Socialist democracy includes not only the provision of economic and social goods, but also the ability of the governed to actively and democratically intervene and shape their lives in every social setting. The socialist states provided a full basket of public goods, albeit not quite as full to the brim as the communist movement suggested, but largely foreclosed the substantive involvement of ordinary citizens in matters of governance. At first glance this may not seem to be the case, but comes into sharper focus when account for the contradiction between the formal structures and mechanisms of socialist democracy and the actual practice and content of that democracy.
Written by
Sam Webb
I'm a long-time socialist and activist, but new to the blogging world. I hope to bring a different perspective on politics, sports, culture, and Marxism. Besides blogging, I also leave plenty of time for swimming, hiking, ESPN, music, reading, drinking good beer, and, not least, my family and friends. I wish I could play basketball, but my knees ruled out that possibility long ago.
While I currently reside in New York, my politically formative years were spent in Portland, Me. and Detroit during the 1970s and 1980s. I graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia (where I played basketball) and received a MA in economics from the University of Connecticut.
I was the national chairperson of the Communist Party, USA from 2000 until 2014 when I stepped down at the convention. In 2016 I resigned from the Communist Party two years later. We were no longer on the same page.
