History of Communism

Unhumans (2024): A Book Note

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Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them) is a 2024 book by the conservative media personality Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec, published by War Room Books in July 2024 with a foreword by Steve Bannon. It is a work of political polemic rather than academic history. This note describes what it argues and how it was received; inclusion on this site is not endorsement. Our own account of communist revolutions and their human cost is in our articles, each with its sources.

What the book argues

According to its publisher’s description, the book contends that “for nearly 250 years, far-left uprisings have followed the same battle plans,” and that “communism, socialism, Marxism, and all other radical-isms are not philosophies but tactics” designed to “unleash terror on everyday people and revoke their human rights to life, liberty, and property.” It concludes that “we’re in a new revolution right now,” and promises to show readers how to “fight back — and win” (publisher’s description).

The book calls the forces behind such revolutions “unhumans.” Reviewers report that it describes the present-day American left as waging an “Irregular Communist Revolution” (Corn, Mother Jones), and that it holds up anti-communist strongmen — among them Francisco Franco, Augusto Pinochet and Chiang Kai-shek — and Senator Joseph McCarthy as examples of how communism was fought (Robinson, Current Affairs). According to Robinson, the authors deny that the book calls progressives “unhuman.”

Reception

The book drew national attention because of its endorsements, above all a blurb by J.D. Vance. Vance wrote that communists who once “marched in the streets waving red flags” now “march through HR, college campuses, and courtrooms to wage lawfare against good, honest people” (Corn).

Critics on the left were severe. David Corn of Mother Jones called it a far-right declaration of war on progressives and noted that it describes the January 6 Capitol riot as a “lawfare trap” and its participants as “well-meaning patriots” (Corn). Nathan J. Robinson of Current Affairs called it “a fascist manifesto,” arguing that it rejects democratic debate and defends the violence of the dictators it praises (Robinson).

The book was also criticized from the right. Ryan McMaken of the libertarian Mises Institute, who shares the authors’ hostility to the left, called it “profoundly mediocre.” He credited the authors with being “competent enough at describing the tactics used by leftwing groups to carry out coups and win elections,” but found that it offered “a very incomplete view of history,” lumped together very different movements, and “largely assumes away the role of ideology.” “Having to resort to a Franco or a Pinochet,” he wrote, “is a sign of failure in the realm of ideas and public opinion” (McMaken, Mises Wire).

Our assessment

Unhumans is best read as a political argument about the present, which uses history as evidence. Readers looking for the history of communist revolutions themselves will find more reliable accounts in the scholarship cited throughout this site — for example on the Soviet Terror and famines, Mao’s China and Eastern Europe.

Where to find it

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Sources

Primary sources

Scholarship

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