Lecture 3 : Mao’s Ideology/ Cult of Mao Rise of the Moderates
3 Areas of Focus 1. Rise of the ‘Moderates’/ Mao’s retreat from power 2. Mao’s Ideology 1. Cult of Mao Together, all 3 provide background/ explanation for the Cultural Revolution
1. Rise of the ‘Moderates’
Moderates Liu Shiaoqi Became President of China/ Head of State
Moderates Zhou Enlai Prime Minister
Moderates Deng Xiaoping becomes Party Secretary Practical as regards economic activity: It does not matter if a cat is white or black- as long as it catches mice it is a good cat
Moderate’s Economic Policies: Practical The moderates abandoned the Great Leap Forward Communes were reduced in size Backyard steel factories were shut down Peasants were returned to the fields Some were given their own plots of land & were allowed to sell their surplus Mao unhappy with policies- they were a return to Western ideas & capitalism
Mao v. Moderates: Why? Moderates: Interested in results of economic policies- even if some capitalist ideas incentives to work harder (more pay) Private property Mao: Wanted Communist ideology. Not capitalism
2. Mao’s Ideology Capitalism is BAD Exploitation/ taking advantage of workers for profit Private property Class system Use and study Chairman Mao's glorious philosophical thought in a big way
Mao’s quotes Never forget class struggle Classes struggle, some classes triumph, others are eliminated…In class (capitalist) society everyone lives as a member of a particular class, and every kind of thinking, without exception, is stamped with the brand of a class People need Mao Zedong thought!!
Mao’s beliefs Constant struggle: Who will win in the struggle between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (capitalists) has not been really settled yet. We still have to wage a continuing struggle against bourgeois (capitalist) ideology
How will revolution be accomplished? Always careful: We still have to wage a continuing struggle against bourgeois ideology Violent if necessary: Everything reactionary is the same; if you don't hit them, they won't fall. Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy.
Is it Easy? In order to create it is first necessary to destroy A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or (sewing) Every generation needs a new (communist) revolution
Everything is political There is….no such thing as art for art's sake, art that is detached from or independent of politics. [Art] should operate as a powerful weapon for uniting and educating people and for attacking and destroying the enemy
China’s large population will lead the revolution- with Mao Zedong thought!! The outstanding thing about China's 600 million people is that they are "poor and blank." This may seem to be a bad thing, but in reality it is a good thing. Poverty gives rise to the desire for change, the desire for action and the desire for revolution.
3. The Cult of Mao Mao is the greatest communist of his age
Chairman Mao gives us a happy life
Mao is the greatest communist of his age Follow the Communist Party forever, follow Chairman Mao forever The Great Helmsman
In the Yangtze…. Mao is the greatest communist of his age
Forging ahead courageously while following the great leader Chairman Mao!
1.Mao unhappy with moderates economic policies 2.They’re taking steps that go against or even abandon Mao’s revolutionary Communist ideology 1.Combine the above with the way that Mao has been portrayed to the masses Between You were born in 1949, the year the Communists took power. You have been told your whole life that Mao is The Great Leader. Images are all around that deify Mao (make God-like). What would YOU do when Mao, in 1966, calls for a great purging of those opposed to him?
Mao & the Impact of Ideology Consider Mao’s actions: The political, economic and social changes of the early years Campaigns against ‘enemies’ of the revolution Women’s Rights 100 Flowers Movement and what happened to those who criticized the CCP Putting peasants into communes (no private property) Great Leap Forward (The 2d ‘5 Year Plan’) and its continuation in the face of evidence it wasn’t working Purge of Marshall Peng Duhuia The ‘Cult’ of Mao
Mao & the Impact of Ideology Now consider Mao’s ideology (beliefs) as demonstrated by his quotes….. about communism The revolution rightists (reactionaries) Those wanted China to return to a class system (either inadvertently or on purpose) Even within the Party itself Question: What was the impact of Mao’s Ideology on his Policies? (with examples)