Deng Xiaoping Vs. Mao Zedong

The goals of Deng Xiaoping’s economic reform were the ‘Four Modernizations’. This Four Modernization refers to the reform of agriculture, industry, national defense, and science technology. These reforms were to solve the problems of motivating workers and farmers to produce a larger surplus and to eliminate economic imbalances that were common in command economies.

Assess the critical differences between the developmental strategies of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. To what extent was each successful in contributing to the economic and social development of china?

China's transition from the leadership under the iron fist of Mao Zedong to the more liberal Deng Xiao Ping gave the People's Republic a gradual increase in economic freedom while maintaining political stability. During Mao's regime, the country focused on bolstering and serving the community, while subsequently encumbering individual growth and prosperity. Deng advocated a more capitalist economic ideology, which established China as an economic force in the global community while endowing its citizens with more liberties and luxuries than previously granted.

Moreover, after setting up economic institutions and an industrial base, Deng Xiaoping established various Special Economic Zones in China that allowed for increased foreign investment, helping to develop China’s commercial growth. As described before, when Deng Xiaoping came to power, his goal was for China to fulfill the Four Modernizations: modernization in agriculture; industry; science and technology; and defense. Deng believed that the only way China could keep up with Western countries was if China achieved the Four Modernizations. Specifically, in order to achieve the Four Modernizations, Deng had to fulfill a two-step goal. The first stage was to build up economic institutions and to set up a strong industrial base, both of which had been denied to China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. The second stage of the Four Modernizations was China’s emergence from isolation and integration into the global economy, both of which were crucial for China’s commercial economy to develop. Deng Xiaoping’s biggest accomplishment was his achievement of this second goal. Specifically, the period of time when Deng reformed and opened up China to the world is known as 改革开放, which is pronounced Gaige Kaifang. What separated Deng Xiaoping from other leaders in the past was that Deng’s method of thinking was very pragmatic. He recognized Mao as a hero to modern China, but also believed that some of Mao’s policies were wrong. Deng’s famous quote was: “黑猫白猫抓住老鼠就是好猫,” which translates to

Throughout history, the actions of leaders have altered the course of society and how people live their everyday life for better or worse some examples being united states president Franklin Delano Roosevelt An example of one such leader would be Mao Zedong, the former chairmen of the communist party of china. This research paper is going to delve into the history of Mao and out how he fought to rise to power along with the decisions he made and changes that were implemented and how they impacted the nation of China along with the surrounding region and even society as a whole.

Mao Zedong rose to power in 1949 founding the People’s Republic Of China. His plan the Great Leap Foward to make China on par with other powerful countries had failed miserably. After the failure of The Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong’s positioning in the government had weakened. To regain total control over the government, Mao Zedong launched what was called the Cultural Revolution. There is no words for how The Cultural Revolution impacted China. This major event is viewed as China’s cruel history because of the terrorism of the Red Guards, the attacks on the old generation, and the well educated population, and the death of 20 millions people. To this day, Mao Zedong’s legacy still remains.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has experienced unprecedented economic growth under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1978. In his speech “The Present Situation and the Tasks Before Us,” Deng Xiaoping emphasized the importance of economic reform: “The superiority [of the socialist system] should manifest itself in many ways, but first and foremost it must be revealed in the rate of economic growth and in economic efficiency” (Deng 1980). With this explicit commitment to growth, Deng links the political legitimacy of the CCP, as the monopolist of power within the PRC, to economic performance. Therefore, the inevitable economic slowdown in the PRC will undermine the legitimacy of the authoritarian CCP and force political liberalization.

Mao and Deng’s tyrannical reign proved that China had remained similar to a dynasty with some differences that Mao used to prevent an overthrow. To understand what Mao and Deng created, one must first understand how a dynasty had worked in the past and how China ran under the CCP. Based on a traditional Chinese dynasty, a new dynasty will come into power through a political, cultural and economic summit. The new leader will receive the Mandate of Heaven, and things during the beginning will thrive. This is a time of advancements and satisfaction in the proletariat. Then, the dynasty will begin to decline due to corruption within the government. The people will decide that through a rebellion, they will end the tyranny and they come

Life in China during the 1980s began to progress because of the Economic Reform in Communist China. Leaders of the communist party, Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong did not agree with each other on one major part of Chinese history, which was the Cultural Revolution. Deng disagreed with Mao on Mao’s views about the ideas of a cultural revolution in China, because he believed that it would become a negative effect on the people. Deng Xiaoping was openly critical of Mao Zedong’s ideas but Deng was also one of the leaders of the communist party, so nonetheless, he was arrested and removed from office until the end of the Cultural Revolution. A few years later, in 1976, Mao Zedong had passed away, leaving the country in despair. Deng Xiaoping rose to power and began working non-stop on economic reforms in communist China in the many years to come. Deng Xiaoping was a much more effective leader than Mao Zedong. China began growing economically and Deng provided better lives for people and created hope for his country, but his journey was not short and nor was it simple.

As many other countries around the world China has its long history of a struggle for equality and prosperity against tyrants and dictatorships. The establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 seemed to have put an end to that struggle for a better life. “The Chinese people have stood up!” declared Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of China’s Communist Party (CPP) – a leading political force in the country for the time. The people were defined as a coalition of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the petite bourgeoisie and the national-capitalists. The four classes were to be led buy the CPP, as the leader of the working class.

A line of thousands of Chinese communists hiked up the mountains of Northern China. The years of struggle and harsh life they lived did not deter these fighters. Their goal was to create a better future for the common Chinese citizen by using communism; something which their leader called “a hammer which we use to crush our enemies.” He stayed true to his word. This bold and charismatic leader was at the head of a mass revolution in which China was forever changed. He led a movement which transformed China into the powerful and influential nation which they had never envisioned for themselves. This man’s name was Mao Zedong. Mao’s actions drove forward the process in which he turned both his nation and himself into world leaders.

“I don’t care if the cat is black or white, I just want it to kill the mice.” - Deng Xiaoping.

. Xiaoping implemented significant change going from a centrally planned economy run by the state, towards a private entrepreneur market based economy. This transition to a new type of socialist thinking, known as the socialist market economy, proved highly successful as it allowed China to move from a nation in poverty ruled by a single person to the second largest economy in the world. A more sudden or abrupt change could have easily resulted in the fall of China’s economy, similar to what certain European countries experienced in 1991 at the end of the cold war between the super powers.

When people hear the name “Mao Zedong”, they immediately think of a stubby communist dictator responsible for the death of millions. Although many of his reforms failed and millions died, many argue that he his “good” outweigh his “bad”. He saved the ailing nation of China, molding it to the nation it is today.

One of the most significant changes in the Communist Party has been the distribution of power. In the days of Deng and Mao, for instance, the leader held the majority of power in the Chinese political system. In more recent years, however, the Communist Party has dictated more of the government's actions while the leader, Hu, has relinquished a fair amount of power and authority. This shift is exemplified by the author's idea, “In Mao’s and Deng’s days, the leaders towered