Last week in Washington, three members of the Prospect staff—executive editor David Dayen, editor at large Harold Meyerson, and co-founder Robert Kuttner—gathered to discuss the book We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism—American Style. All three have chapters in the anthology, which attempts to take the concepts of democratic socialism and offer a path to putting them into practice. They were joined by Michael Kazin, co-editor of the book and a history professor at Georgetown University. Thea Lee, president of the Economic Policy Institute, moderated the discussion.
The panel discussed how socialism is an American tradition, how corporate power presents such an ever-present obstacle to its goals, and whether a socialist could lead this country. Events have sort of overtaken that last point, as the event was held before the South Carolina primary and the rapid shifts in the presidential race. But the insights remain valuable and useful.
Video of the session is below.
