so I can become virtually drunk? On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 11:35 AM, michael a. lebowitz <[email protected]> wrote: > For those of you patiently [or impatiently, as in my case] waiting for my > new book, I've just heard from MR Press that it is now out! > Virtual drinks on me! > michael > ------ > > Subject: The Contradictions of "Real Socialism" by Michael A. Lebowitz > From: Monthly Review Press <[email protected]> > Date: 7/26/2012 9:04 AM > To: <[email protected]> > > New from MR Press! > > The Contradictions of “Real Socialism” > > The Conductor and the Conducted > by Michael A. Lebowitz > > “The profound understanding in this new book of why twentieth-century > attempts at constructing socialism failed must be an essential element in > the socialist renewal emerging amid the first great capitalist crisis of the > twenty-first century.” > —Leo Panitch, editor, Socialist Register > > “Lebowitz shows, theoretically and historically, that the socialism > practiced in the Soviet Union and Central Europe was doomed. There is a lot > to learn here.” > —Martin Hart-Landsberg, professor of economics, Lewis and Clark College > > “One doesn’t have to agree with all the theses presented in Michael > Lebowitz’s latest book in order to acknowledge that this is a major > contribution to the international debate on socialism of the twenty-first > century.” > —Michael Löwy, co-author, Che Guevara: His Revolutionary Legacy (with > Olivier Besancenot) > > “What would Marx have thought had he lived to see the Soviet Union? Nobody > has interpreted Marx to greater advantage to answer this question than > renowned Marxist scholar Michael Lebowitz, who explains why Marx would not > have been pleased!” > —Robin Hahnel, professor of economics, Portland State University > > “We need this well-written book to understand that socialism did not die > with the fall of the Berlin Wall.” > —François Houtart, Executive Secretary of the World Forum for Alternatives > > “Where fresh insights are rare, indeed, Michael Lebowitz provides a bundle > of them. Although no one will (or perhaps should) agree with everything > here, the book provides rich material for badly-needed discussion.” > —Paul Buhle, author, Marxism in the United States > > “A riveting exploration of what can be learned from the first attempts to > create socialist systems, specifically the period from 1950 through the > 1980s. Required reading.” > —Fred Magdoff, professor emeritus of plant and soil science, University of > Vermont > > From the author’s preface: > > This is not a book for those who already know everything important there > is to know about “Real Socialism.” For those fortunate souls who have > inherited or adopted the eternal verities of particular political sects on > the left, empirical footnotes that strengthen their claim to leadership are > the principal tasks of scholarship. As a result, the central question about > this book for them is likely to be, “Is he with us or against us?” In short, > is this book good for the chosen? > > I presume, however, readers who begin with questions rather than > answers. What was this phenomenon known as “Real Socialism,” or “Actually > Existing Socialism,” a concept created in the twentieth century by the > leaders of countries in order to distinguish their real experience from > merely theoretical socialist ideas? What were its characteristics? How was > this system reproduced? And why did it ultimately yield to capitalism > without resistance from the working classes who were presumably its > beneficiaries? > > Michael A. Lebowitz is professor emeritus of economics at Simon Fraser > University in Vancouver, Canada, and author of The Socialist Alternative, > Beyond Capital: Marx’s Political Economy of the Working Class (winner of the > Isaac Deutscher Memorial Prize for 2004), Build It Now: Socialism for the > Twenty-First Century, and Following Marx: Method, Critique and Crisis. He > was Director, Program in Transformative Practice and Human Development, > Centro Internacional Miranda, in Caracas, Venezuela, from 2006-11. > > 222 Pages | $15.95 > > -- > --------------------- > Michael A. Lebowitz > Professor Emeritus > Economics Department > Simon Fraser University > 8888 University Drive > Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6 > Home: Phone 604-689-9510 > Cell: 778-230-6137 > > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >
-- Jim Devine / If you're going to support the lesser of two evils, you should at least know the nature of that evil. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
