But he is not the grand daddy pappy. [The Socialist Awakening by John B. Judis]

"A person of the left, Judis specializes in speaking truth to liberals." — E.J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post

As the pandemic depression lays bare the failure of market capitalism worldwide, and as protesters flood the streets in unprecedented numbers seeking racial and economic equality, you can find something in common among many of those disillusioned with the way things are—socialism. How did this happen? Why now?

John Judis, himself a veteran of socialist movements, explores how an ideology thought to be long dead has taken hold as a broad movement among younger people dissatisfied with mainstream politics both on the right and the left, in America, Great Britain, and elsewhere in Europe and the world. From Karl Marx to Eduard Bernstein, Eugene Debs to Victor Berger, Bernie Sanders to Jeremy Corbyn, The Socialist Awakening chronicles the rebirth of an idea driven by a rising anti-capitalist resentment among those looking to reclaim public power over the direction of private enterprise—an idea that has become urgent in the wake of the pandemic and the economic depression.

John B. Judis is Editor-at-Large at Talking Points Memo and author of many books, including The Nationalist Revival: Trade, Immigration, and the Revolt Against Globalization; The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics; Genisis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origin of the Arab-Israeli Conflict; and The Emerging Democratic Majority, cowritten with Ruy Teixeira. He has written for numerous publications, including  The New Republic, The National Journal, The New York Times Magazine, and The Washington Post Magazine. Born in Chicago, he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Silver Spring, MD. 

Once upon a time, in my ignorant, underdeveloped brain youth, I called myself a Republican, mostly owing to the strength of my then social conservatism. Happy to have grown out of that, because for the length of my life my policy leanings have generally skewed Democratic, I find myself wondering as time goes by if what I really am is a Socialist. In the time of Corona, socialist and community oriented ideals have become prominent, especially on social media (and specifically Twitter), so I've been increasingly exposed to new ideas, and new schools of thought that permeate those ideas as they play out structurally. So I'm generally in the mood to read about socialism.

Out of Columbia Global Reports, John B. Judis' The Socialist Awakening: What's Different Now About the Left has its skew. After reading his exploration of different schools of socialist thought, it'd be ridiculous to expect otherwise. The novella report is a solid introduction to or brief history of British and American socialism. Judis explores his own relationship with socialist parties, adding weight to his presentation of changing socialist thought. So all in all I enjoyed my read and think the book a timely read. However, the framing of Bernie Sanders as the grand daddy pappy of American socialism is a bit ridiculous. Yes, his public image as buoyed by his presidential runs has brought the conversation to the forefront, but that he is central to it all was a bit much for me. The history of the exploration of this ideology in the United States is long and storied, with many other scholars and figures; it can't be all centered around Bernie. While I haven't exhausted any literature or done a focused self-study on socialism, I've been exposed to enough to know this.

And I can accept his viewpoint and disagree strongly with it. The call for a socialism that embraces nationalism and patriotism, makes sense to me, logically and in the way one looks to the past for the recipe to success. But it feels like a betrayal. And maybe that's because I'm the child of immigrants. But the idea that for socialism to work closed borders are a must, especially in a country that loves to promote itself as being built as a melange of immigrants? It doesn't ring entirely true for me. I enjoyed my read, but my personal leanings are not entirely aligned with the author's, leanings which were put forth as definitive and authoritative. The other big issue I had is that as someone generally politically minded, not bathed in the deep theoretical, as an entry book this was not the most accessible read. So I question what level of familiarity with political theory the intended reader of this book is expected to have. 3 stars from me.

Judis' The Socialist Awakening is set for publication September 29, 2020.