" Socialism...represents in one sense a decisive break with the present. History has to be broken and remade -- not because socialists arbitrarily prefer revolution to reform, being bloodthirsty beasts deaf to the voice of moderation, but because of the depth of the sickness that has to be cured. I say 'history,' but in fact Marx is reluctant to dignify everything that has happened so far with that title. For him, all we have known so far is 'prehistory' -- which is to say, one variation after another on human oppression and exploitation. The only truly historic act would be to break from this dreary narrative into history proper. As a socialist, you have to be prepared to spell out in some detail how this would be achieved, and what institutions it would involve. "

― Terry Eagleton , Why Marx Was Right