By Sylvia Barack Fishman

Waves of Jews emigrating to the United States from colonial to contemporary times were often fleeing active persecution, regarded as pariahs by surrounding Christians and Muslim majorities in their lands of origin. But in America, despite a range of difficult challenges, the status and image of Jews were both gradually transformed. Several excellent studies document how perceptions of Jews as a clearly defined “race” gradually eroded as the American twentieth century wore on.1 Still, among children of the immigrant generation, and among Holocaust survivors and their descendants especially, many American Jews continued to believe that Jews were potentially vulnerable, and should remain vigilant to potential antisemitic flare-ups. Even Jews born in the United States often felt that White Anglo-Saxon Protestant America, while “exceptional” and much more benign than most countries of origin in its treatment of the Jews, still exhibited occasional signs of antisemitism. Even after American Jews had become “white folks,” many insisted that their Jewish “whiteness” was still different than that of the WASPs, whom novelist Philip Roth desig- nated “the real owners of this place,”2 and Jewish often seemed to be “whiteness of a different color.”3 This Jewish sense of vulnerability was part of the motivation for American Jewish political and social activity on behalf of other oppressed groups and new immigrants: As sociologist Marshall Sklare demonstrated in his groundbreaking studies, many suburbanizing liberal American Jews in the 1950s and 1960s asserted that one of the most “essential” activities in order to be a “good Jew” was to “work for civil rights” and to help “attain equality for Negroes.”4 Many Jews took as their foundational religious motto the biblical principle “Be kind to the stranger because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:19), meaning that Jews are a people whose lives intersect with other oppressed peoples, and Jews are responsible for helping other oppressed peoples. No longer stereotyped as foreign-looking, accented and struggling newcomers, successive generations of American Jews were increasingly (and sometimes negatively) portrayed as typifying the bourgeoisie or sometimes the nouveau riche. Satirical portrayals created by Jewish authors and filmmakers contributed: Herman Wouk, Philip Roth, and countless film and television screen-writers shone unflattering spotlights on aggressively upwardly mobile Jewish men and on Jewish women as the incarnation of spiritually bankrupt Judaism-as-consumerism. Ironically, among politically right-wing Americans, Jews were simultaneously stereotyped as communist “Reds” during and through the years leading up to the McCarthy/House Un-American Activities Committee hearings. Both sides of this negative stereotyping—the Jew as capitalist consumer and the Jew as “Red Menace”—reveal the durability of Jews as a distinctive, “othered” minority American group. (continued_

OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES no. 1/2021

Oxford ◆ Cambridge ◆ New York.◆ Jerusalem ◆ Toronto.◆ Rome;

The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy

ISCAP 35p.

By Colin Murphy 

SUMMARY The growth in accessibility of online spaces and digital channels has been remarkable in recent years, providing citizens with many benefits, including enhanced communication, greater learning opportunities and easier access to private and public services. However, this growth has seen a commensurate increase in the associated risks and harms. Cyberbullying, cyber-violence and sexual extortion are just some of the dangers to which people, particularly vulnerable people, are exposed in the digital environment. In our 'always-on'world, issues such as cyberbullying can be a relentless experience and can leave victims with a constant sense of being under attack. Like the digital space itself, these dangers know no borders, which can make the problem a global issue. The solutions therefore are not 'one size fits all', but a combination of regional, national and transnational actions. The examples outlined here at regional level, while varying in size and scope, all have a common thread, which is the recognition of the risks to people and the desire to make a positive change. The approaches taken often involve a coordinated or cooperative style, with the involvement of students, teachers and parents. The message is consistent on the importance of recognising the dangers of the internet. It is important for victims to be able to quickly identify cyberbullying, cyberviolence and sexual extortion,and know how to deal with it and whom to turn to, in order to prevent risks from turning into harm.  

Brussels:  EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service, 2025. 9p.

