Americans are more receptive to socialism today than any time in memory—with 43% of the adult population willing to embrace some form of the collectivist ideology, according to a May 20th Gallup poll. How has an idea responsible for so much global human suffering found new life in American society? RealClearBooks recently interviewed author Joshua Muravchik about the re-issue of his book, Heaven on Earth: The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of Socialism, and the persistent attraction of a failed idea.
RealClearBooks: What was your goal in writing Heaven on Earth: The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of Socialism?
Heaven on Earth
Encounter Books
Joshua Muravchik: This story is perhaps the greatest tragedy of all time, or at least since the Garden of Eden. Here was an idea that enchanted the world but could not be made flesh. Some of the efforts to realize it brought about unparalleled suffering and ruin. It is what made the twentieth century so awful. I wanted to capture the story in broadest compass, how this idea marched through history, but not in a Hegelian sense as if the idea were a disembodied thing. Rather, I wanted to examine the experiences and thoughts of the key individuals who conceived the original idea and then each of its variants from theory to practice to disaster or recantation.
RCB: People often use socialism, communism, and Marxism interchangeably. Are there important differences between these terms and why are you writing about socialism?
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