Albert Einstein's "Why Socialism?

A contemporary look at Albert Einsteins classic call for socialism

First published more than seventy-five years ago in the inaugural issue of Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine, Albert Einsteins "Why Socialism?" is an unheralded classic. Written during the McCarthyite witch-hunt in the United States, it constituted an act of defiance, making a case for socialism unrivaled in its time or ours. Yet, its very existence has been an embarrassment to an establishment which has continually sought to downplay the significance of his iconoclastic essay, together with Einsteins socialism itself.

This slim, elegant volume includes Einsteins essay along with a detailed commentary on his essay by Monthly Review editor, John Bellamy Foster. Fosters introduction tells the story of Einsteins life-long commitment to socialism and the events leading to the publication of "Why Socialism?" and contextualizes the importance of his essay as we enter a time of planetary crisis and new threats of world war. Over the three-quarters of century since its publication, "Why Socialism?" is one of those rare statements whose power has only grown, reaching untold numbers of readers over the years. It is of crucial importance that--for the sake of the future of humanity--Einsteins message continues to proliferate.