To What Extent Was the Chinese Revolution, 1927-1949, a Socialist Revolution as Defined by Marx?

While Mao’s interpretation of Marxism included using peasants as the basis for revolution, Stalin felt that workers were meant to lead an urban-based class war. This led to Stalin’s view that the revolution in China was not genuinely Marxist and his refusal to support the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, Stalin also feared Mao as a rival, did not want the Cold War to spread to Asia, and favored the Guomindang over the CCP. These personality clashes and Stalin’s instinct for self-preservation convinced Mao that Stalin wished for a divided and weak China that would be unable to

After a preliminary analysis of my constructed topic, a few common themes are clearly present and discernible in relation to Mao’s perception as a hero or villain. At such present time of my research, I am begging to develop and contextualise a clear understanding of how I will ultimately answer mu question and I have incorporated the aspects of inquiry as well as representativeness and corroboration already into my research. In relation to being a villain, it is clear the wide spread death and his subsequent concern as a result of his movements represents his criminal persona. This is coming across in my main pieces of evidence up to this point. This is also indicating Mao’s motives and subsequently the effect it had on a specific group of people, in this case is the Chinese’s public. His movements also indicate somewhat his self-interest in developing his humongous ideological campaign. Despite this, it is vital I further investigate how in comparison that these movements were responsible for his widespread perception of a hero and as such find a myriad of perspectives that develop a common idea that the implementation of movements such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural revolution was specifically the reason for Mao being viewed as a hero.

The majority of the book looks deep into Mao’s Cultural Revolution, the main focus was Mao’s campaign was created with the simple means to destroy China’s history of hopes of a free and pure culture that would separate itself from the old Chinese culture which existed before during 1949. We will mainly focus on Liang’s treacherous life, and the obstacles he endured in spite of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, we look at the different events in which led up to the Cultural Revolution and the purpose of Mao’s culture Revolution.

Mao’s strength and superior methods allowed to him to exploit the weaknesses of the GMD government. Mao believed that a permanent, two-stage revolution derived from the peasants was a key aspect. Thus the support of the peasants was crucial success to any political party and Mao’s strategy for winning their support was discipline and land reform. He believed rent reduction must be the result of mass struggle, not a favour from the government and the policy of

The commencements of the American Revolution and the Chinese Communist Revolution both had their beginnings in new Enlightenment thinking of the 1700s, often called, “The Age of Reason”. The Enlightenment promoted the thought, “that humanity could be improved through rational change.” In China, Karl Marx’s new Enlightenment ideas of social equality and no private property were the main inspirations of Mao Zedong’s political thinking. Introduced in his theory, Marx believed that capitalism, “an economic system in which investment in and ownership in the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is maintained chiefly by private individuals”, was unstable and that in order to prevent a revolution, private property and social classes, maintained by private wealth through capitalism, needed to be eliminated.

In the speech, Mao emphasized three major concepts: 1. Different from any other socialism revolution happened before, Chinese revolution was in form of both capitalism and socialism ideology. The revolution was initiated by elite class, representing capitalism, but promoted and developed by workers and peasants, representing communism. Mao focus discussing about it in the fifth part of speech, by directly indicating “Therefore, the proletariat, the peasantry, the intelligentsia and the other sections of the petty bourgeoisie undoubtedly constitute the basic forces determining China 's fate”. (Page 10, Mao) 2. The Chinese revolution can be broke into two parts, and these two parts must be completed step by step. Mao argued only after China finished the new democratic revolution against imperialism and feudalism it could start the socialism revolution. Mao also had a famous quote describing the revolution process: “We should clean up dirt in our living room before welcoming the guest”, in which dirt symbolizes semi-colonial status from Qing dynasty and guest symbolizes the bright future for China. 3. New-democratic China should be rebuilt both politically and economically. Mao brought out his argument in fifth and sixth part of the speech, and demonstrated in the following