By The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP)

This report examines the Choices Program, a national education initiative for K-12 social studies curriculum housed at Brown University that combines licensed curriculum units, free online content, and professional education workshops to provide a range of resources for secondary school classrooms.17 The program, used by 8,000 schools in all fifty states, reaches over one million students. Our investigation reveals significant concerns regarding the program’s ambiguous structure, lack of transparency, ideological content shifts, and external influences. Organizational structure and transparency issues The report starts by documenting the structure of the Choices Program. Our investigation has uncovered troubling discrepancies in how the Choices Program presents itself: • While operating under Brown University’s umbrella and reputation, the program describes itself both as “a self-funded organization affiliated with Brown University” and as a separate “non-profit organization” based at Brown University. • Brown University enters into contracts “on behalf of” the Choices Program, suggesting a distinct legal structure with actors that are unknown to the schools that purchase the curriculum with no clear understanding of the true organizational structure. • The program’s financial structure and revenue streams remain opaque, with significant discrepancies between reported budgets and apparent revenue. Systematic content changes and ideological shifts that are reinforced by schools’ lack of oversight or content control The report next examines the Choices Program’s shift in narrative with respect to Israel and the fact that its structure impedes meaningful oversight and review of the curriculum. In particular, we demonstrate that the Choices Program has over many years become increasingly anti-Israel and anti-democratic in its approach, reflecting a particular pedagogical change in strategy and application that either went unnoticed by the schools purchasing the curriculum or was not disclosed by Brown University. Analysis of program materials, particularly those concerning the Middle East, reveals concerning patterns: • progressive delegitimization of Israel through content changes across editions; • elimination of key historical context and balanced perspectives; • downplaying of significant diplomatic achievements like the Abraham Accords; • introduction of increasingly partisan theoretical frameworks; • systematic changes in terminology and map presentations. This content and ideological shift has been bolstered by the proprietary system put in place by the Choices Program, which raises additional concerns: • schools lose the ability to track or review content changes; • schools receive no notification clarifying curriculum modifications; • restricted access prevents oversight by school boards and parents; • the limited transparency of the program’s privacy policies and third-party data sharing arrangements raises concerns about conflicts of interest and the potential exposure of students or teachers to external sources not approved by schools. External influence and misrepresentation Our investigation identified significant discrepancies between Brown University’s public statements and documented evidence regarding external influence over the Choices Program, including: • the understated relationship with QFI; • the misrepresentation of the nature and extent of QFI’s involvement in workshop content, teacher engagement, and curriculum distribution; • the lack of transparency concerning donor influence on content development Key implications This report raises serious concerns about: 1. potential violations of educational transparency requirements; 2. oversight failures by educational institutions adopting the curriculum; 3. compromised academic integrity through undisclosed external influences; 4. impact on student learning and perspective formation; 5. broader implications for K-12 educational content oversight. These findings suggest an urgent need for increased transparency, improved oversight mechanisms, and clearer guidelines for foreign influence in K-12 educational materials. The report concludes with specific policy recommendations to address these systemic issues.

Miami Beach; New York: The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) 2025. 41p.

By Robbie Shilliam and Lester Spence

Over the past decade, autocratization has increased worldwide, and the United States itself has seen its own democracy erode.While political scientists have begun to study both phenomena in earnest, with exceptions, they have been unable to fully wrestle with either. We suggest that this incomplete understanding is the result of the discipline’s problematic racial history. At the time of its founding in the late nineteenth century, political science provided a eugenicist justification for the very hierarchies and segregations that are now under scrutiny. Race was understood to be the quintessential subject of social scientific inquiry. After World War II, political scientists rejected eugenics and instead focused on defending democracy against totalitarianism. In doing so, they relegated racism to an ideological/irrational phenomenon and thus as extraneous to the core concern of the discipline. In this Annual Review of Political Science article, we refract the discipline’s contemporary and historical concerns with democracy through the lens of racial politics to better equip scholars with tools to examine and critically diagnose contemporary politics.

