Socialism Unbound

Socialism Unbound , by Stephen Bronner, was widely acclaimed when it first appeared in 1990. This second revised edition brings it up to date. Written in a clear prose, and an uncompromising manner, it offers new critical reflections on the tradition of working class politics and its salience for the new millennium. Chronological in structure, broad in scope, its chapters are devoted to the themes associated with the most important figures of the labor movement: Marx & Engles, Karl Kautsky, Eduard Bernstein, Lenin, and Rosa Luxemburg. Each chapter speaks to the contributions and limits of past practices in light of recent political trends. Treating socialism as an ethic, while discarding outworn teleological claims, the conclusion squarely confronts a host of issues including the relation between class and social movements, institutional accountability and participation, revolution and reform, economic justice and market imperatives, internationalism and identity. This second edition of what has been called a classic text indeed articulates the potential contributions of socialist theory for developing a genuinely progressive politics no less than the organizational and ideological challenges it must face in the modern era.