Is socialism an impossible, discredited dream or the only realistic path for human survival? If you're not sure of the answer, or are just curious about what the Left really believes in, you need to read Maass. He's the Tom Paine of the contemporary American left."
--Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums

"This is a vivid, fluent and rare book about socialism for those uninterested in tracts and excited by new prospects."
--John Pilger, author of Freedom Next Time

Growing numbers of people are disgusted by the disaster of poverty, war, oppression, and environmental destruction caused by global capitalism. But is there an alternative? Author Alan Maass argues that socialism-a democratically planned economy based on workers' control-is rational, necessary, and possible. With an afterword by Howard Zinn.

Alan Maass is the editor of the website SocialistWorker.org.

Alan Maass is the longtime editor of Socialist Worker newspaper and the daily Web site SocialistWorker.org. He lives in Chicago, Illinois. Historian Howard Zinn is the author of numerous books, including A People's History of the United States.