Annu. Rev. Political Sci. 2025. 28:195–211

By Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús, Jemima Pierre, and Junaid Rana

This review presents a historical and contemporary view of white supremacy as an entrenched global system based on presumed biological and cultural difference, related practices of racism, the valorization of whiteness, and the denigration of non whiteness. We center the role of the discipline of anthropology, and contend that the discipline is shaped by, and shapes, structures of white supremacy. In this article, we detail anthropology’s role in the development of racial science and the subsequent placement of whiteness at the top of the world’s global political and cultural systems of power. We examine the early critiques of anthropology’s racializing practices by Black and Indigenous anthropologists, which set the stage for an anti-imperial analysis that addressed how white power was entrenched within the discipline and broader society. Last, we discuss emerging scholarship on the anthropology of white supremacy and the methodological and theoretical shifts that push the discipline and refine the concept.

Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 2023. 52:417–35

By Ashley Jardina1 and Spencer Piston

Abstract The concept of racist dehumanization is essential for political scientists who seek to understand the nature, scope, and consequences of white racial prejudice in the United States today. Racist dehumanization consists of a variety of processes that construct, refashion, and maintain race by coding some people as white and therefore fully human and others as other than white and therefore less than fully human. In this review, we focus on the racist dehumanization of Indigenous people and Black people, arguing that processes of dehumanization have long been implicated in both the practice of racemaking and concurrent efforts to exploit and dominate racialized groups. We posit that contemporary white racial prejudice can be understood, in part, as the residue of these processes, and we conclude by describing how accounting for racist dehumanization can transform the study of white racial prejudice.

Annu. Rev. Political Sci. 2023. 26:369–88

By Kalwant Bhopa

The term “White privilege” has been used to denote specific privileges that White groups possess due to their Whiteness and White identity. In this article, firstly, I outline how, as a conceptual tool,White privilege can only be understood in relation to Critical Race Theory, specifically the notion that racism is central and endemic, through Whiteness as property and interest convergence. Secondly, I analyze the development of White privilege and provide ways forward for the use of the term, and thirdly, I use examples from higher education to outline how White privilege works in terms of the construction of knowledge, the prioritization of gender above race, and the fact that policy making is designed to protect White identities to uphold a hegemonic system of White supremacy.

Annu. Rev. Sociol. 2023. 49:111–28

By Albert Edward Wiggam. Introduction by Colin Heston.

Albert Edward Wiggam’s The Fruit of the Family Tree (1924) occupies a distinctive place in the intellectual landscape of early 20th-century America, where science, social reform, and cultural optimism converged. Wiggam, a prominent science writer and lecturer, sought to popularize the principles of heredity and evolution for a general audience, framing them as tools for personal and societal improvement. His work reflects the era’s fascination with genetics and its implications for human progress—a fascination that often intersected with the controversial discourse of eugenics.

At its core, Wiggam’s book argues that the family is not merely a social institution but a biological continuum, transmitting physical, mental, and moral traits across generations. He contends that understanding these hereditary forces is essential for shaping character, guiding marriage choices, and fostering the “betterment” of humanity. This perspective resonated with contemporary movements advocating scientific approaches to social problems, yet it also raises critical questions about determinism, individual agency, and the ethical boundaries of applying biological principles to human affairs.

Historically, The Fruit of the Family Tree emerged during a period of optimism about science’s capacity to engineer progress. The rediscovery of Mendelian genetics and the rise of evolutionary psychology fueled public interest in heredity, while the eugenics movement—then regarded by many as progressive—sought to apply these insights to improve population quality. Wiggam’s writings, widely read and influential, exemplify this cultural moment: they blend scientific exposition with moral exhortation, urging readers to consider the long-term consequences of their choices for future generations.

