Book Review: Socialist Reconstruction: A Better Future For The United States, by Party For Socialism And Liberation

 

A few weeks ago, The Party For Socialism And Liberation put together a work that's meant to act as a look into what America would entail under socialist planning. As something that has never truly occurred on U.S. soil, many people, including leftists, are unsure of how the transition would work, as well as how policies enacted would tackle issues. Instead of boasting arguments on a platform of hope, Socialist Reconstruction takes that general aim for change and places it onto an achievable, realistic plan, roughly within the first ten years of socialism in America. It dedicates a whole chapter to each of the largest issues that tend to not only come up in conversation, but are also the most rampant in our current capitalist society. Before diving into that, there's a chapter noting past socialist and leftist movements that, while never achieving working-class power, resulted in victories for the working class that we still see today. It also paints a brief picture of the overall function of the new democratic society. This is not so much a book on "how to" meet this end goal of winning power, as there are countless revolutionary works in existence on the subject. Rather, consider it a projection of where we would go once worker democracy is won. The book makes very clear that it's impossible to predict this entirely down to the wire, as every revolutionary movement in history has been different, and were carried out differently between different regions and cultures.

From front-to-back, you'll find a chapter on the following issues: fighting climate change, addressing the existing crippling debt, agricultural reconstruction, housing and transportation, healthcare, education, crime/policing, and imperialist wars around the world. Each chapter on these topics is broken down into sub-categories, addressing how we would work with what the nation as a whole has, but without the privatization factor, as well as how to improve upon it. The importance of common ownership of human needs is unfolded, and the book does a stellar job of emphasizing the fact that almost everything that we would need is already within the realm of production, and that we are post-scarcity. Existing in private hands, hoarded by the few does no good if it can only be distributed to whoever has money for it, which is made clear. Similarities are drawn to existing examples of socialism, such as in Cuba or the People's Republic of China, as well as past examples like the USSR. Letting in examples of where something has already been done successfully helps the reader understand how possible it is. Moreover, the emphasis on the post-scarcity of our nation points out how we could even dodge many of the issues that plagued earlier revolutions and growth within them.

An important part of keeping capitalism alive is keeping the working class divided, and targeting the rights of certain groups, such as women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. No chapters fail to note this obvious characteristic under the current state, be it the way climate change affects the global south worse than the imperial core, the institutional racism that targets nonwhites causing the imbalance keeping the prison system alive, and other problems within this realm. Additionally, Socialist Reconstruction points out not only how it would change this, but how the goal of the state under socialism would not require these oppressive facets by removing the profit incentive. Taking that yet a step further, included in the plans are steps that will be taken to repair nations that fell victim to U.S. imperialism, as well as oppressed groups within our own borders.

Often times, questions arise around the ability to pay for such changes. How will we afford free healthcare? How can we provide housing for everyone? What of the small business owners that work just as hard as their employees? How can somebody study without paying tuition? The list could go on. There is no shortage of answers here. Along with each chapter's breakdown, there are given names to departments that would come to exist under the new leadership. The new democratic state would also get more hands involved in the community and betterment as a whole, with the guidance of these departments. With everybody having different talents and different levels of passion, the restructuring of work is elaborated on heavily. Without the profit motive, people would instead have the freedom to partake in community growth, since working to make money for a company would no longer be the priority. No political careers would exist anymore, as anybody who takes a higher role in planning would also work alongside everybody else, wherever they're needed. Under this reconstruction, it expresses how leisure time and vacation time would increase, with active participation from everybody being part of the overall conclusion. 

If that's not enough, other tough questions are brought up that aren't directly linked to private companies within the context of each issue. For example, when addressing the destruction of our prison system, most people will jump to the question of "does this mean we will have murderers and rapists running free?" Socialist Reconstruction answers questions of this type, and shows how confinement or isolation would be a last resort to help public safety, rather than the immediate go-to for any wrongdoing, in this example. The aforementioned fact of being post-scarcity is brought up in these regards a lot. The ability to convert prisons and policing into recovery and support programs, or the fact that there are vacant homes everywhere while homelessness exists, etc. is drawn as a parallel to the solution to the struggles under capitalism. Scientific data, statistics, and other information that's helpful to point out capitalism's contradictions is used throughout, once again giving the entire scope a realistic angle to observe it from.

As mentioned before, obviously this will present its challenges. The book closes with acknowledging this, mentioning counterrevolutionary action and other resistance that could occur to save private capital. While we can't know exactly what the first ten years would bring under a socialist United States, this truly does an incredible job of at least laying out the goals, the plans of action, and organizing the big questions into digestible solutions. This is not only a work that I would recommend to every comrade, but to anybody who is unsure about socialism, and perhaps even to those who oppose it. Easily this is one of the more important reads to get into the hands of as many people as possible. A brighter future is absolutely attainable, and this book shows us in vast detail why that is so, and not just a utopian dream.

Order a copy of Socialist Reconstruction here