A bold and challenging book that cuts right to the debate of our times. Is capitalism the best of all possible worlds? Avakian contrasts the brutal realities of the free market to the claims of its defenders. Has communism proven to be a disastrous nightmare?
Avakian refutes the charges that socialist economies are unworkable and that communism suppresses individuality and freedom. But he probes deeper, into the real history and lessons of revolution, especially the Maoist Cultural Revolution. Can revolutions survive in a hostile world? How can they avoid going sour? And is it really possible to move society beyond private gain and money relations? Bob Avakian shows that communism is both visionary and practical. If you want to know what real communism is about, and if you wonder whether society has to be run as a dog-eat-dog enterprise, then you will find this book as timely as it is provocative.
Bob Avakian has dedicated his life since the 1960's to the cause of revolution and communism. While providing practical leadership to the revolutionary movement as Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, he has deeply studied and summed up the world historical experience of the communist revolution and the socialist societies it has brought into being---the great achievements and the serious problems and errors---and has studied many other fields of human experience and knowledge. He has advanced the science of communism and made decisive breakthroughs in the theory, method, and strategy of revolution and the final goal of communism throughout the world.
Cornel West describes Avakian as someone who "is a long distance runner in the freedom struggle against imperialism, racism and capitalism" in his comment about Avakian's memoir, From Ike to Mao and Beyond, My Journey from Mainstream America to Revolutionary Communist.