Upon its publication, The Fruit of the Family Tree was warmly received by a public eager for accessible scientific knowledge. Wiggam’s engaging style and ability to translate complex biological concepts into practical advice made him a popular figure on the lecture circuit and in print. The book was praised for its clarity and its alignment with contemporary ideals of progress and rational planning. Many readers embraced its message as a guide to responsible parenthood and social improvement.

However, the legacy of Wiggam’s work is more complex. While his writings contributed to the popularization of genetics and the notion of “scientific living,” they also reinforced ideas that later came under ethical scrutiny. His advocacy of selective breeding and emphasis on hereditary “quality” aligned with mainstream eugenics discourse, which would eventually be discredited due to its association with coercive policies and discriminatory practices. Today, scholars view Wiggam’s work as emblematic of a historical moment when optimism about science blurred into prescriptive social engineering.

Despite these controversies, The Fruit of the Family Tree remains significant as a cultural artifact. It illuminates the interplay between science and social ideals in the early 20th century and invites reflection on the enduring tension between biological determinism and human freedom. In revisiting Wiggam’s text, modern readers confront not only the aspirations and anxieties of a bygone era but also the cautionary lessons about the ethical use of scientific knowledge in shaping human destiny

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. p.234.

By Robert C. Olby

From the cover:

"At last, a book about genetics has been written as a science to be reckoned with. Mr. Olby, a librarian of the Cotany School, Ixford, England, has written the whole story with remarkable ease. The text has a clarity which is not found too often in a book of this kind. This is partly because of the excellent notes and bibliography at the end of each chapter. The appendixes give further proof that a book such as this has never been written before-the work cited in each chapter is quoted as originally written by the scientists doing the work in this complicated field." -Library Journal

"Significant contribution to the history of genetics.... After reading this account, one cannot but have greater esteem and appreciation for Mendel as a scientist, a mathematician, a keen observer, and a keeper of careful records. The work and lives of the early hybridists are included in an informing manner with many accounts.... A large appendix includes original findings and writings of the early hybridists. ...Laymen as well as geneticists will appreciate this book." -Choice

Copyright © 1966, 1966 by Robert C. Olby. Schocken. 1967. 209p.

by Rudolf Diesel (Author), Graeme R. Newman (Translator)

When Rudolf Diesel published Solidarismus: Natürliche wirtschaftliche Erlösung des Menschen in 1903, he was already celebrated as the inventor of the internal combustion engine that bore his name. Yet behind the engineer stood a man deeply troubled by the social consequences of industrial capitalism. He had seen firsthand the paradox of modernity: machines producing abundance while workers lived in misery.
By Rudolf Diesel. Translated from the German by Graeme R. Newman (assisted by ChatGTP)

Diesel’s Solidarism was his attempt to resolve this contradiction. It was neither Marxist nor anarchist, nor a conventional liberal reform. Instead, Diesel proposed a peaceful, cooperative, and disciplined movement in which ordinary workers, artisans, and families would pool resources into “People’s Treasuries.” From these would grow “Beehives”—productive cooperatives where every member shared in ownership and security. Over time, he envisioned these federating into a global network that could replace the inequities of capitalism with solidarity, justice, and peace.
The book attracted attention in Europe as an unusual hybrid of social thought, moral appeal, and engineering pragmatism. Diesel stressed repeatedly that he was not a professional economist but an inventor who felt compelled to seek “the natural economic redemption of mankind.” Some reviewers praised his sincerity and practical outlook; others dismissed him as a dreamer outside his field.
Socialists noted that Diesel rejected class struggle, revolution, and expropriation, favoring instead disciplined self-help and gradualism. Conservatives criticized his call for economic transformation beyond private capitalism. For both sides, Diesel seemed too unorthodox to embrace fully, but impossible to ignore. Diesel diagnosed the dangers of unregulated capitalism—inequality, insecurity, global rivalries—that remain urgent today. He envisioned cooperative economics, community-based security, and international solidarity long before these became mainstream topics.
In an era of global climate crisis, technological upheaval, and renewed questions about justice, Diesel’s voice speaks with surprising clarity. He insists that no technical advance has value unless it serves humanity; that no society can survive when millions live in fear and want; and that solidarity, not competition, is the moral law of the future.
Of course, Diesel’s scheme of Treasuries and Beehives reflects its own time, with the language and structures of early-twentieth-century Germany. But behind the particulars lies a timeless conviction: that human beings can organize economic life around justice, security, and brotherhood. His call is not to tear down violently, but to build patiently—penny by penny, act by act, institution by institution—the foundations of a more humane order.
This English edition makes accessible, for the first time in a complete form, Diesel’s forgotten social manifesto. It allows modern readers to see him not only as an inventor of machines, but as a moral thinker wrestling with the human meaning of technology.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. . p.138.

