230 Pages
    by Routledge

    238 Pages
    by Routledge

    Why did communism grow so quickly? Why did it spread to turn almost half of the world red by the mid-1970s? What impact did it have upon capitalism and capitalist society?

    Communism is a concise introduction to one of the most important and influential movements of the 20th century. It shows how the modern communist movement emerged out of radical millenarian movements of the Middle Ages and the English Civil War, becoming a mass movement of industrial society, seeking to overturn capitalism and replace it with a society of equality, justice, harmony and co-operation. It traces the growth of modern communism from its beginnings in the early nineteenth century to its position of global power at the end of the Second World War.

    Mark Sandle investigates the ultimate failure of communism as a political ideology, and concludes by asking how far the historical record of communism has been used to conceal the historical record of capitalism.

    Ideal for courses in both History and Politics.

    Chronology.  Who’s Who.  Glossary.  Maps.  1. Analysis.   2. The Rise of “Modern” Communism.  3.   Communism in the USSR: The Early Years 1917-53.  4.   The Rise of Global Communism 1945 – 82.  5.   Living Under/With/For Communism.  6.   The Decline and Fall Communism.  Documents.  Further Reading.  References.  

    Biography

    Mark Sandle is a principal lecturer in Russian and Soviet History at De Montfort University. He recently won an award as a DMU Distinguished Teacher (for which he was nominated by his students). He is fascinated by ideas and their impact and loves looking at the broad sweep of history and finding patterns to help people make sense of the past. His previous publications include A Short History of Soviet Socialism (1999) and Brezhnev Reconsidered (2002).

    "By looking at radical millenarian movements of the Middle Ages and the English Civil War, Mark Sandle explains how communism became a mass movement seeking to overturn capitalism and replace it with a society of equality, justice, harmony and cooperation."

    Times Higher Education