In "Socialist Thought" Fried and Sanders set socialism within its historical context from pre-revolutionary France to the present by using major turning points such as 1789, when the French Revolution launched socialism, to establish a chronological framework. The authors contend that though its roots can be traced to the Bible, socialism truly came into being at the end of the 18th century, the age of democratic ideas, as a response to the Industrial Revolution and an attempt to change the consciousness of society and its material organization. The readings, emphasizing utopian socialists and Marx, demonstrate that socialist aspirations throughout history have been as varied as the individuals expressing them. Over the past three centuries, socialists have embraced both anti-authoritarianism and totalitarianism, class struggle and co-operation, revolution and democracy.

In "Socialist Thought" Fried and Sanders set socialism within its historical context from pre-revolutionary France to the present by using major turning points such as 1789, when the French Revolution launched socialism, to establish a chronological framework. The authors contend that though its roots can be traced to the Bible, socialism truly came into being at the end of the 18th century, the age of democratic ideas, as a response to the Industrial Revolution and an attempt to change the consciousness of society and its material organization. The readings, emphasizing utopian socialists and Marx, demonstrate that socialist aspirations throughout history have been as varied as the individuals expressing them. Over the past three centuries, socialists have embraced both anti-authoritarianism and totalitarianism, class struggle and co-operation, revolution and democracy.