While pretty different, this reminds me of the more recent _Vagabonds_ by Chinese author Hao Jingfang, translated to English by Ken Liu. I highly recommend it.

While pretty different, this reminds me of the more recent _Vagabonds_ by Chinese author Hao Jingfang, translated to English by Ken Liu. I highly recommend it. I haven't read Red Star, so can't totally compare. But Vabagonds is also about "different society on Mars what does it have to teach Earth", also by someone from an (ostensibly) communist society... but from a 21st century author of course, and Vagabonds is not propaganda for a particular singular vision, but more philosophical investigation of alternatives and variations and what can be changed and what ends up the same anyway, social as well as personal.