Third Camp Socialism

Third Camp Socialism collects Phyllis and Julius Jacobson’s major writings on civil rights, Stalinism, the Cold War, and the New York Intellectuals.

The Jacobsons advanced a militant, small-d democratic perspective on the landmark events of their era, from the New Deal and World War II to sixties protests and the War on Terror. Today, they are best remembered for founding New Politics and defending a third camp perspective that resists capitalism as well as all varieties of “progressive” authoritarianism. This volume makes a powerful case for revisiting the Jacobsons’ contributions to socialist thought.

List of contents

Preface

Part 1 Social Movements

Introduction to Part 1

1 Coalitionism: From Protest to Politicking (1966)

Julius Jacobson

2 Union Conservatism: A Barrier to Racial Equality (1968)

Julius Jacobson

3 In Defense of the Young (1970)

Julius Jacobson

4 The Equal Rights Amendment: Overdue Reform (1972)

Phyllis Jacobson

5 An Exchange on the ERA (1973)

Lois Weiner and Phyllis Jacobson

6 Black Outrage in Los Angeles (1992)

Phyllis Jacobson

Part 2 Left Debates

Introduction to Part 2

7 The Relevance of American Socialism (1961)

Julius Jacobson

8 Isaac Deutscher: The Anatomy of an Apologist (1964 & 1966)

Julius Jacobson

9 Kate Millett and Her Critics (1970)

Phyllis Jacobson

10 The Two Deaths of Max Shachtman (1973)

Julius Jacobson

11 A Time of Assorted Scoundrels (1976)

Phyllis Jacobson

Part 3 The Russian Question

Introduction to Part 3

12 Reflections on Fascism and Communism (1983)

Julius Jacobson

13 The “Americanization” of the Communist Party (1986)

Phyllis Jacobson

14 The Soviet Union is Dead, the “Russian Question” Remains (1996)

Julius Jacobson

15 The “Russian Question” and World War Two (1995)

Julius Jacobson

16 The USSR and the Nature of World WarII (1996)

Julius Jacobson

Part 4 War and Peace

Introduction to Part 4

17 War, Realism, and the “Lesser Evil” (1950)

Julius Jacobson

18 Socialism and Thermonuclear War (1962)

Julius Jacobson

19 Neo-Stalinism: The Achilles’ Heel of the Peace Movement and the American Left (1976)

Julius Jacobson and Laurie Landy

20 Pax Americana: The New World Order (1991)

Julius Jacobson

21 Liberals, the Left, and the US War on Democracy (2002)

Julius Jacobson

Part 5 Students and Teachers

Introduction to Part5

22 Our Editorial Policy (1949)

Julius Jacobson

23 The American Student Movement: A Survey (1949)

Julius Jacobson

24 Do Communists Have the Right to Teach? (1949)

Julius Jacobson

25 CP Youth Licked at Student Conference (1950)

Julius Jacobson

26 Capitalism’s Threat to Democracy (1953)

Julius Jacobson

27 Civil Liberties and the Philosopher of the Cold War (1953)

Julius Jacobson and Gordon Haskell

Appendix: Third Camp Politics: An Interview with Phyllis and Julius Jacobson

Bibliography

Selected Writings

Index

About the author

Phyllis Jacobson (1922–2010) joined the Trotskyist movement as a high school student during the Depression. She and her husband Julius were active in the Workers Party (1940–1949) and its successor, the Independent Socialist League (1949–1958). They cofounded New Politics in 1961.

Paul Heideman is a Ph D student in Sociology at New York University and is a frequent contributor to Jacobin and the Historical Materialism Conference. 

Kent Worcester‘s books include C.L.R. James: A Political Biography (1996), Silent Agitators: Cartoon Art From the Pages of New Politics (2009), and A Cultural History of the Punisher: Marvel Comics and the Politics of Vengeance (2023).

Product details

• Assisted by: Paul Heideman (Editor), Phyllis Jacobson (Editor), Jacobson Julius (Editor), Worcester Kent (Editor)
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 01.07.2026
• EAN: 9798888907917
• ISBN: 979-8-88890-791-7
• No. of pages: 572
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Series: Historical Materialism
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Political Ideologies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Democracy, HISTORY / United States / 20th Century, Political ideologies and movements, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Cold War