Over the last two years, the word “socialist” has been tossed around a lot — almost always inaccurately, and typically for the purposes of pandering.

So, today, it’s refreshing to write about an actual socialist: Billy Bragg.

From the very beginning, the British rocker / social-activist Bragg has used his barbed folk-punk music to speak out on social and political issues. He has always fervently embraced the egalitarian tenets of democratic socialism, and has always been a sharp critic of conservatives, whether in America or in his native England. When he got his start, in the early ‘80s, he made his rep in partly on the strength of his brashness and his blistering criticism of Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s conservative 1980s-era prime minister.

Twenty-seven years have passed since Billy Bragg released his first album, and his songs now tend to be more melodic, but Bragg is still using his sometimes-ragged guitar barbs and pointed vocals to rouse the rabble when it comes to supporting social causes and seeking social justice.

Bragg’s latest project is indeed devoted to a social cause: His “Breaking Rocks” documentary looks at his Jail Guitar Doors campaign, which seeks to improve the long-term outlook for prison inmates through rehabilitation and musical therapy.

Watch a clip from“Breaking Rocks”:

Bragg and the film’s director, Alan Miles, worked on the documentary for three years. The project began when Bragg was contacted by a British drug and alcohol counselor who was working to rehabilitate inmates, partly via weekly music workshops. Except the counselor only had one guitar. So Bragg donated six guitars to the program, which has now expanded to more than 40 prisons in the UK, says Bragg.

Bragg, who comes to The Ark on Saturday for a sold-out solo show, named the program after the Clash song “Jail Guitar Doors.”

“A lot of the time, when groups approach me to help with their causes, I get asked to do a show to raise funds, and I'm happy to do that, but this was an opportunity to do something more personal. I wanted to do something meaningful, and I just thought, ‘This is important,” says Bragg by phone from his home on the southwest coast of England.

The program, in fact, was such a success that it has expanded to the U.S., launched here by none other than Wayne Kramer, former guitarist for the MC5, the iconic Ann Arbor/Detroit proto-punk band, who now lives in Los Angeles. (And in a way it brings things full circle — Bragg reminds that the song “Jail Guitar Doors” referred to Kramer by name — at least, by his first name.)

Bragg spent much of the summer calling attention to the prison issue by appearing at screenings of the documentary in various cities in England. “As a musician, I understand how playing music can help you transcend your surroundings. That’s what music did for me when I was a kid. The ability to momentarily escape your surroundings, by just inhabiting the song, is a rare commodity in prison.”

One report in England said that participants of his program have a 10-15 percent re-conviction rate, as opposed to the national average of 61 percent.

Bragg’s latest CD, “Mr. Love and Justice,” was released in 2008. On the disc, he was backed by his longtime and sometimes unruly band, the Blokes, as well as by Ian McLagen, former keyboardist for the Faces. The title captures the twin themes that Bragg has long pursued in his songs: 1) Our failings and emotional frailties when it comes to romance; and 2) How important it is that we all do what we can to ensure that we live in a just, fair society. The songs are alternately poignant, stirring, hopeful and, as ever, some do in fact prod the listener to take up the banner for justice. Listen to Billy Bragg "O Freedom" (MP3).

Bragg’s next project will be a “trio” recording with Joe Henry and Rosanne Cash, with recording sessions to start in November. “We’ll all be bringing our own songs in, and we’ll all be singing, and Joe will produce,” says Bragg. Stylistically, he’s not sure yet how the record will shape up. “For a project like this, I think we’ll just sit down with the material, and let the songs dictate how the record should sound.”

Although Bragg is 53, and has obviously written about other topics over the years, he now finds himself “feeling more political than I had in a long time. I was involved in our recent election here in England, and working with all the young people was quite invigorating.”

But Bragg is not just a student of politics and social issues in his home country. He also keeps a watchful eye on the U.S. political landscape and social movements.

“I think all of the craziness you’ve seen there, from the right wing and the tea party, has a lot to do with the fact that conservatives are having a really hard time accepting the fact that you have a black president,” says Bragg.

“I don’t know if most Americans have a very strong sense of how the U.S. is perceived by other countries. Yes, what went down with Glenn Beck in Washington was a nightmare,” says Bragg, during an interview that took place two days after Beck’s August 28 tea party rally, at which Beck actually claimed — in the face of much ridicule — that he was “restoring the honor of the civil rights movement.”

“But the rest of us are still celebrating the fact that the U.S. was progressive-minded enough to elect Obama, and not just because he was America’s first black president,” stresses Bragg.

“For a long time, here in Europe, we’ve needed the U.S. to send a signal that America isn’t a whole nation of right-wing, gun-toting nut jobs — because the media here tends to focus on those folks, who make for a more sensationalistic story. And Obama’s election showed us that more reasonable, more rational side of America.”

Although some progressives here in the U.S. are disappointed that Obama has seemed to take a more centrist position on many issues, Bragg takes a longer view, and a more positive perspective. “I think that the election of Obama itself was a big expression of America’s better self. And, remember, George Bush left him with a huge, huge mess to clean up.

“So, I believe that, as long as he is in the White House, we still live in a world of great possibilities.”

Bragg on disc For those who are not familiar with Billy Bragg’s work, and would like to dive right into the deep end — or even for those already on board, but might enjoy a treasure trove of previously-unreleased material — I highly recommend the definitive Bragg overview, released in ’06 on the Yep Roc label. Actually, it came in two parts. Titled “Volume 1” and “Volume 2,” these two nine-disc box sets included expanded editions of eight of his albums, as well a pair of DVDs.

“Volume 1” pulled together the recordings from the first phase of Bragg’s career (1983-’90) — “Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy,” “Brewing Up With Billy Bragg,” “Talking to the Taxman About Poetry,” “Live and Dubious” and “The Internationale.” “Volume 2” comprised four albums that spanned Bragg’s second phase, up through 2002 — “Workers Playtime,” “Don't Try This at Home,” “William Bloke,” and “England, Half English.” Each CD came with a second disc of outtakes and rarities, and each disc was also sold as an individual two-CD release.

The outtakes offered a deeper look at Bragg’s artistic evolution. For example, the bonus disc on “Life’s a Riot” presented a few tracks from Bragg’s transitional period from the singer in the punk band Riff Raff to a solo performer. It was clear from the beginning that Bragg was a big fan of the Clash, and to hear those early recordings, of him performing solo for the first time — bellowing his political anger from the rooftops, armed only with his electric guitar — is to remember how brilliant his synergy of the Clash and Woody Guthie really was. And some of the outtakes from the “Talking with the Taxman” CD were more countrified folk tunes, including a cover of Guthrie’s “Deportee” — which foreshadowed his work in the ‘90s, when he hooked up with Wilco to set old Guthrie lyrics to new music for the “Mermaid Avenue” recordings in ’98 and 2000.

Kevin Ransom, a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com, first wrote about Billy Bragg for the Ann Arbor News in 1991. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.