A new children’s book argues that communism is “not that hard.”
The Washington Free Beacon reported that the book, “Communism for Kids,” was published last month by MIT Press.
The book argues that communism has failed only because it has not been implemented correctly, according to the Free Beacon.
MIT Press describes the book’s author, Bini Adamczak, as “a Berlin-based social theorist and artist, writes on political theory, queer politics, and the past future of revolutions.”
In a synopsis of the book — which has a listed retail price of $12.95 — the publisher said that “once upon a time, people yearned to be free of the misery of capitalism.”
“How could their dreams come true?” the synopsis asks. “This little book proposes a different kind of communism, one that is true to its ideals and free from authoritarianism.”
The synopsis adds that the book “presents political theory in the simple terms of a children’s story, accompanied by illustrations of lovable little revolutionaries experiencing their political awakening. The Free Beacon’s Elizabeth Harrington tweeted one of the illustrations:
The publisher adds that the political theory "unfolds like a story":
It all unfolds like a story, with jealous princesses, fancy swords, displaced peasants, mean bosses, and tired workers — not to mention a Ouija board, a talking chair, and a big pot called “the state.” Before they know it, readers are learning about the economic history of feudalism, class struggles in capitalism, different ideas of communism, and more. Finally, competition between two factories leads to a crisis that the workers attempt to solve in six different ways (most of them borrowed from historic models of communist or socialist change). Each attempt fails, since true communism is not so easy after all. But it’s also not that hard. At last, the people take everything into their own hands and decide for themselves how to continue. Happy ending? Only the future will tell. With an epilogue that goes deeper into the theoretical issues behind the story, this book is perfect for all ages and all who desire a better world.
In a statement released by MIT Press, Rachel Kushner, author of "The Flamethrowers," said: “Communism for Kids, by Bini Adamczak, is in fact for everyone, an inspired and necessary book especially now, a moment when people feel that we are on the verge of the destruction of the world, and without any new world to hope for, or believe in.”
“Have two hundred years of capitalism brought us freedom? Or just more inequality than has ever been experienced by humans on earth?” Kushner added. “Global capitalism is not human destiny, it merely is. To think beyond it, with the help of Adamczak’s primer, is to take a first step toward freedom, at least the freedom to imagine other worlds.”
Fredric R. Jameson, a professor at Duke University, also heaped praise upon the book in a statement released by MIT Press:
"This delightful little book may be helpful in showing youngsters there are other forms of life and living than the one we currently ‘enjoy’; and even some adults might learn from it as well,” Jameson said. "At a time when our younger generations are not only dissatisfied but active enough to have some new thoughts of their own and to look around seriously for alternatives, political pedagogy has a real function and might well, as here, be reinvented in new ways."
As Harrington notes, communist regimes are responsible for approximately 100 million deaths in the last century.
