"American Socialism Reconsidered": A Forum at the National Press Club

The History and Influence of

Socialism in America to be

Examined by Experts and Scholars:

 “American Socialism Reconsidered”

to be held on April 9 at the

National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the release of a monumental new study of socialism in America in April, several prominent scholars and experts on political movements in America will hold a forum to discuss this subject in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, April 9. The forum, “American Socialism Reconsidered,” will be held at the National Press Club, 529 14^th St., NW, Washington, D.C. beginning at 6 p.m. on April 9. The event is free and open to the public and the media.

“American Socialism Reconsidered” will explore the research and concepts developed in a new book, The Socialist Party of America: A Complete History (728 pages, Potomac Books, April 2015) by author Jack Ross. Topics will include: American Liberalism: An Autopsy; Socialism and Jewish Politics; Is Socialism Coming Back? The Socialist Party and the Old Right; Communists and the non-Communist Left; and How Socialism Led to the Rise of Neoconservatism.

Speakers and panelists will include:

Eric Arnesen, the James R. Hoffa Professor of American Labor History and Executive Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at George Washington University. A specialist in the history of race, labor, politics, and civil rights, he is the author of two award-winning books -- Brotherhoods of Color: Black Railroad Workers and the Struggle for Equality and Waterfront Workers of New Orleans: Race, Class, and Politics, 1863-1923.  He is completing a biography of A. Philip Randolph.

J. Arthur Bloom, the opinion editor of the Daily Caller and managing editor of Front Porch Republic. He also founded a group-blog, for free radicals, called The Mitrailleuse. Prior to that he was associate editor at The American Conservative.

Ernest H. Evans, an author, and a former research assistant for the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. Dr. Evans has taught at Georgetown University, Catholic University, and George Washington University. Currently he is a adjunct professor of Political Science at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Samuel Goldman, an assistant professor of political science at George Washington University, where he is director of the Politics and Values Program. He is also a senior contributor to The American Conservative. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. He is working on a book about Christian Zionism in American political thought. 

Jack Ross, a writer and historian from Brooklyn, New York, is the author of the new book which is the focus of the April 9 panel: The Socialist Party in America: A Complete History. The Socialist Party was America’s most important minor political party of the 20^th century. Its influence inspired the formation of labor and populist movements in addition to liberal, left-wing, and even neoconservative organizations, as researcher Jack Ross details in his exceptional study of this subject.

Ross’s previous book, Rabbi Outcast: Elmer Berger and American Jewish Anti-Zionism, (University of Nebraska Press) was released in 2011.

Jon Basil Utley, a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service is publisher of The American Conservative, the Robert A. Taft Fellow for International and Constitutional Studies at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and a writer for Antiwar.com and Reason.com. He has written widely on third-world development economics, foreign policy, terrorism and civil defense.

“American Socialism Reconsidered” will discuss the far-reaching importance and influence of the socialist movement in America. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, millennials (the description of people between 18 and 29) view socialism more favorably than capitalism. This development will be among the topics discussed at the April 9 forum.

“American Socialism Reconsidered” is being sponsored by the Freda Utley Foundation, http://www.fredautley.com/. Complimentary soft drinks and light hors d'oeuvres will be available in addition to a cash bar. Copies of the new book, The Socialist Party of America: A Complete History, are available for purchase when one registers for the event, and will be sold at the book forum.

For more information on the book, visit the Facebook page,  The Socialist Party of America: A Complete History.