Why You Should Be a Socialist

October 21, 2019
Current Affairs editor Robinson profiles the progressive movement shaking up the Democratic Party’s old guard and makes the case for a new brand of socialism in this cogent debut. He begins by identifying sources of “millennial discontent, ” including the 2007–2008 financial crisis, student loan debt, and disgust with status quo politics following the 2016 elections. According to Robinson, the “neoliberal” belief that “capitalism should be free to do pretty much whatever it pleases” has produced massive inequality and a world teetering on the edge of “civilizational suicide.” He addresses numerous concerns in no particular order (global warming, racism, the opioid epidemic, rising suicide rates, sexism), and loosely defines socialism as a “kind of instinct” that “refuse to accept that this is the best we can do.” He distinguishes between “socialist ethics” and the “socialist econom” of authoritarian regimes like the Soviet Union, and sketches the history of socialism in America. Robinson outlines the many goals contemporary socialists such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are working to achieve, including campaign finance reform and “Medicaid for all,” and advises readers on how to help. His breezy humor and firm command of source material ingratiate, but the slipperiness of his terminology (“socialism” is both “pragmatic” and “utopian” and as difficult to define as “love,” he writes) will frustrate skeptical readers. Curious liberals, however, will value this lucid guide to leftist politics.