Imagine : living in a socialist USA / edited by Frances Goldin, Debby Smith, and Michael Steven Smith.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Goldin, Frances, editor.

Smith, Debby (Activist), editor.

Smith, Michael Steven, 1942- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Socialism--United States.

Socialism.

Politics and government.

United States.

Political participation--United States.

Political participation.

United States--Politics and government--21st century.

Physical Description:

xv, 304 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Socialist USA

Place of Publication:

New York : Harper Perennial, [2014]

Summary:

The polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes and droughts ravish the planet, and the earth's population is threatened by catastrophic climate change. Millions of American jobs have been sent overseas and aren't coming back. Young African-American men make up the majority of America's prison population. Half of the American population are poor or near poor, living precariously on the brink, while the top one percent own as much as the bottom eighty. Government police-state spying on its citizens is pervasive. Consequently, as former President Jimmy Carter has said, "we have no functioning democracy." Imagine: Living In a Socialist U.S.A., edited by Francis Goldin, Debby Smith, and Michael Steven Smith, is at once an indictment of American capitalism as the root cause of our spreading dystopia and a cri de coeur for what life could be like in the United States if we had economic as well as a real political democracy. This anthology features essays by revolutionary thinkers, activists, and artists--including Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, civil rights activist Angela Davis, incarcerated journalist Mumia Abu Jamal, and economist Rick Wolff--addressing various aspects of a new society and, crucially, how to get from where we are now to where we want to be, living in a society that is truly fair and just.

Contents:

Section 1 What's Wrong with Capitalism? 1

1 Capitalism: The Real Enemy by Paul Street 3

Section 2 Imagining Socialism 23

2 The Future Will Be Ecosocialist, Because Without Ecosocialism, There Will Be No Future / Joel Kovel Kovel, Joel 25

3 A Democratically Run Economy Can Replace the Oligarchy / Ron Reosti Reosti, Ron 33

4 The Shape of a Post-Capitalist Future by Rick Wolff 43

5 Law in a Socialist USA / Michael Steven Smith Smith, Michael Steven 53

6 Alternatives to the Present System of Capitalist Injustice / Mumia Abu-Jamal Abu-Jamal, Mumia, Angela Davis Davis, Angela 59

7 Socialism Is the Highest Expression of Human Rights / Ajamu Baraka Baraka, Ajamu 71

8 Personal, Emotional, and Sexual Life Without Capitalism / Harriet Fraad Fraad, Harriet, Tess Fraad-Wolff Fraad-Wolff, Tess 77

9 A Woman's Workday in a Socialist USA / Renate Bridenthal Bridenthal, Renate 85

10 Dignity, Respect, Equality, Love / Blanche Wiesen Cook Cook, Blanche Wiesen 89

11 How Queer Life Might Be Different in a Socialist USA / Leslie Cagan Cagan, Leslie, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz Kaye/Kantrowitz, Melanie 99

12 Drugs in a Society Where People Care About Each Other / Steven Wishnia Wishnia, Steven 105

13 Immigration: Immigrant Workers Point the Way to a Better World / Juan Gonzalez Gonzalez, Juan 113

14 Welfare in a New Society: An End to Intentional Impoverishment and Degradation / Frances Fox Piven Piven, Frances Fox 125

15 Food for All: Creating a Socially Sustainable Food System / Arun Gupta Gupta, Arun 135

16 The Right to Housing / Tom Angotti Angotti, Tom 147

17 Socialized Medicine Means Everyone Gets Care, Regardless of Whether They Have Money / Dave Lindorff Lindorff, Dave 155

18 Teach Freedom! / William Ayers Ayers, William 161

19 Imagining Art After Capitalism / Mat Callahan Callahan, Mat 171

20 Prometheus Completely Unbound: What Science and Technology Could Accomplish in a Socialist America / Clifford D. Conner Conner, Clifford D. 179

21 First-Class News: The Media in a Socialist USA / Fred Jerome Jerome, Fred 189

Section 3 Getting There: How to Make a Socialist America 197

22 Where Does Occupy Wall Street Go from Here? A Proposal / Michael Moore Moore, Michael 199

23 What I Would Do as Attorney General / Michael Ratner Ratner, Michael 205

24 We Be Reading Marx Where We From: Socialism and the Black Freedom Struggle / Kazembe Balagun Balagun, Kazembe 209

25 The Working-Class Majority / Michael Zweig Zweig, Michael 219

26 How to Achieve Economic Democracy in the United States / Clifford D. Conner Conner, Clifford D. 223

27 The Capitalist Road: From Chinese Sweatshops to Detroit's Decay / Dianne Feeley Feeley, Dianne 231

28 The Third American Revolution: How Socialism Can Come to the United States / Paul Le Blanc Blanc, Paul Le 249

29 Imagine the Angels of Bread / Martín Espada Espada, Martín 263

30 Thanksgiving 2077: A Short Story / Terry Bisson Bisson, Terry 267

31 You Are the Light of the World: Speech Via Mic Check at Occupy Wall Street by Joel Kovel 277.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9780062305572

0062305573

OCLC:

857370249

Online:

Cover image