Theory and practics of communism

The Theory and Practice of Communism was first published in January 1950. It won instant acclaim, was reprinted several times, and revised editions appeared in June 1951 and finally in January 1957. The text reproduced for the present Pelican edition is that of the latest revision by the author, carried out in 1956.

It is not difficult to understand the success of Carew Hunt's study, to which generations of university students already owe their first acquaintance with marxism, and which has already become a classic of political exegesis. The subject is of burning topical interest, and is likely to remain so. No political and social doctrine has ever led to such passionate commitment for or against it. No theory of society which has an earthly utopia as its ultimate aim has ever been put into practice, or been claimed to have been put into practice, at what appears to the observer brought up in the liberal tradition an inordinate toll of human life and suffering. The faith in the ultimate attain ability of the utopia still dominates many minds throughout the world. It is small wonder that some students of marxism have interpreted it as a religious or quasi-religious phenomenon, with parallels in its effects on the human mind and conduct in Christianity and Islam.