
Socialism 101
From the Bolsheviks and Karl Marx to Universal Healthcare and the Democratic Socialists, Everything You Need to Know About Socialism
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Samantha Desz
-
By:
-
Kathleen Sears
About this listen
Socialism 101 is a comprehensive and accessible guide to the historical and modern applications of socialism.
In today’s political climate, more and more presidential candidates are espousing socialist - or democratic socialist - policies. Once associated with oppression, socialism is now a current topic of conversation with everyday Americans, including policies like taxing the rich and healthcare for all. But what exactly is socialism and why does it spark such an intense debate?
Socialism 101 provides an easy-to-understand, unbiased overview to the nearly 300-year-old origins of this mode of government, its complex history, basic constructs, modern-day interpretations, key figures in its development, and up-to-date concepts and policies in today’s world. As capitalism has become less appealing and socialism experiences a surge in popularity, the need for clarification of what it means has never been more necessary than now.
©2019 Kathleen Sears (P)2019 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
A Collection of Marxist Writings
- The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx’s Wage-Labour and Capital, Friedrich Engels’ Socialism: Utopian and Scientific
- By: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
- Narrated by: Matthew J Chandler-Smith
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook contains three major works on Marxism: The Communist Manifesto, Wage-Labour and Capital, and Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
-
-
Fascinating perspective, great collection
- By Rocket Girl on 11-30-18
By: Karl Marx, and others
-
The Socialist Manifesto
- The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality
- By: Bhaskar Sunkara
- Narrated by: Benjamin Isaac
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From one of the most prominent voices on the American left, a galvanizing argument for why we need socialism in the US today. Bhaskar Sunkara explores socialism's history since the mid-1800s and presents a realistic vision for its future. Sunkara shows that socialism, though often seen primarily as an economic system, in fact offers the means to fight all forms of oppression, including racism and sexism. The ultimate goal is not Soviet-style planning, but to win rights to health care, education, and housing and to create new democratic institutions in workplaces and communities.
-
-
Not that radical actually
- By Evan on 05-31-19
By: Bhaskar Sunkara
-
The Communist Manifesto
- By: Karl Marx
- Narrated by: Greg Wagland
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
‘It was a sweet finish after the bitter pills of floggings and bullets with which these same governments, just at that time, dosed the German working-class risings’. The Communist Manifesto is, perhaps surprisingly, a most engaging and accessible work, containing even the odd shaft of humour in this translation by Samuel Moore for the 1888 English edition.
-
-
Forcibly over throw anyone who owns land?
- By Austin Hair on 02-13-20
By: Karl Marx
-
It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism
- By: Senator Bernie Sanders, John Nichols
- Narrated by: Senator Bernie Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s OK to be angry about capitalism. Reflecting on our turbulent times, Senator Bernie Sanders takes on the billionaire class and speaks blunt truths about our country’s failure to address the destructive nature of a system that is fueled by uncontrolled greed and rigidly committed to prioritizing corporate profits over the needs of ordinary Americans.
-
-
A true and unbiased understanding of politics today
- By Sassy monster on 02-21-23
By: Senator Bernie Sanders, and others
-
Consequences of Capitalism
- Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance
- By: Noam Chomsky, Marv Waterstone
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do politics shape our world, our lives, and our perceptions? How much of “common sense” is actually driven by the ruling class’ needs and interests? And how are we to challenge the capitalist structures that now threaten all life on the planet? Consequences of Capitalism exposes the deep, often unseen, connections between neoliberal “common sense” and structural power. In making these linkages, we see how the current hegemony keeps social justice movements divided and marginalized. And, most importantly, we see how we can fight to overcome these divisions.
-
-
Everyone must read this book.
- By Lydia M. Prado on 02-03-21
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
-
Blackshirts and Reds
- Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism
- By: Michael Parenti
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blackshirts and Reds explores some of the big issues of our time: fascism, capitalism, communism, revolution, democracy, and ecology. These terms are often bandied about but seldom explored in the original and exciting way that has become Michael Parenti's trademark. Parenti shows how "rational fascism" renders service to capitalism, how corporate power undermines democracy, and how revolutions are a mass empowerment against the forces of exploitative privilege.
