Paul Mason Reds: a Global History of Communism

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Why did an ideology that promised equality, solidarity and liberation so often produce repression, terror and dictatorship? And why, more than three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, do communist ideas continue to exert such influence, while China's model of authoritarian state capitalism presents an increasingly powerful alternative to Western liberal democracy?In Reds: A Global History of Communism, award-winning journalist and author Paul Mason tells the extraordinary global story of communism - not simply from the Russian Revolution onwards, but from ancient ideas of communal life and early utopian movements through Marx and Engels, the Bolsheviks, Stalin and Mao, the Cold War and the rise of contemporary China.Drawing on the testimony of perpetrators, victims and activists, Mason confronts one of the central paradoxes of modern history: how the idealism of millions of people seeking emancipation could coexist with mass killing, political repression and the destruction of individual freedom. Yet he also distinguishes between the ideals that inspired generations of socialists and the authoritarian regimes that claimed to represent them, asking whether the pursuit of a more equal society must inevitably lead to the concentration and abuse of power. Why has the desire for radical equality proved so persistent, and what can that history tell us about a world in which liberal democracy faces renewed pressure and China's model of authoritarian, state-led development offers an alternative to the West?The book has been described by historian Simon Sebag Montefiore as "gripping, exuberant and epic", while Kirkus Reviews calls it a "deeply researched, thought-through, essential history". Writing in The Spectator, Victor Sebestyen describes it as "surprising and provocative", and Adam LeBor calls it "essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the forces and ideas that have made our modern world."At a moment of renewed confrontation between democratic and authoritarian powers, Paul Mason joins us to examine the extraordinary history of communism, why it went so catastrophically wrong in the twentieth century, and whether the ideals that originally inspired it might yet find new expression in the twenty-first. Can the pursuit of a more equal society ever be reconciled with individual liberty and democracy?Paul Mason is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author. He spent more than a decade at BBC Newsnight, first as Business Correspondent and later Economics Editor, before becoming Economics Editor at Channel 4 News. During his broadcasting career he reported on subjects including the global financial crisis, the rise of China, the 2014 Gaza war, the Greek debt crisis and political upheaval across Europe.He is the author of eight books, including the bestselling PostCapitalism: A Guide to Our Future, How to Stop Fascism, Clear Bright Future and Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere. His journalism has appeared in publications including The Guardian, The New European and Frankfurter Rundschau. He is currently an adjunct fellow in Defence and Resilience at the Council on Geostrategy and a visiting senior fellow at the University of Exeter's Centre for the Public Understanding of Defence and Security. Reds: A Global History of Communism was published in August 2026.A Q&A session will follow.