Contemporary Socialism
Rae, John, 1845-1915Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019
Rating 3.2- Word count
- 1.2M words
- Chapters
- 120
Tags
English Originals Politics SocialismSocial ObservationCivic AwarenessReform ThoughtPolitical ThoughtSocial CritiqueMoral DilemmaAcademic StudyIntellectual CommentaryTheoretical DiscussionSummary
Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Contemporary Socialism by John RaeAuthor: Rae, John, 1845-1915,Language: English, Class: HX: Social sciences: Socialism, Communism, Anarchism, Release Date: Sep 8, 2011Editor's review
This book is the late nineteenth-century British scholar John Rae's observations on and survey of the socialist currents of his time, a primary-source work of early socialist studies. Its value lies not in offering the latest contemporary theoretical conclusions, but in showing how an intellectual a century ago understood, classified and evaluated the then-emerging socialist movement. Readers can see the early English-language reception context of the concept of socialism, and the ways in which public ownership, cooperatives, social reform and related issues were discussed. As a public-domain e-book, it suits use as supplementary material for intellectual history, the history of political thought or the history of socialism's diffusion, and as background reading for general readers interested in nineteenth-century social thought. It is best read as a historical text rather than contemporary policy analysis; noting its period limitations and the questions it poses, and reading it alongside general histories, will make the reading more rewarding.Who it's for
A good fit for
- University students and teachers studying the history of socialist thought or political theory
- History enthusiasts interested in nineteenth-century European social thought
- Readers who need to understand early English-language discussions of socialism
- Researchers compiling public-domain texts or collecting materials on intellectual history
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking cutting-edge analysis of contemporary socialist theory
- Practitioner readers expecting policy recommendations or solutions to real-world problems
- Casual readers who prefer light narrative and lack patience for theoretical reading
Reading tips
- Start with the table of contents and introduction to grasp the author's problem framework and classificatory logic, then move on to specific chapters.
- Read alongside a general history of nineteenth-century Europe or of the socialist movement to help reconstruct the text's context.
- Note the core concepts the author uses as you read, and compare them with contemporary usage to discern shifts in meaning.
- It can be skimmed as a source text, prioritizing chapters relevant to one's own research topic.
About the publisher
Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.
Contents
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FAQ
Does this book discuss contemporary socialism?
"Contemporary" in the title refers to the author's own era. John Rae lived from 1845 to 1915, and the book reflects late nineteenth-century English-language observations of the socialist currents of that time, not today's theoretical landscape. Readers should treat it as a document in intellectual history and note its historical context and conceptual differences.Is this book suitable as an introduction to socialist theory?
Not really as a theoretical primer. It is a historical exposition that presumes some background knowledge of nineteenth-century social thought, and its conceptual usage differs from contemporary textbooks. Beginners should first read general histories or textbooks to build a framework, then return to this book, which makes its questions and historical position easier to understand.What should I keep in mind when reading the public-domain e-book edition?
This book is released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain electronic text, which generally preserves the original language and formatting. Readers should note the original English expression and nineteenth-century argumentative conventions; using a reading tool with dictionary lookup and note-taking is recommended, and one should pay attention to edition information and cite the source and publishing platform when quoting.This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Rae, John, 1845-1915 Author · British · 1845–1915John Rae (1845–1915) was a Scottish journalist and biographer. Public information about his early education and professional career is limited, and his influence rests mainly on two books on quite different subjects. The first, Life of Adam Smith, traces the life and intellectual development of the pioneering economist in a biographical mode and remains a useful reference for understanding Smith as a person and a thinker. The second, Contemporary Socialism, reviews for contemporary readers the rise of socialist thought and the debates surrounding it. One work profiles a thinker, the other examines a living movement, showing Rae's dual approach as a researcher of historical sources and a public commentator. His writing is clear and practical, attentive to facts and context, and is still cited in relevant scholarship.