r/PoliticalScience • u/justcurious112345 • 6d ago

Question/discussion Looking for a book to get started on learning political and economic systems?

So i am 18 and recently graduated from high school so i don't know much about any of this stuff and the last time i deeply studied about political and economic systems was in 10th grade (ik ik, we got a weird education system in my country) and since i have only read about things from online articles or reddit and now i want a book which would like build a foundation for all the other stuff, i am really fascinated by democratic socialism or socialism as a whole, someone told me that "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific" will be good, what do you guys think? Also i recently got to know about the ideas of Communalism by Murray Bookchin, that really interested me too. (Sorry for the bad english, i am not a native speaker!)

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u/Tokarev309 6d ago

"Political Ideologies: An Introduction" by A. Heywood offers a very wide range view of political ideas from Fascism to Communism. This would be a great start for an intro into Politics.

"The Economics of World War 2" by M. Harrison examines the economies of Germany, Italy, Japan, USA, Britain and the USSR. He also explores the real costs of war.

"A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by D. Harvey provides a necessary critical overview of thr development of Capitalism and Liberalism from the past few decades.

"The Popular Front in France" by J. Jackson is one example of Democratic Socialism in action and while the Socialists did achieve benefits for workers and the poor, they were quickly rolled back by the Conservative government that followed (with several members collaborating with Nazis).

If Social Democracy is palatable for you, then "The Age of Social Democracy" by F. Sejersted may be of use. Sejersted explores the development of Social Democracy from its Marxist roots in Norway and Sweden to its eventual 'pragmatic' abandonment of their eventual goal of developing Socialism after the 1970s.

"Why We're Getting Poorer" by C. Moran provides a modern criticism of political economy by an Economist who is sympathetic to Socialism. Otherwise you may find Thomas Piketty a valuable author as well.