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Increasingly, people are responding to the contemporary crises underwritten by capitalism by exploring the politics of communism. Some have taken a sympathetic, even nostalgic, view of “actually existing socialist” (AES) societies past and present, including the USSR, China, and Cuba, and the Marxist-Leninist political tradition associated with them. They see these states as a powerful alternative to capitalism, governed by parties genuinely committed to socialism and staunchly resisting Western imperialism. But were these societies really in transition towards a classless, stateless society of freedom — the original communist goal? Is Marxism-Leninism the political approach that should orient people on the left now?
Red Flags traces the path from the 1917 Russian Revolution to the construction of the world’s first AES society: the USSR. It also looks at the post-revolution societies created along the same lines in China and Cuba. Using the intellectual tools of historical materialism, Red Flags argues that they were not in fact moving towards communism because the social relations remained fixed in class exploitation. The workers were never liberated.
At a time of burgeoning anti-communism from both conservatives and liberals, this book is an accessible, vibrant synthesis of the history of communism that draws on the latest research to develop a rigorous analysis of the contradictions and uneasy truths the left needs to confront if it is to build a genuinely liberatory alternative to capitalism.
— China Miéville, author of October: The Story of the Russian Revolution and A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto
“Is a radical, democratic, and emancipatory socialism possible in these grim times? Yes, says
David Camfield. In Red Flags, he invites us to settle for nothing less than a liberated future
beyond capitalism, oppression, and ecological disaster. This thoughtful and hopeful book is
essential reading for everyone who wants to change the world.”
— David McNally, Cullen Distinguished Professor of History and Business, University of Houston, author of Blood and Money: War, Slavery, Finance and Empire.
“Red Flags is a much needed reckoning with a fraught history. Camfield insists on assessing states that practised “actually existing socialism” not just from what advocates and detractors have said about them but by adopting a radical critique of authoritarian politics to understand the societies that lived under AES. The conflation of communism — a radically pro-democracy worldview — with AES continues to limit the anti-capitalist imagination today, as many self-declared leftists take it upon themselves to “defend” AES societies from attacks from the right instead of critiquing authoritarian “left” politics and moving beyond them once and for all.”
— Elia Ayoub, co-founder of From the Periphery and founder of The Fire These Times and Hauntologies.net
“Thank goodness someone had the clarity of mind to write this book. We are especially lucky that it was David Camfield, who combines his knowledge of world history with a fiery, unwavering commitment to working-class democracy. He is fair to proponents of ‘Actually Existing Socialism’ without blunting his argument that their politics have disastrously distorted the meaning of communism. This short, readable book answers urgent questions on the path to human emancipation.”
— Saima Desai, former editor of Briarpatch Magazine
“I grew up under a Stalinist regime in the West Bengal of the 1970s and ’80s. I witnessed the courting of big business and the eviction of people from their land by the regime in the name of ‘development.’ We were encouraged to read Marx, but never encouraged to apply Marx to our reality. This dissonance between theory and practice also marked my observation of the regimes of the USSR and Eastern Europe. While capitalist states did not always justify their repression, so-called socialist states justified present repression in the name of a bright communist future.”
— Tithi Bhattacharya, associate professor, history, Purdue University, and editor of Social Reproduction Theory
“Red Flags explains the attraction and influence of the ideas of the rulers of the former Eastern bloc and China, and why they are inadequate in the struggle for human liberation.”
— Ian Allinson, author of Workers Can Win: A Guide to Organising At Work
Chapter 1:: Thinking About “Actually Existing Socialism” in a World on Fire
Chapter 2:: The Russian Revolution: From 1917 to the “Great Break”
Chapter 3:: The USSR1928–91
Chapter 4:: China 1949–Present
Chapter 5:: Cuba 1959–Present
Chapter 6:: So, What Kind of Societies Were They?
Chapter 7:: Why Does It Matter Today?
Chapter 8:: An Alternative Tradition
Chapter 9:: What Can We Hope For?