Weekend Book Recommendations

6/20/20

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This is the first installment of my weekend book recommendation series. Every Saturday I will post 3 book recommendations that will mainly be centered around socialism, Marxism, history and political economy. I will also take outside book recommendations from readers who want me to review them in the future. Enjoy!

1.) The Authoritarian Personality by Theodor Adorno, Daniel Levinson, Elise Frenkel-Brunswick and Nevitt Sanford (1950)

This book was written after World War II by four researchers at UC Berkeley. It’s widely considered today to be the forerunning text on authoritarianism. Obviously, inspired by the fascist movements of the 1920s and 1930s, the researchers set out to explain what makes someone become an authoritarian. They created what’s known as the “California F Scale” to determine if a person has those personality traits. I’ve wanted to read this book for awhile. It’s a monster (1,072 pages) and it will take a solid month to read if you’re an avid reader and have a lot of time on your hands (which we do, because of the pandemic). I will be doing a book review on this text in the near future.

2.) Discourse on Inequality by Jean Jacques Rousseau (1754)

This text is an oldie but a goodie. In today’s time period, inequality is on the rise and Rousseau is gaining popularity again. This is a tough read but a quick read. It was written as part of the Academy of Dijon’s prize competition to answer the question “What is the origin of inequality among people.” Rousseau divides his argument into four main parts and even set the table for the future French Revolution by noting these inequalities. It’s a book often taught to undergraduate political science majors and even in some economics courses. It is widely credited in having helped to model modern civil society and was referenced many times by the Jacobin Club members during the Revolution. It’s about 100 pages and can be read in a weekend.

3.) Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean (2017)

One of the most relevant books today in my opinion, Democracy in Chains probes the history and the inner workings of the libertarian movement in the United States. This is arguably MacLean’s magnum opus and she has an excellent writing style. She focuses not just on libertarians like the Koch brothers and those who work at George Mason University, but also public choice advocates like James McGill Buchanan who many readers may not be aware of. Her main argument is that these men have helped reverse-engineer the American experience at both the state and national levels, thus leaving us with a de-regulated marketplace, a non-existent social safety net and limited state and local budgets. MacLean teaches at Duke University and she has a clear and concise writing style. I would recommend this book as a primer for undergraduate political science students. It helped me immensely to see the libertarian streak in this country for what it really is; a large and comprehensive anti-government movement. It’s 368 pages and can be read in a couple of weeks.