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What Is to Be Undone: A Modern Revolutionary Discussion of Classical Left Ideologies
Book by Albert, Michael
332 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Michael Albert
79 books66 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.
American activist, speaker, and writer. He is co-editor of ZNet, and co-editor and co-founder of Z Magazine. He also co-founded South End Press and has written numerous books and articles. He developed along with Robin Hahnel the economic vision called participatory economics.
Albert identifies himself as a market abolitionist and favors democratic participatory planning as an alternative.
During the 1960s, Albert was a member of Students for a Democratic Society, and was active in the anti-Vietnam War movement.
Albert's memoir, Remembering Tomorrow: From SDS to Life After Capitalism (ISBN 1583227423), was published in 2007 by Seven Stories Press.
American activist, speaker, and writer. He is co-editor of ZNet, and co-editor and co-founder of Z Magazine. He also co-founded South End Press and has written numerous books and articles. He developed along with Robin Hahnel the economic vision called participatory economics.
Albert identifies himself as a market abolitionist and favors democratic participatory planning as an alternative.
During the 1960s, Albert was a member of Students for a Democratic Society, and was active in the anti-Vietnam War movement.
Albert's memoir, Remembering Tomorrow: From SDS to Life After Capitalism (ISBN 1583227423), was published in 2007 by Seven Stories Press.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 23, 2026
Albert is co-creator of Znet (in my opinion the most important leftist website on earth) and SouthEnd Press, a radical book press. He has since developed the idea of Parecon (participatory economics) because of a rejection of coordinatorism and the market.
A short but very good critique of Leninism and coordinatorism. His visionary ideas are amongst the best in left politics, but the books that I have read don't always succeed in writing them down in a very inspiring way.
One flaw which drops my rating: there is one area where he kinda floats off about Mao even ending up sounding like he supports him. It is consequently very weak on Mao. Perhaps we need to consider when it was written (1975)though.
It has an excellent bibliography: it covers the Russian Revolution, Marxism-Leninism, the Chinese Revolution, Maoism, Anarchism, the New Left, and is admirably concerned with forming a new ideology and exploring the oft-neglected psychological side of leftist politics.
Not many books are brave enough to take on such an important array of things, and moreover in a concise, understandable way. The book appeared to be somewhat unfinished though.
(the book is free online: http://books.zcommunications.org/book...)
A short but very good critique of Leninism and coordinatorism. His visionary ideas are amongst the best in left politics, but the books that I have read don't always succeed in writing them down in a very inspiring way.
One flaw which drops my rating: there is one area where he kinda floats off about Mao even ending up sounding like he supports him. It is consequently very weak on Mao. Perhaps we need to consider when it was written (1975)though.
It has an excellent bibliography: it covers the Russian Revolution, Marxism-Leninism, the Chinese Revolution, Maoism, Anarchism, the New Left, and is admirably concerned with forming a new ideology and exploring the oft-neglected psychological side of leftist politics.
Not many books are brave enough to take on such an important array of things, and moreover in a concise, understandable way. The book appeared to be somewhat unfinished though.
(the book is free online: http://books.zcommunications.org/book...)
December 15, 2013
I enjoyed the way Albert took different ideologies of the left, critiqued them for both their problems and their merits, and offered reasons why they may/may not be applicable for today. If there is anything I didn't enjoy it would be that I didn't feel he was consistent in his criticism. It's all but common sense that Leninism was excessively authoritarian and the consequences of that lead to real human crisis and suffering, but he basically gives Mao a starry-eyed free pass (either Albert didn't understand the actual conditions in China caused by Maoism or he figures a dictator is only as bad as his 'inner philosophy'?)
Some of his cause for rejecting certain ideologies also flaws him. *If* he can't accept ____ because they don't address racism and sexism. Gasp! I might as well write off Albert because he never once acknowledges LGBT issues. Move on, next! Y'know...
Some of his cause for rejecting certain ideologies also flaws him. *If* he can't accept ____ because they don't address racism and sexism. Gasp! I might as well write off Albert because he never once acknowledges LGBT issues. Move on, next! Y'know...
August 16, 2008
very good
Want to Read
December 2, 2012a must to read...free on-line
September 28, 2015
Re-Read
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews