Today, most people think of socialism as an outdated ideology. In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Newman seeks to place the idea of socialism in a modern context for today's readers. He explains socialist ideas in the framework of its historical evolution, from the French Revolution to the present day, and examines practical attempts to implement socialism. Not just another history of socialist ideas, this book aims for a different approach that looks at practice as well as theory--centering on the contrast between Communism and Social Democracy. The relationship between socialism and notions of democracy, freedom, and equality is also discussed. Newman brings the subject entirely up to date by tackling contemporary forms of socialism. While the book's focus is on Europe and the Soviet Union, it is set in a broader geographical context. Newman's fresh approach to the subject enables the reader to re-evaluate socialism.

今天，大多数人认为社会主义是一种过时的意识形态。在这本《非常简短的介绍》中，迈克尔-纽曼试图为今天的读者将社会主义思想置于一个现代背景中。他在从法国大革命到今天的历史演变框架中解释了社会主义思想，并研究了实施社会主义的实际尝试。本书不只是另一部社会主义思想史，它旨在采用一种不同的方法，既关注实践，也关注理论--以共产主义和社会民主主义之间的对比为中心。还讨论了社会主义与民主、自由和平等概念之间的关系。纽曼通过处理当代形式的社会主义，使该主题完全与时俱进。虽然该书的重点是欧洲和苏联，但它是在一个更广泛的地理背景下进行的。纽曼对该主题的新方法使读者能够重新评价社会主义。