Paul Mason

Writer and political consultant Paul Mason discusses, Reds, a bold and unsettling new history of Communism. 

Reaching beyond the turmoil of the 20th Century, Mason examines the global roots of Communism, arguing that the desire to live without hierarchy and property is entrenched deep in the human psyche. But Reds also asks how the idealism of millions of ordinary people led to acquiescence in mass murder, repression and social atomisation – a fact whose legacy still haunts both Russia and China today. Drawing on first-hand testimonies of victims and perpetrators, Reds delivers a terrifying account of how the 20th Century experiment in collective living became nightmarish dystopia. 

But Mason will also explore the future of Communism: what does it look like today? And, despite the bloodshed and chaos associated with it, does it still have relevance for our fractured century? 

Paul Mason is a London based writer, broadcaster and political strategist. He is consulting editor at The New World magazine, where he writes a weekly column. He edits the newsletter Conflict & Democracy. A former economics editor at BBC Newsnight and Channel Four News, he is the author of seven books including Postcapitalism, How To Stop Fascism and Rare Earth: A Novel.