• The Socialist Temptation

  • By: Iain Murray
  • Narrated by: James Langton
  • Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (22 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Socialist Temptation  By  cover art

The Socialist Temptation

By: Iain Murray
Narrated by: James Langton
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

It's back!

Just 30 years ago, socialism seemed utterly discredited.

An economic, moral, and political failure, socialism had rightly been thrown on the ash heap of history after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Unfortunately, bad ideas never truly go away — and socialism has come back with a vengeance.

A generation of young people who don’t remember the misery that socialism inflicted on Russia and Eastern Europe is embracing it all over again. Oblivious to the unexampled prosperity capitalism has showered upon them, they are demanding utopia.

In his provocative book, The Socialist Temptation, Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute explains:

  • Why the socialist temptation is suddenly so powerful among young people
  • That even when socialism doesn’t usher in a bloody tyranny (as, for example, in the Soviet Union, China, and Venezuela), it still makes everyone poor and miserable
  • Why under the relatively benign democratic socialism of Murray's youth in pre-Thatcher Britain, he had to do his homework by candlelight.
  • That the Scandinavian economies are not really socialist at all
  • The inconsistencies in socialist thought that prevent it from ever working in practice
  • How we can show young people the sorry truth about socialism and turn the tide of history against this destructive pipe dream

Sprightly, convincing, and original, The Socialist Temptation is a powerful warning that the resurgence of socialism could rob us of our freedom and prosperity.

©2020 Iain Murray. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

What listeners say about The Socialist Temptation

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Full Of Important Insights

Many books help us understand the nature of socialism and its many flaws. This book seeks to show why it attracts adherents despite those shortcomings. I found it useful in understanding those who see economics and freedom differently than I do. It also helps illuminate the best path to fight for the free enterprise system that has given western society so much wealth, mobility, and freedom. A great work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

This was a tough listen

I pride myself on listening to multiple points of view. My only ask: good faith arguments that uphold accurate accounting for pros and cons. Even with a particular perspective, if you go through the exercise of articulating the opposition's POV, you can't do it lazily. Case in point: glossing over government role in intentionally creating slums or "projects" as opposed to accrediting then to an unintended consequence of socialist policy. Forced my way through til the end, but there are better books on the subject.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!