced in whole o r in part, by mimeograph o r any other means, without permission. For information address: Saturday R e v i e w Press, 230 Park A v e n u e , Ne w York, N . Y . 10017. I S B N 0-553-10907-3 Published simultaneously in t h e U n i t e d States and Canada B a n t a m Books are published by Bantam Books, mark,

consisting

of

the

words

“Bantam

Books”

I n c . Its tradeand

the

por-

trayal of a b a n t a m , is registered in t h e United States Patent Ofl‘ice and in o t h e r countries. Marca Registrada. B a n t a m Books, I n c . . 6 6 6 Fifth A v e n u e , New York, New York 10019. PRINTED

IN

THE

UNITED

STATES

OF

AMERICA

To the memory of Norman Thomas And the future of his ideals I OWE THIS BOOK to Norman Thomas and to all the other comrades Of the socialist movement, the

living and the dead, who were, and are, both my inspiration and my postgraduate university. In particular I want to acknowledge the contributions of two socialists. Even though I have some serious disagreements with him on issues of

socialist strategy, I am permanently and deeply indebted to Max Shachtman, me to the vision of democratic

who first introduced Marxism and whose

theory Of bureaucratic collectivism is so important to my analysis. In the course of writing the last chapters on the future Of socialism I received the

most generous, and brilliant, political and literary help of my friend Irving Howe. As the editor of Dissent he has accomplished Herculean labors; he is certainly one of the most important men Of the Left in his generation. Finally, Stephanie Gervis Harrington played a critical role in the intellectual and literary genesis of this book. Her editorial judgment made a decisive contribution to my work.

Contents

The Future of the Past II

III

The Preconditions of the Dream The Democratic Essence