Failure of Vision, A
by Doug Greene

An in-depth and critical look at the life and ideas of Michael Harrington, one of America's most important democratic socialists.

Doug Greene takes an in-depth and critical look at the life and ideas of Michael Harrington, one of America's most important democratic socialists.

A Failure of Vision discusses one of the most important champions for democratic socialism in the United States. Michael Harrington (1928–1989) is widely recognized for writing The Other America, a seminal expose of poverty in the United States that inspired the War on Poverty. He was also the founder of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which is currently the largest socialist organization in the United States.

Michael Harrington hoped to transform democratic socialism from a marginal view into a major political force in the United States. To accomplish this, he advocated that socialists act as the “left-wing of the possible” inside of the Democratic Party in order to transform it into one that truly represented the people. In the end, Realignment proved to be a dead end to advance socialist politics.

The questions proposed by Michael Harrington continue to be sharply debated by socialists. With an engaging style and critical approach to Michael Harrington's shortcomings, this book is essential reading to understand contemporary debates on the American left.

Reviews:
"I propose that revolutionary socialists use Greene’s book in an educational campaign aimed at the young workers and students who are attracted to the current DSA. It not only exposes the fatal flaws of DSA and its commitment to the Democratic Party, it also provides, in the Appendix, a very useful introduction to the revolutionary thought of Marx, Lenin, and Trotsky." ~ Chuck Chairns, Workers' Voice

"By presenting a fair but critical account, Greene’s book is able to show that an orientation to the Democrats is not a viable path forward for socialists. As a cautionary tale it is a necessary read." ~ Wayne Rossi, Books From The Left

If you know nothing about Michael Harrington, this is the first book you should read. Or, if you think you know everything about him, this is your next book, guaranteed. ~ Matthew Strauss, Amazon

A Failure of Vision helps us understand what it will take to contend with the rise of right-wing authoritarianism and the depressing acceptance of lesser-evilism, and to build a diverse, multiracial, defiant socialism from below… ~ Bill Keach, Tempest Magazine

"Quite a few self-described socialists in the United States today have terrible policies: they campaign for the Democratic Party, vote for imperialist wars, and accept the capitalist system. But this isn't a new phenomenon. Michael Harrington was an intellectual pioneer in adapting socialism to liberalism. Doug Greene's exhaustive biography makes clear that Harrington's ideas were actually far worse than is generally known. A must-read for anyone who wants to fight for socialism in the United States today!" ~ Nathaniel Flakin, historian, author of "Martin Monath: A Jewish Revolutionary Among Nazi Soldiers"

"Leftists have often wondered why the United States has lacked any viable socialist movement. A large part of this failure stems from a lack of solid theory and principled leadership. This combination of theory and leadership is what the historian Doug Greene means by vision, and no one lacked this vision more than the American version of Eduard Bernstein, Michael Harrington. Harrington's politics were part and parcel of the right-wing of "socialism": eclectic in theory and pro-Democrat in practice. In his political biography, Greene demonstrates Harrington's opportunism, while showing what is needed for a revolutionary socialist movement in the United States." ~ Harrison Fluss, Ph.D, corresponding editor with Historical Materialism journal

"Doug Greene's A Failure of Vision is one of the most important works of American socialist history that I've ever read. The ideas of Michael Harrington make up the "common sense" of today's American left: a reformist, watered down Marxism that refuses to break from the Democratic Party machine. Harrington's political thought and vision for socialism in America is centered on a fundamentally flawed strategy that we must contend with and ultimately overcome. Greene's book is essential reading for anyone eager to build a true socialist horizon in our time." ~ Daniel Tutt, Ph.D., author of Psychoanalysis and the Politics of the Family

“Greene argues that, ultimately, if any lesson is to be learned from Harrington’s legacy, it is that realignment, while optimistic, is bound to backfire, and that the left cannot win by compromising with the very system it seeks to upend. For those who want to understand the man who shaped the DSA, this book is a first-rate primer on the development and legacy of Harrington’s ideas.” ~ Shalon van Tine, Ohio University