Karl Marx is undoubtedly one the most influential and controversial writers in modern history; Robert Tucker, a noted political scientist at Princeton University, once asserted, “[Marx] profoundly affected ideas about history, society, economics, ideology, culture, and politics [and] about the nature of social inquiry itself. No other intellectual influence has so powerfully shaped the mind of modern left-wing radicalism in most parts of the world.” (9). Indeed, his innumerable works, in particular, the Manifesto of the Communist Party, inspired political upheaval and violent uprisings which, to this day, continue to influence the structure of governments and society in countries around the world. The theory behind “The Communist Manifesto” is a simple one: “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”— but, Marx believes, history could take a new direction if guided by the disinterested equalizing force of communism. In the first chapter of his great manifesto, Marx argues that as the bourgeoisie, motivated by ruthless capitalism and industrialization, accrued more and more wealth, the proletariat would gain class consciousness and move from being a class in itself to a class for itself; in essence, the growth of capitalism would paradoxically be its own undoing.

As a vital part of Communist ideology, revolution was also a large part of China under Mao. The CCP’s reign as the Chinese government began

It is clear that Mao’s initial goal was to gain power in China, which is demonstrated by his determination to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang (KMT) via his idiosyncratic version of communist revolution. In order to do so, Mao utilised methods he deemed most suitable for the communists and, more broadly, Chinese society. For example, unlike his Marxist predecessors, Mao believed that peasants, not urban workers, were the key to rebellion in China. Subsequently, in 1926, he organised peasant unions

Another was to create a society that truly reflected his socialist ideals. Mao believed that political revolution could only follow Cultural Revolution — changing people’s patterns of thinking and everyday behaviour was the first step towards true liberation. Arguing that China’s cultural-historical heritage was the greatest impediment to revolutionary change, he decreed that the “Four Olds" should be smashed — old thinking, old culture, old customs, and old habits. The Red Guards took on this iconoclastic mission with enthusiasm. Schools closed, and young people were free to travel and attack remnants of the old order wherever they saw them. Teachers were vilified, artwork was destroyed, books were burned, and lives were ruined as idealistic

In the 1920s, as the CCP began to take shape, Mao participated in regional study groups (Cheek, 10). The Soviet Union’s involvement with the group brought Marxism-Leninisn ideology to China’s doorstep. There was an immediate conflict. The Soviet Union’s focus on the proletariat or the industrial working class was almost non-existent in China. The Soviet’s state policy also conflicted with China’s ideological program (Cheek, 10).

In other words, the animosity among and between imperial countries and Chinese upper classes has toxic downstream consequences, resulting in the increased exploitation of the proletariat. Mao indicates that the roots of such exploitation are “concessions,” so like Marx, Mao blames property for imperialist greed. Whether this “war-like” competition in China is meant then to define a clear foreign owner of land or foreign friends of upper Chinese classes is not relevant. What matters most to Mao is that this foreign-local competition in China has resulted in the further oppression of the lower rank populations, and that gives the Chinese reason to oppose imperialism. Mao and Marx thus share a concern for personal greed, as personal greed not only promotes

Though Marx views the communist revolution as an unavoidable outcome of capitalism, his theory stipulates that the proletariat must first develop class consciousness, or an understanding of its place within the economic superstructure. If this universal character of the proletariat does not take shape, then the revolution cannot be accomplished (1846: 192). This necessary condition does not pose a problem within Marx’s theoretical framework, as the formation of class consciousness is inevitable in Marx’s model of society. His writings focus on the idea that economic production determines the social and political structure (1846, 1859). For Marx, social class represents a person’s relation to the means of production, a relation that he believes is independent of

     In the Communist Manifesto Karl Marx explains his historical vision of a revolutionary class struggle between Bourgeois and Proletarians. His views are highlighted from the very beginning “The History of all hitherto societies has been the history of class struggles” (50). Focusing on the development and eventual destruction of the bourgeoisie, which was the dominant class of his day, and the rise of the working class, that of the Proletarians.

Mao Zedong was a powerful leader, who was able to insight action into his followers. The author of forty poems and a charismatic speaker, it is