We Own the Future
A stunningly original and timely collection that makes the case for democratic socialism—American style.
Editors ▪ January 16, 2020
"Bummed by the news? Beginning to think that even 'the future' is a foolishly utopian concept? This resoundingly hopeful book will hit you like a shot of espresso. Read it now!"—Barbara Ehrenreich, bestselling author of Nickel and Dimed, Bait and Switch, and This Land Is Their Land
According to a 2019 Gallup poll, 43 percent of all Americans, and 58 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 years old, believe that socialism would be a good thing for the country. In the words of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, "what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity. There is no other force, there is no other party, there is no other real ideology . . . that is asserting the minimum elements necessary to lead a dignified American life." Not since the Great Depression have so many Americans questioned the fundamental tenets of capitalism and expressed openness to a socialist alternative.
We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism—American Style, a new essay collection edited by Michael Kazin, Kate Aronoff, and Peter Dreier, offers a road map to making this alternative a reality, giving readers a practical vision of a future that is more democratic, egalitarian, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable. The book includes a crash course in the history and practice of democratic socialism, a vivid picture of what democratic socialism in America might look like in practice, and compelling proposals for how to get there from the age of Trump and beyond.
With contributions from some of the nation's leading political activists and analysts, We Own the Future articulates a clear and uncompromising view from the left.
The book can be purchased for $17.99 (plus shipping) directly from Dissent here.
You can access a free study guide companion to We Own the Future here.
"A vital collection of ideas for building a more humane society. If an American socialism is on the horizon, it will take coalitions of socialists and liberals to bring into view. Hopefully this book, and its insights, will shape the course they take."—Jamelle Bouie, The New York Times
"We Own the Future makes clear that democratic socialism brings essential contributions to the pursuit of a more perfect union in America today."—Rev. William J. Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
"Aronoff, Dreier, and Kazin have brought together an exemplary set of essays that sparkle with insight and optimism. The news may be dark, but reading this book will lift your spirits."—Frances Fox Piven, distinguished professor of political science emerita, The Graduate Center, CUNY
This vital collection, available now for just $17.99, includes chapters by:
J. Mijin Cha
Michelle Chen
David Dayen
Andrea Flynn
Sarita Gupta
Darrick Hamilton
Susan Holmberg
Robert Kuttner
Sarah Leonard
Stephen Lerner
Joseph A. McCartin
Harold Meyerson
Tejasvi Nagaraja
Pedro Noguera
Dorothy Roberts
Aviva Stahl
Thomas J. Sugrue
Michael Walzer
Dorian Warren
Felicia Wong
David Zirin
Recorded past events:
We Own the Future: Kate Aronoff, Aviva Stahl, Tejasvi Nagaraja, and Sarah Leonard [VIDEO]
We Own the Future with Kate Aronoff and Mychal Denzel Smith [C-SPAN2 VIDEO]
We Own the Future: A Virtual Discussion with Kate Aronoff, Sarah Leonard, and Bill Fletcher Jr. [VIDEO]
The Fight for Public Education: A Virtual Discussion with Pedro Noguera, Nicole McCormick, and Michael Bennett [VIDEO]
The Future of Workers: A Virtual Discussion with Sarita Gupta, Stephen Lerner, Joseph A. McCartin, and Bianca Cunningham
Wednesday, July 22 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT
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Austin Frerick, who launched a bid for Iowa's third congressional district on an antimonopoly platform, dropped out when party leaders made it clear that they preferred his better-funded opponents. Photo courtesy of Austin Frerick.
Early voting locations in the Indianapolis metro area in 2016, via IndyStar.
An Eritrean refugee in Khartoum. Photo by John Power.
Khartoum as seen from the river Nile. Photo by John Power.
Common migration routes from East Africa to Europe. Route information adapted from the International Organization for Migration, August 2015, by Colin Kinniburgh. Countries party to the Khartoum process are shaded in orange (note: not all shown on this map).
