Ifnowindeclinesincethetumultuouseventsof1989,communismwaswithoutdoubtthegreatpoliticalmovementofthetwentiethcentury--atitspeak,morethanathirdoftheworld’spopulationlivedundercommunistrule--anditisstillapowerfulforceinmanyareasoftheworld,mostnotablyinthePeople’sRepublicofChina.Whatiscommunism?Wheredidtheideacomefromandwhatattractedpeopletoit?Isthereafutureforcommunism?ThisVeryShortIntroductionconsidersthesequestionsandmoreinthesearchtoexploreandunderstandthiscontroversialpoliticalforce.Explainingthetheorybehinditsideology,andexaminingthehistoryandmindsetbehinditspolitical,economicandsocialstructures,LeslieHolmesconsiderstheevolutionofcommunismfromMarx’stime,toitspracticeintheBolshevikRevolution,toitscollapsein1989-91.Holmeshighlightstheinnerdynamics,crises,anddemiseofcommunismasaglobalsystem,andintroducesthemajorplayersinthecommunistworld,includingMarx,Lenin,Stalin,andMao.AbouttheSeries:Combiningauthoritywithwit,accessibility,andstyle,VeryShortIntroductionsofferanintroductiontosomeoflife’smostinterestingtopics.Writtenbyexpertsforthenewcomer,theydemonstratethefinestcontemporarythinkingaboutthecentralproblemsandissuesinhundredsofkeytopics,fromphilosophytoFreud,quantumtheorytoIslam.
