Imagine, A socialist vision for the 21st century

Tommy Sheridan & Alan McCombes, Rebel Inc, 251 pages, paperback, £7.99

A member of the Scottish Socialist Party, Tommy Sheridan was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999. His co-author, Alan McCombes, is editor of the Socialist Scottish Voice newspaper.

As these authors stress, over the past 50 years technological progress has accelerated at a dizzying pace, offering unprecedented opportunities for a brighter future. Yet poverty, starvation, pollution, racism and war continue to stalk our planet.

In practice, the real rulers of the world are not to be found in parliaments. It is in the boardrooms of the big corporations and on the floors of the world stock exchanges that most of the key decisions that affect ordinary people are taken.

In contrast, socialism would mean maximum decentralisation of power.

This book provides an expert analysis of what needs to be done - not only in Scotland but worldwide.