Continuing the Revolution After the Revolution: Socialist China, 1949–1976

by Socialist Transition Period Study Group

If you want to know what the future looks like, read this book. After the communist-led revolution came to victory in 1949, China embarked on the socialist transition to communism. Socialism in China ended centuries of feudal oppression and a century of imperialist domination in a few years, through land reform, self-reliance, suppression and punishment of exploiters, and establishing the beginnings of equality between men and women. Beyond those monumental achievements, the Chinese people further revolutionized their society by creating communes in the countryside; radically transforming education, healthcare, and art to serve the people; whittling away at the division between mental and manual labor; involving the masses of peasants and proletarians in running society; and moving beyond commodity exchange. In doing so, the Chinese people confronted the challenges of the socialist transition period, relying on mass initiative and no shortage of class struggle to prevent a new bourgeoisie, rising from within the leadership of socialist society, from taking China back down the capitalist road. Ultimately, capitalist roaders succeeded in seizing power through a counterrevolutionary coup in 1976. But from 1949 to 1976, socialist China stood as a beacon of hope to exploited and oppressed people around the world hungry for revolution. This book explains why.

Written collectively by the Socialist Transition Period Study Group, Continuing the Revolution After the Revolution: Socialist China, 1949–1976 is slated for publication December 26, 2025.

Paperback

Published December 26, 2025

Reviews

[Terrance Tupper · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best intro for beginners, and worthwhile for everybody else for getting a more well-rounded understanding. I've read several books on socialist China but this one filled in a lot of gaps I had in knowledge, especially the roles of different groupings during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and in general the decades between the end of the Chinese Civil War and the GPCR. It's available to read online for free, which is where I read it. I also bought the physical to support the writers and what they do (and so I can annotate it), and if you care about the message and can afford it you should buy it too.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of China's revolutionary period