At the 1936 International Conference of Business Cycle Institutes, sponsored by the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research, Vienna. Ludwig von Mises is seated in the center with mustache and cigarette. Gottfried Haberler also pictured, at right. (Source)
In 1896, William Jennings Bryan, a Democrat from Nebraska, ran for president on a fusion ticket with the Populist Party. This cartoonist from a Republican magazine thought the "Popocratic" ticket was too ideologically mismatched to win. Bryan did lose, but his campaign, the first of three he waged for the White House, transformed the Democrats into an anti-corporate, pro-labor party. Cartoon from Judge (1896) via Library of Congress
Sketch for a 1976 poster by the New York Wages for Housework Committee (MayDay Rooms / Creative Commons)
Keith Vaughan, "Drawing of a seated male nude," 1949. Courtesy the estate of Keith Vaughan / Creative Commons.
Political strategist Jessica Byrd. Courtesy of Three Points Strategies.
Stacey Abrams, Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia. Photo courtesy of David Kidd/Governing.
A drawing made for the author by a five-year-old girl in detention at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas (Courtesy of Nara Milanich)
Mayor Bill de Blasio inaugurates a new bus line in the Bronx, September 2017 (New York City Department of Transportation / Flickr)
Luxury condominium towers under construction in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 2013 (Michael Tapp / Flickr)
Hydrocarbons from the Williams Central compressor, photographed with a FLIR thermal imaging camera and a normal digital camera, Brooklyn Township, Pennsylvania, 2014. © Nina Berman/Marcellus Shale Documentary Project 2014.
Composite of drilling rig image from Rome, Pennsylvania and hundreds of images taken by a Hop Bottom, Pennsylvania resident of the volume of truck traffic passing in front of a neighbor's home over four days of the operation of a nearby shale gas well pad. © Nina Berman/Marcellus Shale Documentary Project 2015.
The nightmare situations preppers imagine are already happening—to people whose wealth and status don't protect them. Above, Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico, October 2017 (Agustín Montañez / National Guard)
From the music video for "Unforgettable," by French Montana, featuring Swae Lee (FrenchMontanaVEVO / Youtube)
Wizkid performing at Royal Albert Hall, London, September 2017 (Michael Tubi / Alamy Live News)
The cover of L'antinorm, published by the Homosexual Front for Revolutionary Action (FHAR), February 1973. The subtitle reads "Workers of the world, stroke yourselves!"
Jair Bolsonaro, at a debate about violence against women in Brazil's chamber of deputies, September 2016. Photo by Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil.
The front page of the Canard, February 28, 2018. Courtesy of Le Canard enchaîné.
Selling drugs in the shadow of an abandoned factory, North Philadelphia. Photo by George Karandinos.
Bundle of $10 bags of heroin. Photo by Fernando Montero Castrillo.
On a dilapidated Havana street, an elderly man searches through the garbage. February 2018, Havana, Cuba. Photo by David Himbert / Hans Lucas Studio.
A state employee reads the newspaper at the reception of the Defense Committee of the Revolution (CDR). March 2016, Havana, Cuba. Photo by David Himbert / Hans Lucas Studio.
A street vendor selling tropical fruits in front of a Benetton shop in Old Havana. May 2017, Havana, Cuba. Photo by David Himbert / Hans Lucas Studio.
