This was a wonderful read on some disturbing subject matter, with an optimistic turn at the end (the titular White Pill).
I highly recommend this book. Here are some of my thoughts👇
Although it gives some earlier context and touches on related events, the White Pill is the story of the Soviet Union from its creation until its dissolution. I had been interested in this topic before so I was familiar with some parts, but there were many new things for me.
The book begins with Ayn Rand explaining the difference between life in the Soviet Union and America. Starting the book here leads with a positive note - and the rest of the book is not so positive.
Next came the history of anarchism in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. Their struggles against the state and on behalf of workers is presented compellingly. Both would eventually disavow the Soviet Union.
Another chapter in the Anarchy section was the sad story of Louis Lingg. Convicted without evidence of taking part in a bombing, he committed suicide before he could be executed. This episode especially stuck with me.
Regarding the Soviet Union, Michael Malice shows clearly how Lenin was a brutal dictator after taking control in Russia, causing mass deaths and killing indiscriminately to maintain power. History seems kinder to him than Stalin. It shouldn't be.
Then of course are many episodes involving Stalin's reign of terror. This section of the book was a real slog, reflecting the despairing circumstances that Soviet citizens lived under. Stalin's death released a palpable tension, probably as in real life.
I got the impression that this book included Gulag Archipelago Lite. That book has long been on my list to read, and surely goes into more detail than the White Pill. Nonetheless, the description of the gulag system highlighted how terrible the gulags really were.
The book turned to later events of the 20th Century, including the interplay between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. I learned a lot here, as I was less familiar with this era. They were both introduced as overturning stale political and economic systems.
Reagan's and Thatcher's main contribution was laying the groundwork to the opening up of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev. As terrible Stalin's time, Gorbachev's felt optimistic. Through Perestroika and Glasnost, the fall of the Soviet Union felt inevitable.
As the book came to and end the histories of other Eastern Bloc countries were covered, including Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. Their stories were no less compelling than their Soviet counterparts.
Especially emphasized was the story of Romania under dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. He and his wife Elena brutally exploited their country. They did not give up power easily unlike the rest of the region, and they ended up being executed.
The book ends as history, with the end of the Soviet Union and the rise of Russia and other sovereign countries in its stead. The final chapter is the thesis of the book, which I'll leave to the reader, but I was personally quite moved by.
The cover figures are Ayn Rand, Emma Goldman, Margaret Thatcher, and Elena Ceausescu. The first two, Malice clearly admires. I'm not quite so sure about Thatcher, but she's portrayed positively. Ceausescu is described as evil. Powerful contrast through influential women.
The book had a knack for making allegorical comparisons to modern politics, with allusions to Ukraine paralleling the current war, concerns about the age of a US president, plenty more I'm forgetting. And every time a law was mentioned, it seemed stupid.
Overall, this was a highly enjoyable read, despite its bleak subject matter. Michael Malice is a great writer, easy to follow and humorous while highlighting the dangers of centralized power. I recommend highly.
Have you read The White Pill? If so, what did you think of it?