Socialism From Below

With rising income inequality featured in the Presidential campaign of self-described socialist Bernie Sanders, a new generation of activists is exploring socialist ideas in a serious way. Democratic Socialists of America currently has 40,000 members and is part of the ongoing debate about whether socialism can be won through the ballot box or if it must be built from the struggle of ordinary people in the streets and workplace.

In exploring the question: ‘What do we mean by socialism?,’ Hal Draper argues genuine liberation can be won only through self-emancipation.

As a new generation discovers socialism, this important text by American Marxist Hal Draper makes the case that genuine liberation can only come from the self-activity of workers. Draper outlines the important distinction in the socialist movement between those who looked for freedom to be handed down from above and those who saw the revolutionary struggle as being led by ordinary people from below for their own liberation.