A lucid and thoughtful book; the author has done an impressive job.
After describing the basic tenets of Socialism, the author discussed about the existent Socialist tradition before Marx came up with his scientific socialism. I liked the informative analysis on the early Utopians like the popular, but theoretically not so convincing, Etienne Cabet and more sound theorists like Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owens. Then the Anarchist theories of Proudhon and Bakunin were also discussed in some detail. This studies were interspersed with the author’s thoughtful comment throughout, which I liked. And here is one slightly unnerving quote from Proudhon:
To be governed is to be watched over, inspected, spied on, directed, legislated at, regulated, docketed, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, assessed, weighed, censored, ordered about, by men who have neither the right nor the knowledge nor the virtue…. That’s government, that’s its justice, that’s its morality!
One notable feature of this book is that it scarcely discussed about Marxism as implemented in Russia, North Vietnam, and China. Instead we get a thorough discussion of Cuban and Sweden’s socialism, which is interesting! Also the enrichment, and fragmentation, of Socialist ideal after the rise of Feminist and Left-Green movement were not left. The author is not oblivious to the issues of the system, but he doesn't shy away from pointing out the strengths. Recommended!
A mostly cogent analysis of the similarities and dissimilarities between the totalitarian regimes of Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler—and he anticipated that the inclusion of Lenin with the other two will shock many.
In the first part, he presents some arguments to convince the reader that Lenin, in the short time he was in power, had shown remarkable similarity with Stalin: punishing and 'liquidating' dissenters, being ruthless with the concerns of common Russians, specially peasants, overruling the possibility of a democracy—at times berating it—, and taking brutal steps to implement communist policies.
In the subsequent sections, he shows parallels between Hitler and Stalin. His account of Stalin is particularly well written. While dekulakizing USSR, after the number of rich, and yet unpunished, peasants reached a really low number, it became difficult to determine "who is a kulak?". To settle that it was decided that any family with two samovars or a "status symbol" was to be considered as a kulak. One astonishing fact about that period is recent analyses show that the cheap slave labour by Gulag inmates was actually counter-productive for Russian economy. Like the common Russians, the party members also faced Stalin's wrath. According to Stalin, if any member committed suicide to evade a show trial, he "is covering his track and deceiving the party for one last time. Suicide is simply a method to spit on the party for the last time".
The Communist party received enormous support from the citizens, mainly urban population. At the time of show trial of Nikolai Bukharin, after complications regarding the New Economic Policy, many prominent literary figures singed an open letter saying "We demand the spies' execution! We shall not allow the enemies of the Soviet Union to live". The writers include, among others, Mikhail Sholokov, Alexei Tolstoy, and surprisingly, Vasily Grossman, who was once saved from imprisonment by Bukharin's direct help. Grossman demanded "No mercy to the Trotskyite degenerates, the murderous accomplishes of fascism." I mean, wow.
Gellately sometimes has placed opinions, which are not well supported by data presented in the text, in between well-argued points. Though they do not contradict his claims, I found that problematic. Also while describing the show trials, he did not present the allegations, however superficial they may be, of the Communist party against its members. The clashes between the Nazis and the Communist party members of Germany are somewhat less described. Overall, I will recommend this book to anyone interested in the modus operandi of totalitarian regimes.