-
-
couldn't believe this was on audible
- By Amazon Customer on 02-24-22
By: Michael Parenti
-
A Collection of Marxist Writings
- The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx’s Wage-Labour and Capital, Friedrich Engels’ Socialism: Utopian and Scientific
- By: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
- Narrated by: Matthew J Chandler-Smith
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook contains three major works on Marxism: The Communist Manifesto, Wage-Labour and Capital, and Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
-
-
Fascinating perspective, great collection
- By Rocket Girl on 11-30-18
By: Karl Marx, and others
-
The Socialist Manifesto
- The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality
- By: Bhaskar Sunkara
- Narrated by: Benjamin Isaac
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From one of the most prominent voices on the American left, a galvanizing argument for why we need socialism in the US today. Bhaskar Sunkara explores socialism's history since the mid-1800s and presents a realistic vision for its future. Sunkara shows that socialism, though often seen primarily as an economic system, in fact offers the means to fight all forms of oppression, including racism and sexism. The ultimate goal is not Soviet-style planning, but to win rights to health care, education, and housing and to create new democratic institutions in workplaces and communities.
-
-
Not that radical actually
- By Evan on 05-31-19
By: Bhaskar Sunkara
-
The Communist Manifesto
- By: Karl Marx
- Narrated by: Greg Wagland
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
‘It was a sweet finish after the bitter pills of floggings and bullets with which these same governments, just at that time, dosed the German working-class risings’. The Communist Manifesto is, perhaps surprisingly, a most engaging and accessible work, containing even the odd shaft of humour in this translation by Samuel Moore for the 1888 English edition.
-
-
Forcibly over throw anyone who owns land?
- By Austin Hair on 02-13-20
By: Karl Marx
-
It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism
- By: Senator Bernie Sanders, John Nichols
- Narrated by: Senator Bernie Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s OK to be angry about capitalism. Reflecting on our turbulent times, Senator Bernie Sanders takes on the billionaire class and speaks blunt truths about our country’s failure to address the destructive nature of a system that is fueled by uncontrolled greed and rigidly committed to prioritizing corporate profits over the needs of ordinary Americans.
-
-
A true and unbiased understanding of politics today
- By Sassy monster on 02-21-23
By: Senator Bernie Sanders, and others
-
Consequences of Capitalism
- Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance
- By: Noam Chomsky, Marv Waterstone
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do politics shape our world, our lives, and our perceptions? How much of “common sense” is actually driven by the ruling class’ needs and interests? And how are we to challenge the capitalist structures that now threaten all life on the planet? Consequences of Capitalism exposes the deep, often unseen, connections between neoliberal “common sense” and structural power. In making these linkages, we see how the current hegemony keeps social justice movements divided and marginalized. And, most importantly, we see how we can fight to overcome these divisions.
-
-
Everyone must read this book.
- By Lydia M. Prado on 02-03-21
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
-
Blackshirts and Reds
- Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism
- By: Michael Parenti
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blackshirts and Reds explores some of the big issues of our time: fascism, capitalism, communism, revolution, democracy, and ecology. These terms are often bandied about but seldom explored in the original and exciting way that has become Michael Parenti's trademark. Parenti shows how "rational fascism" renders service to capitalism, how corporate power undermines democracy, and how revolutions are a mass empowerment against the forces of exploitative privilege.
-
-
couldn't believe this was on audible
- By Amazon Customer on 02-24-22
By: Michael Parenti
-
Capitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing Economic Systems
- By: The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Edward F. Stuart PhD
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since we produced our course Thinking About Capitalism, customers have expressed interest in a follow-up course that could help them understand socialism in the same way. After much consideration, we determined that it actually would be more beneficial to create a course that compares and contrasts the two major global economic theories, examining them in ways that move past the polemics many of us are used to and looking at these systems as they relate to one another and the world at large.
-
-
A biased view of economics.
- By David S. Westby on 09-03-19
-
The United States of Socialism
- Who's Behind It. Why It's Evil. How to Stop It.
- By: Dinesh D'Souza
- Narrated by: Dinesh D'Souza
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For those who witnessed the global collapse of socialism, its resurrection in the 21st century comes as a surprise, even a shock. How can socialism work now when it has never worked before? In this pathbreaking audiobook, best-selling author Dinesh D’Souza argues that the socialism advanced today by the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, and Elizabeth Warren is very different from the socialism of Lenin, Mao, and Castro.
