Socialist Practice

Victor Wallis is a professor in the Liberal Arts Department at the Berklee College of Music, USA, and was for twenty years the managing editor of Socialism and Democracy. He is the author of Red-Green Revolution: The Politics and Technology of Ecosocialism (2018) and Democracy Denied: Five Lectures on U.S. Politics (2019).

“The left needs to guard against utopianism in the form of a wish list of changes that the revolution will allegedly bring. Some suggest that dialectics in its idealistic form encourages this tendency when the focus is on extrapolating into the future rather than analyzing the present. Wallis avoids such wishful thinking in this fascinating study of leftist theory and practice from Marx to the present.” (Steve Ellner, Monthly Review, April 1, 2021)“In this set of careful, critical essays, interfacing between Marxist theory and economic, social and environmental praxis, Wallis offers much for American activists and thinkers seeking to move beyond the current degraded state of politics in their country. … [I]n bringing together historical-theoretical perspectives on Marxist theory and more focused examinations of particular social movements, Wallis provides further insights into the opportunities and constraints facing those seeking to act for change.” (Steph Marston, Marx andPhilosophy, marxandphilosophy.org.uk, December 3, 2020)“No doubt, there is a great deal more to discuss. The differences between socialism and communism need to be explored, not only in the context of first-epoch socialism but under current conditions as well. … Socialist Practice makes an invaluable contribution to this discussion, extending neither panaceas nor Pollyanna hopes, instead offering thought-provoking interventions that should prove useful to organizers and theorists alike.” (Mat Callahan, Socialism and Democracy, Vol. 34 (2-3), 2020)

• 1. Chapter 1: Introduction.- 2. Chapter 2: Marx after a Century of “Real Socialism”.- 3. Chapter 3: The End of First-Epoch Socialism and the Problem of Transition.- 4. Chapter 4: Marxism and the Struggle for Social Justice.- 5. Chapter 5: The Dialectic of Humanity and Nature.- 6. Chapter 6: On “Market Socialism” and the Soviet Experience.- 7. Chapter 7: Workers' Control and Revolution: History and Theory.- 8. Chapter 8: The Politics of “Lesser Evil”: Historical Reflections.- 9. Chapter 9: The US Left of the 1960s and Its Legacy.- 10. Chapter 10: From Black Liberation to Mass Incarceration: A Documentary Journey.- 11. Chapter 11: Revolution and Counterrevolution in Latin America: The Filmed Experience.- 12. Chapter 12: Song and Vision in the US Labor Movement.- 13. Chapter 13: Conclusion.