Long detour the history and future of the American left

Originally published: 2003.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-269) and index.

1. The First Round: A Home of Their Own -- 2. Birth Pangs: Socialism Enters the Real World -- 3. Limits of Growth: Principles Transcend Party -- 4. Good Intentions: The Russian Revolution As an Act of War -- 5. Playing Catch-Up but Losing Ground -- 6. Capitalism Collapses: Whatever Happened to Socialism? -- 7. Fronts, Decay, Amnesia, and a New Left -- 8. Thigh Bone Connected to the Hip Bone: The Women's Movement, Civil Rights, and the War Machine -- 9. The Hard Part: Socialist Principles in the Post-Industrial Era -- 10. Entering the Mainstream: What Is to Be Done?

"The Long Detour is an overview of the history of socialism in the United States and of the continuing relevance of socialist principles today. Historian and journalist James Weinstein, a lifelong socialist and one-time Communist, takes readers from the movement's early years of utopian communities, through the heyday of engagement with the makers of corporate America, and into the future of a de-industrializing era. He contends that socialism as a political movement was sidetracked when Communist domination of the American left stifled creative social thought and diverted the traditional left into sterile disputes over the true nature of the Soviet Union. And he argues that while "real existing socialism" - which is what the Soviets called their system - is dead, the humane social principles articulated by Marx and the leaders of the pre-1917 socialist movement remain vitally important to those on the left who seek to realize the promise of American democracy."--BOOK JACKET.