3 April 1975

The Little Green-Red Book

The Chinese Little Red Book (1966) was published in 33 translations. In other countries people were particularly intrigued by the format of the red booklet. Even today, variants intended to be taken seriously and feeble satires are still being published. The Green Book by the Libyan leader Muammar Al-Khadhafi, published on 3 April 1975, was one such serious version, judging by a citation from Part 1:
"All political systems in the world today are the product of the struggle for power among governing authorities. The struggle can be peaceful or armed, such as the conflict of classes, sects, tribes, parties, or individuals. The result is always the victory of one governing authority, be it an individual, group, party, or class, and the defeat of the people, i.e. the defeat of genuine democracy."

See also:

•  A dozen Little Red Books

Today in the Biographies Dutch Labour Movement