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Book Review

Thoughts on Socialism

By Comrade Pitt

Socialist Practice: Histories and Theories

By Victor Wallis

“The real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development.” —Albert Einstein

Since Capitalism toppled feudalism it has illustrated for centuries that it is incapable of solving the social issues it created. The gap between rich and poor is steadily widening, systemic racial injustice and disparities continue, as well as irreversible damage to the climate, abject poverty, etc. The year 2020 has unequivocally been a year full of chaos, uncertainty and devastation; however, in the midst of this crisis the curtains have been pulled back on the diabolical functions of capitalism. Consequently, calls for an alternative system echo louder than before.

In this brief essay I want to focus on the recently published book titled Socialist Practice: Histories and Theories by Victor Wallis. Subsequent to reading this book and circulating it in my study group, I find the perspective and arguments presented to be an indispensable contribution to social justice and social change. It draws historical lessons from a Marxist perspective and applies them to the present times in ways that serve as a blueprint to expedite qualitative and quantitative social change for all of humanity and the environment. Socialist Practice builds upon arguments presented by the author in his other books, Democracy Denied and Red-Green Revolution. The author’s research derives from his own direct experiences as an activist and scholar.

Being of the lumpen proletariat class and a prisoner, what I truly appreciate most is how eloquently the arguments are presented in ways which are easily grasped by the readers but also even more importantly, I find this book to be quite empowering. I fully fathomed Victor Wallis’s point when he mentioned that, verbatim, “The oppressed knows the oppressor better than vice versa. This is because the oppressor has an outsized role in the life of the oppressed, which makes understanding the oppressor’s modus operandi a matter of great importance—sometimes a matter of life and death—to the oppressed.”

At the core of Socialist Practice, it provides a blueprint for the current and future generations for ways to fight for a better and radically different world, and I believe this is a book worth a read by anyone.

Write to: Minister of Education-New Afrikan Black Panther Party/United Panther Movement, Comrade Pitt at:

Peter Kamau Mukuria #1197165

Red Onion state prison

P.O. Box 1900

Pound, VA 24279

Instagram@Pittpanther_art