The collapse of communism was one of the most defining moments of the twentieth century. This Very Short Introduction examines the history behind the political, economic, and social structures of communism as an ideology.

In the four volumes of The Development Trajectory of Eastern Society and the Theories and Practices of Socialism, the author re-examines Marx and Engel’s theories on the development trajectory of the Eastern societies by integrating theoretical analysis of Marxist theories and a historical investigation of socialist revolution and construction around the world. This volume discusses the victories and failures of the 100-year trajectory of socialism. Since the Russian Revolution of October 1917, socialism has been practiced for nearly a hundred years in countries at various stages of development. The author provides a proper synthesis of the lessons derived from socialism’s first hundred years as well as China's reforms and interaction with the world. In addition, he analyzes Marx and Engels' socialist theories and their significance for contemporary social development in Eastern societies. Readers who study Marxism, Marxist philosophy, philosophical history and the history of philosophy will find this volume of immense interest.

This book states that the political systems of China, Vietnam, Cuba and other socialist countries are showing distinct maturity and ability to deal effectively with challenges – the most recent being the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to understand how they have developed their structures, it is time to return to the roots of the Marxist tradition and re-examine the question of socialist governance. It was Friedrich Engels (and less so Marx) who laid out some of the theoretical foundations for socialist governance. On the basis of extensive research in 1870s and 1880s, Engels developed his analysis of the nature of hitherto existing states as a ‘separated public power’; the role of the dictatorship of the proletariat and its exercise of power; the actual meaning of the ‘withering away of the state’, which would be one of the very last outcomes of socialist construction; and the nature of socialist governance itself. On this matter, he proposed a de-politicised public power that would stand in the midst of society and focus on managing the processes of production for the sake of the true interests of society.

Placing Stalinism in its international context, The Stalinist Era explains the origins and consequences of Soviet state intervention and violence.

The theory of Permanent Revolution has been associated with Leon Trotsky for more than a century since the first Russian Revolution in 1905. Trotsky was the most brilliant proponent of Permanent Revolution but by no means its sole author. The documents in this volume, most of them translated into English for the first time, demonstrate that Trotsky was one of several participants in a debate from 1903-7 that involved numerous leading figures of Russian and European Marxism, including Karl Kautsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Franz Mehring, Parvus and David Ryazanov. This volume reassembles that debate, assesses it with reference to Marx and Engels, and provides new evidence for interpreting the formative years of Russian revolutionary Marxism.