Democracy or Socialism

The Fateful Question for America in 2024
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-3-030-65645-4
Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 191 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 281 g

This book discusses socialism and democracy. It approaches socialism not as a label but as an ideology. Based on a careful examination of what socialism is, traced back to Karl Marx, this book explains the tense relationship between socialism and democracy and how it has influenced political thought and practice in both Europe and America. This book carefully avoids conventional wisdom, seeking instead to originate its definition and analysis of socialism in its political theory and practice. Building on the relationship between socialism and democracy, the book explores how this uneasy roommate agreement may affect America’s future.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Larson, Sven R.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Wirtschaftssysteme, Wirtschaftsstrukturen
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Wirtschaftspolitik, politische Ökonomie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Defining SocialismWhy the definition mattersCommunism and intrinsic tyrannyUnavoidable economic demise 
2. Economics of Socialism 1: Prices vs. Labor ValueMarx and socialism in practicePrices vs. labor-value theoryThe status nature of Marxist theoryThe iron law of wagesLabor value of central planningCentral planning and human nature
3. Economics of Socialism 2: Planning vs. The MarketCapitalist decline: a false notionThe welfare state: socialism without central planning?An unsustainable blendThe inevitable conflict 
4. From Strife to SpringHistory is perfect hindsightRussia 1917: from chaos to LeninPrague 1968: modest reformsPassing the point of no returnSolzhenitsyn's challengeA note on Charta 77Democratic socialism gets a boostA penultimate moment in SwedenAn ideological lesson
5. The American Welfare State TodayIdeological metamorphosis Welfare-state entrenchmentWelfare-state consensus Neoconservative endorsementCapitalism, nihilism and socialism
6. The American Welfare State TomorrowExpansion is inevitableA note on government size and economic growthEquality or solidarityBipartisanship and welfare-state unityMonetized socialismHyperinflation: lighting the torchU.S. hyperinflation

Über Autor(innen)

Sven R. Larson is a Ph.D. political economist and author. He has worked for free-market think tanks and been an advisor to elected officials and political campaigns. His scholarship and policy research are focused on the dynamics between the welfare state and economic freedom. Among his previous books are Industrial Poverty, which analyzes the welfare state’s role in causing economic stagnation in Europe; The Rise of Big Government: How Egalitarianism Conquered America, an examination of the ideological similarities between the American and Swedish welfare states; and Faith and Freedom: The Moral Case for America, exploring the moral foundations of the American constitutional republic.