Edited by Ann Rigney and Thomas Smits

Social movements are not only remembered in personal experience, but also through cultural carriers that shape how later movements see themselves and are seen by others. The present collection zooms in on the role of photography in this memory-activism nexus. How do iconographic conventions shape images of protest? Why do some images keep movements in the public eye, while others are quickly forgotten? What role do images play in linking different protests, movements, and generations of activists? Have the affordances of digital media made it easier for activists to use images in their memory politics, or has the digital production and massive online exchange of images made it harder to identify and remember a movement via a single powerful image? Bringing together experts in visual culture, cultural memory, social movements, and digital humanities, this collection presents new empirical, theoretical, and methodological insights into the visual memory of protest.

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2023.233p.

By Cecilia Jacob | Cecilia.Jacob and

Mujeeb Kanth |

Hate speech and incitement have been instrumental in atrocity crimes that have occurred in India, even prior to its independence. These atrocities include targeted killings of minorities based on religious and ethnic identity, and demonstrate persistent features of systematic, orchestrated violence that is fuelled by a Hindu nationalist ideology. This ideology is routinely promulgated at the highest levels of political leadership. This article traces both the historical and institutional character of hate speech and incitement in India to understand its repeated manifestation over time. Through case studies of recent violence, it considers the implications of new legal developments, technology and the covid-19 pandemic on the character and dynamic of hate speech, incitement and atrocity violence in India. It considers key reforms and areas for accountability on which the international community could engage the government and civil society in India on the issue of hate speech and incitement to promote atrocity prevention at the domestic level.

Global Responsibility to Protect 15 (2023) 209–245

By H. G. Wells

H. G. Wells’s A Short History of the World is a sweeping and ambitious narrative that compresses the entire story of humanity into a single, accessible volume. Written in clear, engaging prose, Wells aimed to make the great arc of world history comprehensible to a general audience, without requiring specialized knowledge.

The book opens with the origins of the Earth, tracing the formation of the planet and the earliest appearance of life, before moving to the evolution of humankind. Wells then explores the emergence of civilizations across Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China, carefully weaving together political, religious, and cultural developments into a unified story. His coverage spans the ancient empires, classical Greece and Rome, the rise of Christianity and Islam, the medieval period, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment.

In the later chapters, Wells addresses the industrial age, scientific discoveries, and the sweeping social and political transformations of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Writing just after the First World War, he gives particular attention to the global impact of modern warfare and the urgent need for new international structures to avoid future catastrophe.

Unlike a traditional textbook, Wells’s work reflects his perspective as both a novelist and a futurist. He is concerned not only with recounting events but also with tracing the moral and intellectual progress of humankind. His narrative frequently comments on human unity, the dangers of nationalism, and the promise of scientific and social cooperation.

A Short History of the World became one of Wells’s most widely read nonfiction works and remains notable as an early 20th-century attempt at a "world history for everyone," blending science, history, and philosophy. Though some interpretations and factual details have since been superseded by later scholarship, the book stands as a landmark in popular historical writing.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 354p..

