A Socialist Movement?; Public Radio

The attempt of the Editors, in the June 1996 issue of Monthly Review, to generalize the post-Second World War "socialist movement," especially its Social Democratic and Communist branches provokes many interesting and important questions. While exploration of all of them would illuminate the past, the more important ones are surely those which will enable us to do better in the future, to really make progress in realizing the dream of an alternative to capitalism other than the "common ruin of the contending classes" which seems to threaten so much of today's world. The need to clarify the possibility of an alternative is being repeatedly urged: István Mészáros (Beyond Capital: Towards a Theory of Transition, Monthly Review Press 1996); Ellen Meiksins Wood (Democracy against Capitalism: Renewing Historical Materialism, Cambridge University Press 1995); and now Kagarlitsky (MR 48. 2. 36: "Where are These Alternatives?"). But a concerted effort is required, a planned effort, if a viable and convincing alternative is to be provided.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website

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