This study offers an insightful look at the current state of socialism presenting a clear-cut agenda to all those concerned for a more egalitarian world. Patnaik examines the aging of the command economy and its failure to provide for the needs of the people, the role of self-interest in society and whether this is compatible with a planned economy, and the need for a motive to work in a socialist society. These subjects are woven together with the various strands of economic thought which have led to what we today know as socialism and the welfare state.