By M. H. Cochran (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

Michael H. Cochran’s Germany Not Guilty in 1914, published in 1931, stands as a provocative and revisionist challenge to the dominant narrative of German culpability for the outbreak of World War I. Written in response to Bernadotte Schmitt’s influential The Coming of the War, Cochran’s book offers a meticulous critique of the “war guilt” thesis enshrined in the Treaty of Versailles, which placed sole responsibility for the war on Germany. With a foreword by Harry Elmer Barnes and later commentary by Henry Adams, the book is deeply embedded in the interwar historiographical debates that questioned the moral and political foundations of postwar peace settlements.

Published during a period of growing disillusionment with the Versailles Treaty and rising revisionist sentiment in the United States and Europe, Cochran’s work was part of a broader intellectual movement that sought to rehabilitate Germany’s image and challenge the punitive postwar order. While not universally accepted, the book found an audience among scholars and political thinkers who viewed the war guilt clause as unjust and historically flawed. Its reception was mixed—praised for its rigor and boldness, but criticized for its perceived apologetics and selective use of evidence.

In 2025, Germany Not Guilty in 1914 remains relevant not only as a historical artifact but as a lens through which to examine the politics of blame, the construction of historical narratives, and the enduring consequences of diplomatic failure. The evolution from “guilt” to “responsibility” reflects broader changes in how societies understand conflict, justice, and reconciliation. As international law and historical memory continue to intersect—especially in debates over reparations, war crimes, and collective trauma—Cochran’s challenge to the Versailles narrative invites reflection on how history is written, who writes it, and to what ends.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. p.166.

By Harry Elmer Barnes (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

Harry Elmer Barnes’s In Quest of Truth and Justice stands as a provocative and enduring challenge to the way history is written, remembered, and weaponized. Published in 1928, the book is a cornerstone of historical revisionism, particularly in its reassessment of the causes and culpability of World War I. Barnes argued that the dominant narrative—one that placed sole blame on Germany—was not only historically inaccurate but also morally unjust. He believed that truth and justice in historical scholarship required a fearless confrontation with political orthodoxy and propaganda, especially when such narratives served the interests of victors and power structures.
Barnes’s work was not merely an academic exercise; it was a moral crusade against what he saw as the corruption of historical truth by political expediency. He insisted that historians must act as independent arbiters of fact, not as servants of state ideology. His critique of the Treaty of Versailles and the war guilt clause was rooted in a broader concern: that distorted history could perpetuate injustice, fuel future conflicts, and undermine democratic accountability.
This ethos—of challenging dominant narratives and seeking justice through historical clarity—finds powerful echoes in today’s global conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza. Both crises are steeped in competing historical claims, contested identities, and politicized narratives that shape international responses and public opinion.
In both Ukraine and Gaza, Barnes’s legacy invites us to ask uncomfortable questions: Who controls the narrative? Whose history is being told, and whose is being silenced? Are we pursuing truth and justice, or merely reinforcing the power structures of the present?
Ultimately, In Quest of Truth and Justice is not just a historical text—it is a call to intellectual courage. In an age of polarized media, geopolitical propaganda, and moral ambiguity, Barnes’s work reminds us that history is not a weapon to be wielded by the powerful, but a mirror in which societies must confront their own truths. As we grapple with the complexities of Ukraine and Gaza, his message remains urgent: justice begins with honest history.

By Albert Kales (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

Albert M. Kales’s Unpopular Government in the United States, published in 1914, is a searching and often unsettling examination of the American democratic system at a time when the country was undergoing profound political and social transformation. Kales, a legal scholar and reform advocate, wrote during the Progressive Era—a period marked by widespread concern over corruption, inefficiency, and the growing disconnect between the ideals of democracy and the realities of governance. His book is not a polemic but a carefully reasoned argument that seeks to understand why a government founded on popular sovereignty could become so alienated from the people it purports to serve. An important aspect of Kales’s reform agenda is his emphasis on civic education. He believes that a more informed electorate is essential to the health of democracy and calls for greater efforts to educate citizens about the workings of government and the responsibilities of citizenship. He also supports mechanisms such as the initiative and referendum, which allow citizens to bypass legislatures and enact laws directly, though he cautions that these tools must be used judiciously to avoid further complicating the political process.