At the University of Bristol, February 28 (Bristol UCU / Facebook)
Students rally in support of the lecturers' strike, February 23 (Bristol UCU / Facebook)
Part of a much larger painted banner in Bristol, February 28 (Bristol UCU / Facebook)
AMLO mural in Mexico City, 2007 (Randal Sheppard / Flickr)
MORENA supporters at a rally in Itzapalapa, Mexico City, April 2015 (Eneas De Troya / Flickr)
Audience members waiting for the program to begin at a MORENA rally, March 2016 (Eneas De Troya / Flickr)
MORENA supporter leafletting against energy reforms, 2013 (Eneas De Troya / Flickr)
Andrés Manuel López Obrador on the campaign trail during his previous presidential run, May 2012 (Arturo Alfaro Galán)
Courtesy of Robert Greene
At a protest against the alleged Pizzagate conspiracy, Washington, D.C., March 25, 2017 (Blink O'fanaye / Flickr)
The Kurds
[W]hen we refer to all Kurdish fighters synonymously, we simply blur the fact that they have very different politics. . . right now, yes, the people are facing the Islamic State threat, so it's very important to have a unified focus. But the truth is, ideologically and politically these are very, very different systems. Actually almost opposite to each other. —Dilar Dirik, "Rojava vs. the World," February 2015
The Kurds, who share ethnic and cultural similarities with Iranians and are mostly Muslim by religion (largely Sunni but with many minorities), have long struggled for self-determination. After World War I, their lands were divided up between Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. In Iran, though there have been small separatist movements, Kurds are mostly subjected to the same repressive treatment as everyone else (though they also face Persian and Shi'ite chauvinism, and a number of Kurdish political prisoners were recently executed). The situation is worse in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, where the Kurds are a minority people subjected to ethnically targeted violations of human rights.
Iraq: In 1986–89, Saddam Hussein conducted a genocidal campaign in which tens of thousands were murdered and thousands of Kurdish villages destroyed, including by bombing and chemical warfare. After the first Gulf War, the UN sought to establish a safe haven in parts of Kurdistan, and the United States and UK set up a no-fly zone. In 2003, the Kurdish peshmerga sided with the U.S.-led coalition against Saddam Hussein. In 2005, after a long struggle with Baghdad, the Iraqi Kurds won constitutional recognition of their autonomous region, and the Kurdistan Regional Government has since signed oil contracts with a number of Western oil companies as well as with Turkey. Iraqi Kurdistan has two main political parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), both clan-based and patriarchal.
Turkey: For much of its modern history, Turkey has pursued a policy of forced assimilation towards its minority peoples; this policy is particularly stringent in the case of the Kurds—until recently referred to as the "mountain Turks"—who make up 20 percent of the total population. The policy has included forced population transfers; a ban on use of the Kurdish language, costume, music, festivals, and names; and extreme repression of any attempt at resistance. Large revolts were suppressed in 1925, 1930, and 1938, and the repression escalated with the formation of the PKK as a national liberation party, resulting in civil war in the Kurdish region from 1984 to 1999.
Syria: Kurds make up perhaps 15 percent of the population and live mostly in the northeastern part of Syria. In 1962, after Syria was declared an Arab republic, a large number of Kurds were stripped of their citizenship and declared aliens, which made it impossible for them to get an education, jobs, or any public benefits. Their land was given to Arabs. The PYD was founded in 2003 and immediately banned; its members were jailed and murdered, and a Kurdish uprising in Qamishli was met with severe military violence by the regime. When the uprising against Bashar al Assad began as part of the Arab Spring, Kurds participated, but after 2012, when they captured Kobani from the Syrian army, they withdrew most of their energy from the war against Assad in order to set up a liberated area. For this reason, some other parts of the Syrian resistance consider them Assad's allies. The Kurds in turn cite examples of discrimination against them within the opposition.
Proclamation of the reclaiming of Alcatraz by the Indians of All Tribes, November 1969 (National Parks Service)
Entrance to Alcatraz in 2008 (Babak Fakhamzadeh / Flickr)
Letter from the Indians of All Tribes to the National Council on Indian Opportunity, January 1970 (National Parks Service)
Sign on Alcatraz during occupation, 1969–60 (National Parks Service)
Members of the People's Guard on motorcycles, 1920. Courtesy of Eric Lee.
Armed group of the Menshevik People's Guard, 1920. Courtesy of Eric Lee.
Eleven-year-old Liza Greenberg, daughter of David and Suzanne Nossel. Photo by Todd Gitlin.
Protest against neoliberalism in Colombia, 2013
In a scene from HBO's The Deuce, streetwalker Ruby presents an officer with a property voucher to avoid arrest. Courtesy of HBO.
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