Stage II: History of the International Communist Movement

Guiding Questions for the Stage

In what ways does the class struggle change after a successful socialist revolution? How about much further after?

How have communist movements been a force for social change?

How has the communist movement been united and in what ways has it been fractured? What has been some of the effects of this fracturing? What does this fracturing mean for us as CPUSA and IMCWP members?


USSR Post-Revolution. Economic and Political Concerns

Link to Text Online

International Publishers Link

Session 01: History of the CPSU, Short Course. (Stalin/CC CPSU). 

Chapters 6–8. : [89 Pages]

  • Period of Preparation (1914 – March 1917)
  • Socialist Revolution (1917 – 1918)
  • Period of Foreign Military Intervention and Civil War (1918–1920)
  • Period of Foreign Military Intervention and Civil War (1918–1920) 

Session 02: History of the CPSU, Short Course. (Stalin/CC CPSU).

Chapters 9–12 : [111 Pages]

  • Period of Transition to Peaceful Economic work
  • Struggle for Socialist Industrialization
  • Struggle for Collectivization of Agriculture
  • Introduction of New Constitution

China: Establishment of the PRC and the Cultural Revolution

Link to PDF

(Can also find used copies of this book, but it is out of print now)

Session 03: Wind in the Tower (Han Suyin)

Part 1 — the Building of New China (1949–1962) [190 Pages]

Session 04: Wind in the Tower (Han Suyin)

Part 2 — The Cultural Revolution and After (1962–…)  [180 Pages]


Examining Imperialism

Link to Book (Could also obtain it from elsewhere if preferred)

Session 05: How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Rodney, Walter)

Session 06: How Europe Underdeveloped Africa


Later Struggles in the USSR

Session 07: Heroic Struggle, Bitter Defeat  (Bahman Azad) [185 Pages]


Session 08: China’s Economic Dialectic (Cheng Enfu)

Chapters 1-3 [185 Pages]

  • China’s Modern Economic System
  • China’s Economy under the New Normal
  • China’s Five New Developmental Concepts

Session 09: China’s Economic Dialectic

Chapters 4–7 [162 Pages]

  • Reform of China’s Distribution System
  • Reform and the Relationship between the Chinese Market and Government
  • The Gradual Opening up of China’s Domestic Capital Market
  • The Opening up of China’s Economy

Electives

Life in a Communist Country

In addition to the core curriculum, each participant will select one of these texts to read throughout the entire course. 

  • Stasi State or Socialist Paradise (Bruni de la Motte and John Green)
  • Blackshirts and Reds (Michael Parenti)
  • Soviet Democracy (Pat Sloan)
  • We are Cuba (Hellen Yaffe)
  • Patriots, Traitors, and Empires: The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom (Stephen Gowans)
  • Why Women have Better Sex Under Socialism (Kristen Ghodsee)
    • Note: the author is a social democrat and holds some unfounded prejudices against AES countries, but I read this book and found it really interesting.
  • Or something else! 

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Welcome to a world of limitless possibilities, where the journey is as exhilarating as the destination, and where every moment is an opportunity to make your mark on the canvas of existence. The only limit is the extent of your imagination.

Navigating life’s intricate fabric, choices unfold paths to the extraordinary, demanding creativity, curiosity, and courage for a truly fulfilling journey.