After Progress
American Social Reform and European Socialism in the Twentieth Century

At the end of the 20th century, while socialism remained a vibrant force in European society, a culture of individualism and consumption all but squeezed the welfare state out of existence. This text looks at the course of social reform and Western politics after Communism.

Birnbaum goes one step further and proposes a strategy for bringing the market back into balance with the social needs of the people. He advocates a reconsideration of the notion of work, urges that market forces be brought under political control, and stresses the need for education that teaches the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Both a sweeping historical survey and a sharp-edged commentary on current political posturing, After Progress examines the state of social reform past, present and future.