-
-
Thank you again Mr. D'Souza
- By Karen K. Morrison on 06-04-20
By: Dinesh D'Souza
-
Ethics 101
- From Altruism and Utilitarianism to Bioethics and Political Ethics, an Exploration of the Concepts of Right and Wrong
- By: Brian Boone
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Explore the mysteries of morality and the concept of right and wrong with this accessible, engaging guide featuring basic facts along with an overview of modern-day issues ranging from business ethics and bioethics to political and social ethics. Ethics 101 offers an exciting look into the history of moral principles that dictate human behavior. Unlike traditional textbooks that overwhelm, this easy-to-listen guide presents the key concepts of ethics in fun, straightforward lessons and exercises featuring only the most important facts, theories, and ideas.
-
-
Ethics
- By Anonymous User on 11-27-20
By: Brian Boone
-
Why You Should Be a Socialist
- By: Nathan J. Robinson
- Narrated by: Nathan J. Robinson
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the heyday of Occupy Wall Street through Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and beyond, young progressives have been increasingly drawn to socialist ideas. However, the movement’s goals need to be defined more sharply before it can effect real change on a national scale. Likewise, liberals and conservatives will benefit from a deeper understanding of the true nature of this ideology, whether they agree with it or not.
-
-
“Why you’re already a socialist”
- By Alex Economu on 12-25-19
-
Cultish
- The Language of Fanaticism
- By: Amanda Montell
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join - and more importantly, stay in - extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has.
-
-
Get this book ASAP
- By chris boutte on 06-17-21
By: Amanda Montell
-
The Tipping Point
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
-
-
An interesting listen
- By Z on 08-10-05
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
Manufacturing Consent
- The Political Economy of the Mass Media
- By: Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this pathbreaking work, now with a new introduction, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky show that, contrary to the usual image of the news media as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and defense of justice, in their actual practice they defend the economic, social, and political agendas of the privileged groups that dominate domestic society, the state, and the global order.
-
-
Eye opening
- By EFM on 03-24-18
By: Edward S. Herman, and others
-
State and Revolution
- By: Vladimir Ilich Lenin
- Narrated by: Chris Matthews
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
State and Revolution (1917) describes the role of the state in society, the necessity of proletarian revolution, and the theoretic inadequacies of social democracy in achieving revolution. It describes the inherent nature of the state as a tool for class oppression, a creation born of one social class' desire to control all other social classes. Whether a dictatorship or a democracy, the state remains in the control of the ruling class.
-
-
Revolution, Not Reform
- By Earth Lover on 07-24-19
-
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language
- How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
- By: David W. Anthony
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roughly half the world's population speaks languages derived from a shared linguistic source known as Proto-Indo-European. But who were the early speakers of this ancient mother tongue, and how did they manage to spread it around the globe? The Horse, the Wheel, and Language solves a puzzle that has vexed scholars for two centuries and recovers a magnificent and influential civilization from the past.
-
-
Excellent
- By Anthony on 08-09-19
By: David W. Anthony
-
Time for Socialism
- Dispatches from a World on Fire, 2016-2021
- By: Thomas Piketty
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past four years, world-renowned economist Thomas Piketty documented his close observations on current events through a regular column in the French newspaper Le Monde. His pen captured the rise and fall of Trump, the drama of Brexit, Macron’s ascendance to the French presidency, the unfolding of a global pandemic, and much else besides, always through the lens of Piketty’s fight for a more equitable world. This collection brings together those articles.
-
-
Good book - but most is not about US
- By Scott Klinger on 03-16-22
By: Thomas Piketty
-
How to Think
- A Survival Guide for a World at Odds
- By: Alan Jacobs
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a celebrated cultural critic and a writer for national publications like The Atlantic and Harper's, Alan Jacobs has spent his adult life belonging to communities that often clash in America's culture wars. And in his years of confronting the big issues that divide us - political, social, religious - Jacobs has learned that many of our fiercest disputes occur not because we're doomed to be divided, but because the people involved simply aren't thinking.
