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Red blight

Chapter 4: Prologue
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About This Book

The author offers a polemical critique of Communism, arguing that its promises of security and abundance are unattainable and that its implementation suppresses personal freedom and enterprise. Drawing on personal travel and reporting in China and Manchuria, she traces historical and ideological antecedents, profiles key Communist personalities, and analyzes propaganda and tactics used to gain power. Chapters examine the impact of Communist rule on society, the failures of opposing nationalist leadership, and life behind the Soviet-style curtain. An appendix and bibliography support her observations. The work concludes with a call for national vigilance and a defense of individual initiative as antidotes to totalitarian expansion.

Prologue

Oh Man, thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debased by slavery, debauched by power;
Thy love is lust; thy friendship a cheat;
Hypocrisy thy smile; thy word deceit—
Thy nature ennobled but by name,
The very beasts might bid thee blush for shame.

Lord Byron