The communist hypothesis amounts to saying that humanity's future is not condemned to the planetary domination of capitalism, to the monstrous inequalities that accompany it, to the obscene division of labor, and to the "democracy" that is, in essence, the foundation of all this: state concentration, which organizes power for a very narrow oligarchy. In this short book, Alain Badiou argues that, despite all the great experiments of the 20th century, the communist hypothesis is still in its early stages. In fact, Badiou's purpose is to directly contrast communism with the famous historical "proof" of its "failure." Using three characteristic examples—the Paris Commune, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and May '68—he fundamentally questions the very notion of failure. He concludes that the lack of success of an attempt cannot eliminate the problem for which it proposed a solution. Historical experimentation thus always consists of what we can invent. From this perspective, capitalism and its "democracy" are the old ways, the renunciation of thinking and acting according to the principles of thought. For its part, the communist hypothesis, whatever name we give it (emancipation, equality, etc.), is simply the most consistent appeal to these powers of creation.