REDS – Paul Mason

Sun 18 October, 2026 at 7:00 pm

In his bold re-evaluation of communism, Paul Mason reaches beyond the turmoil of the 20th century, as far back as antiquity, to explore communist ideas, leaders, movements and regimes. REDS argues that the desire to live without hierarchy and property is an impulse deeply rooted in our human nature but asks how the idealism of millions of working- class activists led to acquiescence in mass murder and repression. But the story is not over. Western democracies are stagnant. Climate chaos demands radical economic answers. And there’s also the battle over our digital future with techno-egalitarianism vying with right- wing libertarianism for control. Urgent, wide-ranging, and provocative, REDS confronts communism’s enduring relevance in a fractured 21st century. It acknowledges the ideology’s contradictions, examines its tragic consequences and asks what its future might mean as China and Russia challenge the democratic world order.

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. Formerly 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. He is an adjunct fellow at the Council on Geostrategy. Awards include RTS Specialist Broadcaster of the Year (2011) and the Erich Fromm Prize ( 2020). He is an alumnus of the University of Sheffield.