The ABCs of Socialism

Since the 2016 primary campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and afterward, the surge of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, more people are becoming interested in democratic socialism. In response to this interest, Jacobin Magazine, a quarterly magazine for the left, has published The ABCs of Socialism, a collection of essays from leading leftist writers to help explain socialism to a new audience and answer some of its most common criticisms.

Download The ABCs of Socialism (PDF)

About The ABCs of Socialism

The book covers questions like "Isn't America already kind of socialist?", "Don't the rich deserve to keep most of their money?," and "Socialism sounds good in theory, but doesn't human nature make it impossible to realize?" This makes it a great introduction to anyone who has felt the contradictions of capitalism but still has questions about the socialist alternative.

Authors include Nicole Aschoff, managing editor at Jacobin and author of The New Prophets of Capital, Bhaskar Sunkara, founding editor and publisher of Jacobin, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, assistant professor at Princeton University and author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation.

Get The ABCs of Socialism

Jacobin Magazine has generously offered the book as a downloadable PDF. If you'd like a paper copy, and you want to support its creators, you can purchase copies directly from Jacobin or from Verso Books, its publisher.