-
-
Misleading
- By David Larson on 11-06-17
By: Alan Jacobs
-
God Is Not One
- The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World - and Why Their Differences Matter
- By: Stephen Prothero
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the dawn of the 21st century, dizzying scientific and technological advancements, interconnected globalized economies, and even the so-called New Atheists have done nothing to change one thing: our world remains furiously religious. For good and for evil, religion is the single greatest influence in the world. In God Is Not One, Prothero provides listeners with much-needed content about each of the eight great world religions.
-
-
Useful, but doesn't live up to its introduction
- By Nassir on 11-03-10
By: Stephen Prothero
What listeners say about Socialism 101
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Carole G
- 10-06-20
Brisk, but good, overview of socialist history
This was not exactly what I’d anticipated, but I ended up appreciating this book very much. It’s a bit like listening to someone reading a encyclopedia volume on the history of socialism, so was a bit off putting at first. I stuck with it and am glad I did—learned basic facts, names, places, dates about socialist movements around the world. Many books focus on Russia/Soviet Union or on Germany, but this book is more global in its perspective and I appreciated that. Pace is brisk and sections are often brief. Good outline from which to do more research on your own.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 07-29-21
A Short Historical Account
This book is a brief overview of the history of socialism. It was unbiased and offered no commentary from the author - which has its pros and cons. It lists the major leaders and examples of socialism, but provides little interpretation or discussion. I feel that I'm now more familiar with the names, places, and events, but would struggle to tell you what socialism is. I found myself repetitively feeling there was not enough context to understand why the listed events happened, why they are important to know about the history of socialism, and what they mean for the theory of socialism. I think if they added a concluding section that compares/contrasts the wildly different examples it would help the reader to understand what is inherent to the theory of socialism, which aspects of the examples were just cultural nuances, and what no longer can be classified as socialist. I wish the book would have just said whether 'socialism' has been completely redefined to fit the opinions of new thinkers, or if these were just different models of socialism.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 04-28-23
Not an introduction
It deals too little with actual socialism and is more of a gallery of people. Which is interesting in itself of course. But it is also not deep enough and some of the events listed have clearly been "washed in Washington" - watered down and in some cases erroneous depictions. There are better places to start ones journey of understanding socialism but at least it's something. Don't stop after this one, keep going!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 07-22-24
dso movement in modern times and history.
I loved this book, end to end. I may play it again. thanks to the narrator.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ein
- 03-05-20
Teeth
This book made me realize that my socio-political beliefs until now weren’t purely democratic, but were actually very much along the lines of democratic socialism.
I am a welder, and the only person to vote for a democratic presidential candidate in the shop. I’ve been asked time and time again why I voted the way I did, why I don’t approve of trump, and if/why I’m going to voted for Bernie Sanders. I felt I needed some sharper teeth in the conversation, ones that weren’t rooted in the weak gums and mandibles of social media, but rather the strong jaws of irrefutable history and fact. So I listened to this book.
It was exactly what I needed. The information is straight-forward, unbiased, and very well written. It is simply a history of socialism from its beginnings to the present, it’s pros and cons, its successes and it’s greatest failures.
I plan to listen to Socialism 101 a few more times to pick up on anything I may have missed, as I’m usually listening while I’m working, and my attention may sway toward the bead of molten metal I’m manipulating...for obvious reasons.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
25 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- The Thomasson Group
- 02-22-21
Nothing current
I was hoping for more current information on what socialism and democratic socialism looks like today. She spent very little time on that subject.
Overall, it probably is a good overview from the beginning to now. I guess I just wanted more now.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- CMArchibald
- 05-14-21
101 is correct
This is definitely a surface level analysis but still a good on ramp for the absolute beginner.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joshua
- 02-11-22
so much information
This is my introduction to socialism, therefore I was hoping for somewhat of an easier explanation. The author seems to cover all bases but bounces back-and-forth from date to date to person to country. It seems that there should be an easier explanation of how this really works, but the last few minutes of the book kind of given insight of how this has come into our generation. I will be doing more research by other avenues
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ken Larsen
- 01-07-22
Now I understand . . .
Thorough and objective history of Socialism/Communism which will help the reader understand the motivation of current day politicians and corporate media.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J. S. K.
- 10-08-19
Not a socialist, but an interesting listen.
Socialism is a horrible idea but this book presents their ideas fairly and respectively.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful