This volume thoroughly examines the case for democratic market socialism in light of both the real-world and intellectual history of socialism. James Yunker provides a clear and jargon-free account of this highly controversial issue. Covering the history of the market socialist idea from the precursors of Oskar Lange to the present, Yunker examines the subject not only in terms of formal economic theory, but in the context of the actual history of communistic socialism as practiced in the U.S.S.R., Eastern Europe, the P.R.C., and elsewhere. The book's historical content and readability will make it of great interest not only to economists and historians of socialism, but to any reader seeking to learn more about the place of market socialism in history and its potential for future application.