The modern dominant historiography and ideology attempt to summarize a dramatic century with the wrapping of a pedagogical fairy tale: at the beginning of the 20th century, a beautiful and virtuous young lady (Miss Democracy) is first attacked by a beast (Mr. Communism) and then by a second one (Mr. Nazism-Fascism). By using the differences between the two, and through complex events, the young lady is liberated from the dreadful situation. Having reached maturity without losing a trace of her grace, Miss Democracy can finally live her youthful love by entering into matrimony with Mr. Capitalism.

Domenico Losurdo (1941-2018) remains an enigmatic figure: an "archaeologist" of western history of philosophy and political theory, who shares with Foucault and Nietzsche a strong suspicion of "accepted truths." The wager made by this edition is that, by the end of the reading, the highly trite notions of "totalitarianism" and "failure" or "betrayal" as characteristics of the communist movement and existing socialism will not be self-evident.