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How Did The Chinese Revolution Affect Society

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After Mao failed to modernize China’s economy through industrialization and collectivization with the Great Leap Forward plan, he launched the Cultural Revolution in hopes of reclaiming his position in the government and maintaining a communist society (Ramzy).The revolution commenced in 1966 and lasted for a decade. During the revolution, the youth of China was influenced by Mao to join the student mass paramilitary movement where they served as soldiers, known as the Red Guards. They executed orders that benefitted Mao, inflicting violence towards intellectuals and citizens who were against his communist beliefs (Lieberthal). The disturbance by the youth created economic instability due to the torment towards professionals in the industry. …show more content…

Some historians believed that the Cultural Revolution had a positive outcome because the Red Guard title granted students the opportunity to question the political system and eradicate old traditions and capitalism in order to establish new customs ("The Truth About the Cultural Revolution”). However, the Red Guards took advantage of their power and acted in their own interest, which ultimately led to the execution of thousands of people. For instance, average citizens such as teachers encountered humiliation through “struggle sessions,” where they were taunted and derided for days by Red Guard members (Lu). This displayed how the Red Guards did not have any mercy towards other human beings. The fact that they created a session to humiliate others demonstrated how cruel their mentality had become after Mao’s influence. The torment continued for so long that the death toll was estimated to range from five hundred thousand to eight million (Ramzy). The Red Guards would then justify their actions by stating that it was for the benefit of the country to get rid of those that were against Mao’s ideology (Fox). It got to the point where small groups of Red Guards would physically attack …show more content…

Due to the heavy loss of intellectuals in society, resources available for purchase were limited because of the slow production. Likewise, thousands of innocent humans were murdered by adolescents who were unable to differentiate right from wrong. Hence, people nowadays should be cautious and pay attention to the details of any powerful leader or new ideas. This would prevent any callous actions from transpiring that could brutally harm others through the process. Even though the revolution enabled the Chinese people to fight towards what they believed to be a better society, the atrocities that occurred left traumatizing memories that still affect those who were involved to this very

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