Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring For much of the twentieth century, more than a third of the world's population lived in states claiming to be guided by Marxism-Leninism and building Communism. The first and most powerful Communist state, the USSR, was long seen by the West as its principal threat and competitor: for some four decades, there was a Cold War between the Soviet bloc and the West. For many, the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, and then of Comecon, the Warsaw Pact, and the USSR itself in 1991, represented the failure of Communism and the final victory of liberal democracy and capitalism. However, since the collapse of all European and many Asian and African Communist states in the 1990s, one remaining Communist state in particular - China - has proved to be a major economic and technological success story, while becoming more authoritarian politically. This Very Short Introduction considers the ideas of the father of modern Communism, Karl Marx, and other major contributors to Communist theory and practice. It then compares these theories with the realities of Communism since the early-twentieth century.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.