Although Kales’s book did not become a staple of political science curricula, it has been periodically rediscovered by scholars interested in the history of democratic theory, administrative reform, and the Progressive movement. His insights into voter disengagement and the structural barriers to meaningful democratic participation have gained renewed relevance in contemporary discussions about democratic backsliding, political polarization, and the role of technocracy in modern governance. However, many of Kales’s core ideas continue to resonate in modern political systems, particularly in debates about democratic participation, judicial independence, and the role of expertise in governance.

By August Bebel (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

August Bebel’s Woman and Socialism is one of the most influential and enduring works in the history of socialist and feminist thought. First published in 1879 as Die Frau und der Sozialismus, the book represents a groundbreaking synthesis of Marxist theory and the struggle for women’s emancipation. Bebel, a co-founder of the German Social Democratic Party and a leading figure in the international socialist movement, sought to demonstrate that the liberation of women was not only compatible with socialism but essential to its realization. His work remains a foundational text for understanding the intersection of class and gender oppression, and it continues to resonate in contemporary debates about equality, labor, and social justice.

Woman and Socialism is not merely a critique; it is also a vision of transformation. Bebel outlines how a socialist society would fundamentally alter the conditions of women’s lives. In such a society, he argues, the means of production would be collectively owned, and both men and women would participate equally in productive labor. The state would assume responsibility for many of the functions traditionally relegated to women—such as childcare, education, and elder care—thus freeing women from the confines of domestic servitude. Marriage would become a voluntary and egalitarian union, based on mutual affection rather than economic necessity.

Bebel’s work is notable for its breadth and depth. He addresses a wide range of issues, including education, reproductive rights, prostitution, and the role of women in political movements. He also engages with contemporary debates within the socialist movement, challenging those who viewed the “woman question” as secondary or divisive. For Bebel, the emancipation of women is not a peripheral concern but a central pillar of socialist theory and practice. He argues that a society cannot be truly free or just if half its population remains oppressed. Bebel explores a wide range of themes that connect the struggle for women’s emancipation with the broader goals of socialism.

Bebel’s introduction itself serves as both a historical overview and a political manifesto. It invites readers to reconsider the roots of gender inequality and to imagine a future in which social and economic structures support, rather than hinder, human flourishing. Bebel’s synthesis of feminism and socialism was ahead of its time, and his insistence on the inseparability of class and gender struggles remains a powerful and relevant message. His work continues to inspire activists, scholars, and readers committed to building a more equitable world.

There are a number of editions and translations each edition slightly different. For example, sometime the title is written as Woman Under Socialism. The extensive use of tables of statistics also varies form one edition to another. This edition has been reformatted, designed, abridged and annotated with an Introduction by renowned novelist and story writer Colin Heston to remove errors and other distracting content that occurred in the original edition, making the book more accessible for the present day reader.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 359p.

By Allan L. Benson (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

Allan L. Benson’s The Truth About Socialism is a bold and impassioned political manifesto that seeks to demystify socialism for the American public and to present it not as a foreign ideology or a utopian dream, but as a practical and necessary response to the injustices of early 20th-century capitalism. Written during a time of profound economic inequality, labor unrest, and political disillusionment, the book is both a critique of the existing capitalist order and a call to action for working-class Americans to reclaim their rightful share of the nation’s wealth and power. Benson is particularly effective in dismantling the myths and fears surrounding socialism. He anticipates the objections of his critics—those who equate socialism with tyranny, inefficiency, or the loss of individual freedom—and responds with clarity and conviction. He argues that true freedom cannot exist in a society where economic survival depends on the whims of employers and where political power is bought and sold by the wealthy. For Benson, socialism is not the enemy of liberty but its fulfillment: a system in which all people have the material security and democratic voice necessary to live freely and fully.

