To Overthrow the World

Description

It is now three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which prompted Francis Fukuyama to proclaim the ‘End of History’ and confident post-mortems of Communism to fill the airwaves. At the height of American triumphalism in 2001, Richard Pipes opened his short history of Communism by calling the book not only ‘an introduction’ but, ‘at the same time, [an] obituary.’

Twenty years later, things look different. Russia may no longer be Communist, but Stalin is more admired there than at any time since his death in 1953. Thrown off its perch by the 9/11 attacks, ineffectual military interventions, de-industrialisation and spiralling debts, the United States has bled power and prestige in uncanny parallel with Communist China’s rise in economic power and global influence–not least in the US itself, whose institutions have become beholden to the Chinese market and Chinese interests.

With the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020-1, the Chinese model has spread globally, with once-inviolable freedoms–of movement, travel and association, of speech and robust debate over controversial public policies–all but abandoned. Liberal democratic capitalism seems moribund, while Chinese Communism assimilates the world. How did this happen, and why did no one see it coming?

Reviews

‘This vivid history contains valuable insights, including that of Bakunin, the Russian anarchist, who immediately pointed out the crippling contradiction of Marxism—that it merely substitutes one power–hungry form of government for another. McMeekin follows this sceptical thread, detailing economic weakness and political madness of communist regimes.’ ― Geoffrey Wawro, author of The Vietnam War: A Military History

‘No other book to my knowledge has demonstrated so damningly the endemic falsity of the ideology’s doctrines, together with the appalling consequences of the social experiment in a worldwide setting.’― Nikolai Tolstoy, historian

‘An essential read. Sean McMeekin is one of the few historians who understands the history of communism from the ground up. He has written a powerful and urgent book, revealing communism in all its ugly detail, and showing how its pernicious influence still lingers on into the twenty-first century.’ ― Nick Lloyd, author of The Western Front

‘With amazing scholarship, Sean McMeekin tells the story of the rise and fall of Communism. McMeekin punctures one myth after another. Many people today are too young to remember the Cold War, and it is vital that they learn the facts about Communism found in To Overthrow the World.’ ― David Gordon, Senior Fellow, Ludwig von Mises Institute

Author(s)

Sean McMeekin PhD was educated at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. Having visited American and European battlefields, libraries and archives, venturing as far east as Russia and Turkey, he now teaches at Bard College. His eight award-winning books include Stalin's War: A New History of World War.