Author: Phil Gasper

Phil Gasper, a philosophy professor in Madison, Wisconsin, is editor of The Communist Manifesto: A Road Map to History’s Most Important Political Document (Haymarket Books), and writes a regular feature in the ISR, "Critical Thinking."

December 25, 2016 /

In the face of the rampant commercialism that engulfs us at this time of year, it’s common to hear religious figures telling us that it’s time to revive the “real spirit of Christmas.” If that means reviving the radical egalitarianism of the early Christians, whom Frederick Engels called “a dangerous party of revolt,” then socialists are in favor of it.