Benson's introduction to The Truth About Socialism sets the stage for a powerful and accessible exploration of socialist principles. It combines moral passion with analytical rigor, historical insight with political urgency. Benson’s work remains a compelling document of its time, reflecting the hopes and struggles of a generation seeking to build a more just and equitable society. It also continues to resonate today, as debates over inequality, labor rights, and the role of government in the economy remain as vital as ever.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 132p.

By William English Walling (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

William English Walling’s The Socialists and the War: A Documentary Statement of the Position of the Socialists of All Countries; With Special Reference to Their Peace Policy is a powerful and timely compilation that captures the ideological and political turmoil that gripped the international socialist movement during the First World War. Published in 1915, at the height of the global conflict, the book serves as both a historical record and a moral inquiry into how socialist parties and leaders across nations responded to the unprecedented crisis of global warfare. Walling, a prominent American socialist and journalist, undertakes the ambitious task of documenting the fractured responses of socialist organizations to the war, revealing both the strength and the fragility of international solidarity in the face of nationalism and militarism.
The introduction to this volume sets the tone for a work that is as much about disillusionment as it is about documentation. Walling begins by acknowledging the deep betrayal felt by many socialists when the war broke out and major socialist parties—particularly in Germany, France, and Britain—chose to support their respective national war efforts. This decision, in many cases, ran counter to the long-standing commitments of the Second International, which had pledged to oppose imperialist wars and to promote working-class unity across national borders. Walling does not shy away from the painful truth: that the war exposed the limits of internationalism and revealed the powerful grip of nationalism even within movements that had long claimed to transcend it.
A central theme of the book is the tension between socialist ideals and national loyalties. Walling presents a wide array of primary documents—speeches, party resolutions, manifestos, and editorials—that illustrate how socialist leaders justified their support for or opposition to the war. Some, like the German Social Democrats, argued that they were defending their nation against aggression; others, like the Russian Bolsheviks and a minority of Western European socialists, condemned the war as a capitalist enterprise and called for revolutionary opposition. Walling’s editorial voice is present throughout, guiding the reader through these conflicting positions and offering critical commentary on their implications.
Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 523p.

By William English Walling (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

William English Walling’s Socialism As It Is: A Survey of the World-Wide Revolutionary Movement is a landmark work in early 20th-century political thought, offering a penetrating and pragmatic analysis of the global socialist movement at a time when it was rapidly gaining momentum. Published in 1912, the book stands apart from many contemporary treatments of socialism by refusing to rely solely on abstract theory or ideological polemic. Instead, Walling grounds his analysis in the lived realities, organizational structures, and political strategies of socialist parties and labor movements across the world. His goal is not to speculate on what socialism might become, but to examine what socialism already is—how it functions, how it evolves, and how it interacts with the broader forces of capitalism, democracy, and industrial society.
From the outset, Walling makes clear that his focus is on the practical socialism of organized movements, not the utopian visions or doctrinal purity of theorists. He critiques both the uncritical idealism of some socialist writers and the dismissive caricatures offered by opponents of socialism. Instead, he insists that socialism must be understood through its actions—through the decisions made in party congresses, the resolutions passed by labor unions, and the policies pursued by socialist representatives in parliaments and municipalities. This empirical approach allows Walling to present socialism not as a monolith, but as a dynamic and multifaceted phenomenon, shaped by national contexts, historical contingencies, and internal debates.
Ultimately, Socialism As It Is is a work of both scholarship and advocacy. Walling writes with the conviction that socialism is not only a viable political force but a necessary one, capable of addressing the deep inequalities and instabilities of modern industrial society. Yet he is also clear-eyed about the challenges the movement faces—from internal divisions to external repression, from ideological rigidity to political compromise. His introduction sets the tone for a book that is both analytical and engaged, offering readers a nuanced and grounded understanding of socialism not as a distant ideal, but as a living, evolving force in the world.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2025. 361p.