Setting the Record Straight

The rulers constantly bombard us with the message that “communism is dead,” that it hasn’t worked and cannot work, and that revolutions in power lead to tyranny. One aspect of their ideological crusade is to systematically distort the revolutionary experiences of the Soviet Union and China, especially the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. And the lies and slanders they put out often have the veneer of factuality.

The Revolutionary Communist Party has initiated a project to SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. Its aim is to bring out the truth of these revolutions– their great achievements and victories, along with their mistakes and shortcomings–and to bring forward the works and insights of Bob Avakian in summing up these experiences and pointing to lessons for humanity today. The campaign will involve research, writing, debates, and outreach. It will focus on colleges and universities. Our goal is to significantly influence the terms of discussion and debate around communism and historical experience of socialist revolution. We invite all who are interested to take part.

 

Set the Record Straight Mission Statement

• Socialism is Much Better Than Capitalism and Communism Will Be A Far Better World: by Raymond Lotta
  • View the Entire Series
  • Part 1: Introduction
  • Part 2: Communism and Socialism
  • Part 3: The Bolsheviks Lead a Revolution That Shakes the World
  • Part 4: The Soviet Experiment: The Social Revolution Ushered in by Proletarian Power
  • Part 5: The Soviet Experiment: Building the World's First Socialist Economy
  • Part 6: The Soviet Experiment: World War 2 and Its Aftermath
  • Part 7: Mao's Breakthrough--The Revolution Comes to Power
  • Part 8: Mao's Advance — Breaking with the Soviet Model
  • Part 9: The Great Leap Forward
  • Part 10: The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China—Not Fanatical Purge, but the Socialist Road vs. the Capitalist Road
  • Part 11: Mao on the Contradictions of Socialist Society
  • Part 12: The Cultural Revolution in China, A Seismic Eruption of Liberation
  • Part 13: The Cultural Revolution—Complex and Liberating Struggle
  • Part 14: The Cultural Revolution—Accomplishments in Education and Culture
  • Part 15: The Cultural Revolution—Health Care and the Economy
  • Part 16: The Defeat of Socialism in China and Lessons for the Future
  • Conclusion—Bob Avakian Reenvisions Socialism

Social and Economic Achievements Under Mao, August 8, 2004

The Truth About the Cultural Revolution, August 29, 2004

You think Communism is a Good Idea but Doesn't Work? Take this Quiz and Think Again (pdf), July 31, 2005

The Outrageous Equating of Communism with Nazism, August 14, 2005

New Mao Biography: Not Historical Scholarship but Hysterical Rant (revised 11.6.05)

"Set the Record Straight" Tour Hits UCLA and UC Berkeley, November 27, 2005

Bush Cheers New Anti-Mao Biography, Authors Are "Thrilled,"
Maoist Scholar Says: "Big Liars and Big Anti-Communists Deserve Each Other.", February 5, 2006

Set the Record Straight Tour Comes to Harvard University, April 2, 2006

Setting the Record Straight Interview: "We had a dream that the world can be better than today" , September 3, 2006

Set the Record Straight: What Is Communism? What Is Its Real History? What Does It Have to Do With the World Today? Frequently Asked Questions, October 8, 2006

Critical Thinking and the Search for the Truth: Today and in Socialist Society, by Raymond Lotta, March 11, 2007

“Now We Know Too Much”…Or Do We? The New Yorker, Mao, and Twisting the Numbers, by Raymond Lotta, November 18, 2007

What Is Communism? What Is Its Real History? What Does It Have to Do with the World Today?
Frequently Asked Questions from Set the Record Straight:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Maoist Revolution in China, including Tibet, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tianenmen Square incident.

• Socialist Planning or "Market Socialism?" by Raymond Lotta