This book deals with the peculiar nature of some Communist parties outside the Soviet Union before its sudden collapse in 1992 under the last President Michail Gorbacev. Some special features of the Italian Communist Party are explored, especially as its coherent struggle against the fascist dictatorship is concerned. A special way to a substantial democratic regime in the name of "Eurocommunism" is analyzed in its strong points and undeniable weaknesses. An original interpretation of Gramsci's concept of social hegemony is finally offered against Lenin's concept of the "dictatorship of the proletariat".