https://videos.domainepublic.net/videos/watch/cf1271f2-db81-48d7-9e30-f171c008c2e9 Einstein still inspires us, from beyond the grave, to do much, much better. For "Why Socialism?" see: https://monthlyreview.org/9781685900984/ Einstein stills inspires us, from beyond the grave, to do much, much better. For "Why Socialism?" in book form, see: https://monthlyreview.org/9781685900984/ In honor of Einstein's birthday on March 13, we asked several actors to read aloud an excerpt of Einstein's well-known article “Why Socialism?”. You can see the three parts below: WATCH PART 1: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Bse3bqBLCZ8 WATCH PART 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoaOe3op9zk&list=PLG3O6UFukFTF8ORPeyyPi3JuV7ETklEwg&index=35 WATCH PART 3: https://youtube.com/shorts/Cz6WEiTd0dM TEXT OF ALL 3 PARTS, BELOW: PART 1 ALIENATION = ANNIHILATION (Read by Quince Marcum) 'I recently discussed with an intelligent and well-disposed man the threat of another war, which in my opinion would seriously endanger the existence of mankind... Thereupon my visitor, very calmly and coolly, said to me: “Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?” I am sure that as little as a century ago no one would have so lightly made a statement of this kind. It is the statement of a man who has striven in vain to attain an equilibrium within himself and has more or less lost hope of succeeding. It is the expression of a painful solitude and isolation from which so many people are suffering in these days. ...Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life.' -Einstein, as quoted in, "Albert Einstein's 'Why Socialism?'", Monthly Review Press, 1949/2025 PART 2: THE PROBLEM = CAPITALISM (Read by Austin Guest) '....an “army of unemployed” almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job.... Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all. The profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions. Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before. This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism....' PART 3: THE SOLUTION = SOCIALISM (THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MONTHLY REVIEW MAGAZINE) (Read by: Anonymous) “I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society. ...The achievement of socialism requires the solution of some extremely difficult socio-political problems… Since, under present circumstances, free and unhindered discussion of these problems has come under a powerful taboo, I consider the foundation of this magazine to be an important public service.” -EINSTEIN, as quoted in, "Albert Einstein's 'WHY SOCIALISM?'", Monthly Review Press, 1949/2025 Monthly Review magazine and Monthly Review Press have been leading publishers of left scholarship since 1949. The first issue of Monthly Review (May 1949) featured Albert Einstein's classic essay, "Why Socialism?" Our mission since then has been to offer readers a responsible platform for neglected and emerging scholarship grounded in critical analyses of capitalism, on a wide range of progressive issues. Monthly Review Press is an educational publisher, featuring a small and selected, but influential school of scholarly analysis which fills a demonstrable gap in the arena of socialist scholarship. Monthly Review’s distinctive contribution to the world of ideas has advanced an analysis that helps to explain the tendency of contemporary capitalism toward slow growth and stagnation, the growing environmental catastrophe, the continuing and deepening economic inequality between the rich and poor nations, and between the rich and poor everywhere. 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