The ABCs of Socialism Quotes

“You can’t change the world
for women by simply inserting female faces
at the top of an unchanged system of social
and economic power.”
― Bhaskar Sunkara, The ABCs of Socialism

“That’s the socialist vision: abolishing private ownership of the things we all need and use—factories, banks, offices, natural resources, utilities, communication and transportation infrastructure—and replacing it with social ownership, thereby undercutting the power of elites to hoard wealth and power. And that’s also the ethical appeal of socialism: a world where people don’t try to control others for personal gain, but instead cooperate so that everyone can flourish.”
― Bhaskar Sunkara, The ABCs of Socialism

“More importantly, conflating all government action with socialism forces us to defend many of the most objectionable forms of state activity, including those that we would want to abolish in a free and just society.”
― Bhaskar Sunkara, The ABCs of Socialism

“A person’s income or a corporation’s profits are in part the result of governments collecting taxes and actively creating the conditions under which they were able to make money in the first place.”
― Bhaskar Sunkara, The ABCs of Socialism

“institutions that shape our communities is the key to ending exploitation. That’s the socialist vision: abolishing private ownership of the things we all need and use—factories, banks, offices, natural resources, utilities, communication and transportation infrastructure—and replacing it with social ownership, thereby undercutting the power of elites to hoard wealth and power. And that’s also the ethical appeal of socialism: a world where people don’t try to control others for personal gain, but instead cooperate so that everyone can flourish. As for personal property, you can keep your Kenny Loggins records. In fact, in a society free from the destructive economic busts endemic to capitalism, with more employment security, and necessities removed from the sphere of the market, your record collection would be free from the danger zone because you wouldn’t have to pawn it for rent money. That’s socialism in a nutshell: less John Lennon, more Kenny Loggins. ▪”
― Bhaskar Sunkara, The ABCs of Socialism