Socialism 101: From the Bolsheviks and Karl Marx to Universal Healthcare and the Democratic Socialists, Everything You Need to Know about Socialism (Adams 101 Series)

I had an issue with the first book received (book manufacturing quality was poor) and received this one as a replacement. It is a much better copy than the first one. No issues this time at all. Thank you!

I got this as an audio book first. It really did help me understand what socialism is in historical perspective. There are different flavors like, for example, social democracy is different from other types of socialism. It is a good introduction.

Everything as expected .. on time and in good condition. Am pleased with the service and the product.

Explains back story and basics.

While the Author claims the book isn't trying to "convince readers of one position or another", She paints most of the socialist leaders as the good guys and conservative leaders like Thatcher and Reagan as economic failures. This view simply has no grounding in historical fact. History has shown that while socialism delivers far more equal outcomes in a society, it accomplishes this by severe reductions in economic freedom which ultimately result in far less prosperity. This why Marxist socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried - everyone was equal, but they were all equally poor. The notable exception in these economies were high ranking government officials who were typically quite rich.Look up socialism in the dictionary and you'll see that it means government ownership and operation of the means of production (factories, businesses, etc). But today many advocates of socialism mistakenly define it as simply having a big welfare state. The author also makes this common mistake by pointing to Sweden as an example of "successful socialism". But Sweden isn't socialist, it's just a capitalist country with a big welfare state. In fact, 65% of the wealth in Sweden is owned by just 10% of the population, and it has more billionaires per capita than the USA. In fact, Sweden doesn't even have a minimim wage.The Author also highlights another common misconception about Sweden - the idea that it's massive welfare state is funded primarily by higher taxes on rich people and big business. But Sweden has a low corporate tax of just 22% (until recently, the USA was at 35%) and the rich aren't the only ones paying high taxes. Everyone that earns more than $60K/year is subject to a 57% tax rate, and there is a whopping 25% sales tax on everyone, including the poor. I doubt Karl Marx would approve.

I was given this book. I found it to be a concise and useful read about the history of socialism. In addition, I gained a better understanding of who some of the leaders in various countries were and how they differed from one another re: socialism.Too many US folk disdain Socialism without knowing what it really means. This book is neither pro nor con but provides a pretty balanced view, making it a good starting place to learn and think. Seems like it may be a good book for a book club to read and discuss.

The author either doesn't understand capitalism or doesn't think you do. Let me give you an example. In the sample you'll find here the author talks about the production of a car and who profits. Her statement is that the shareholders profit more from the production of the car than the workers. She fails to explain that the shareholders took the risk of making production possible. It slips her mind that human capitol is exceedingly expensive and in many manufacturing operations represents the lions share of the cost of production, and therefore consumes the lions share of the revenue. Shareholders make their returns from a completely different mechanism. Shareholder returns largely come from other investors future perception of the value of the stock. Not from the sale of a car. That's a different business model called a partnership. Now, partnerships can be corporations. They can be non-profit corporations or C corporations or S corporations ... The point is you must first understand corporations before you attempt to tell anyone about revenue sources, otherwise you sound like a an idiot or a democratic political candidate. Here's something to think about, sometimes investors pony up millions to start a corporation. Years later the corporation has never made a profit. The investors sell their shares for a loss. Did the workers still get paid? So in a capitalist society you make a choice to be either an investor or a worker, sometimes you're both. But you decide.Before the big bad government came along and screwed it up, did the workers have healthcare with reasonable deductibles and the ability to actually see a doctor? The one they were going to be able to keep until like everyone who's ever lived under a socialist government they discovered you can't trust a central planning socialist farmer on a mission, once you become the farmed.I could go on forever about how socialism is a disaster, and as Marx even said, it's just a pit stop on the way to communism, when, as Margaret Thatcher famously said you run out of other peoples money.I'm sorry if the educational system failed you by not teaching you the basics regarding how economics, corporations and international finance works. Then compounded the error by filling your head with crap instead of the lessons of nations past. But the education system is a keynsian (he was a socialist) ponzi scheme. It's own pension obligations run by democrats and populated by socialist government workers. That's why you weren't offered basic financial literacy skills but instead turned into an impoverished worker by good ole Mrs. Rozenblatz. Why do you think true school choice isn't available to you? Because the pension system needs your money, and the unions buy politicians. Education is big business, the hell with the children, it's a giant socialized business.Wow, there's your sign as Bill Engvall would say! The perfect example of socialism is the public school system. Everyone owns it, committees control it, it's an acknowledged failure and getting worse all the time, if you opt out you still pay in, and you can't effect real change. There's your socialism 101.

Pretty solid, covers trade, the period of the 1800's, revolutions, all the way to 2019 politics. Very good primer for anyone wanting to understand socialism.

Socialism viewed from American perspective. Subtly tries to show more flaws and less merits.