Studies in Critical Social Sciences349 Socialism: the 100 Year Old Misnomer

This book redefines socialism by separating its democratic ideals from authoritarian misuses, offering an interdisciplinary analysis—grounded in law, political theory, political economy, and culture—that challenges common-sense assumptions and clarifies the mislabelling of Soviet-style regimes as socialist. What if everything you thought you knew about socialism was wrong? Socialism: the 100-Year-Old Misnomer invites you to rethink a century of political and cultural myth-making. Dana Neacşu distinguishes real socialism—rooted in democracy and wealth redistribution—from its authoritarian counterfeit: Soviet-style state capitalism. Drawing on political theory, political economy, law, and culture, and using layered textual analysis, Neacşu exposes how language, ideology, and legal systems conspired to mislabel repression as revolution. Featuring rare visuals and sharp close readings, this book equips you to separate fact from fiction and rethink what justice, ownership, and power could truly mean.