Overview of Communist Ideology and History
- Communism: A History by Richard Pipes (2001) – an excellent 160-page introduction to almost every aspect of this course. Covers Marxist thought and the variants of communism as implemented in the Soviet Union, China, and elsewhere. Provides some specifics on course themes such as utopia and terror, the inevitability of inequality and falling living standards under communism, etc. The last 12 pages of the book set forth the most devastating and compact critique of communism you are likely to find anywhere. (Highly Recommended – the best place to start this course ****)
