I’m not denying that China has shortcomings. I believe you are magnifying them beyond their actual levels.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I am basing my arguments exclusively on historical facts—the vast majority of which have been verified against sources from both the West and the East.
If you have any specific questions regarding this, please point them out to me.
As for me, watching documentary footage of the events that took place in China during those years sometimes makes my hair stand on end…
We are not discussing modern Chinese history right now; we are talking about the post-war era in China.
Oh, I also forgot to add something. The USSR handed over complete technical documentation for 1,500 major industrial enterprises to Mao. The USSR provided all of this free of charge. Can you imagine what Mao would have managed to build there without it? He probably would have forced peasants to engage in mechanical engineering and metal rolling right in their vegetable gardens.
I recall you claiming that Mao built things—or something to that effect—without any involvement from the USSR… yeah, right.
To me, Mao is akin to Castro or Che Guevara—certainly not to Stalin in the 1930s. Mao was a professional, iron-willed revolutionary; Mao was a warrior. He succeeded in uniting the Chinese people and leading them. Mao established a robust state system—one that subsequently withstood the onslaught of capitalism.
As for Mao Zedong Thought, some aspects have applicability elsewhere. The Mass Line is a generally useful tactic, Protracted People’s War can be useful in largely agrarian countries with high peasant populations and smaller urban centers, and so forth. It isn’t universal, but Mao Zedong Thought works well for China and tactics from it have seen success in the global south, including in Vietnam.
This is the first I’ve heard of the Line of Masses—very interesting.
This is the first I’ve heard of the “Line of the Masses”—very interesting.
Is this connected to those leaflets that were pasted on the wall? I’ve forgotten what those walls are called.
Excessive luxury is being cracked down on
I would like to understand the mechanisms of this process.
I never said Mao did not rely heavily on the USSR, so I will largely ignore those points as we do not really disagree.
Regarding the Mass Line, it is essentially the tactic of taking policy from the people, and having the party reinterpret it and enact it accordingly. It is a way to avoid commandism and tailism, and has been applied by various ML or Maoist parties. Maoists tend to believe it is universal, while MLs tend to believe it is particular to certain conditions similar to China’s experience.
As for cracking down on excessive luxury, one example is the censorship of flaunting wealth on social media, and punishing those found guilty of corruption, taking bribes, etc. In China, the number of billionaires is decreasing, as the NEP-style economy is transitioning to a more advanced planned economy gradually.
Regarding the Mass Line, it is essentially the tactic of taking policy from the people, and having the party reinterpret it and enact it accordingly. It is a way to avoid commandism and tailism, and has been applied by various ML or Maoist parties. Maoists tend to believe it is universal, while MLs tend to believe it is particular to certain conditions similar to China’s experience.
Yes, I’ve familiarized myself a bit with the mass line; yes, I agree, it’s a very good idea.
While looking into it, I came across this:
“But the socialist system in our country has been established only recently; its formation is not yet complete, and it has not yet fully consolidated itself. In joint state-private industrial and commercial enterprises, capitalists still receive a fixed percentage—that is, exploitation still exists; in terms of ownership, enterprises of this type are not yet fully socialist in character. Some agricultural and handicraft production cooperatives still retain a semi-socialist character; even in fully socialist cooperatives, certain specific issues regarding ownership still need to be resolved.”
No, Comrade, it wasn’t Xi who said that; it was Mao in 1957… ))) I hope you catch the hint, Comrade.
I decided to explore Mao’s writings a bit and chose this book:
“On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People”
the censorship of flaunting wealth on social media
This is likely not an attempt to combat ostentatious displays of wealth, but rather a move to temper public resentment—to keep it out of the public eye.
and punishing those found guilty of corruption
By the way, a fierce crackdown on corruption is currently underway in Russia. This began after the war started, when it turned out that everyone had been pulling the wool over Putin’s eyes with inflated reports. A great many generals are currently in prison, and the same applies to local officials; Putin has given them a bit of a shake-up.
Corruption is dangerous and harmful under any political system.
China, the number of billionaires is decreasing
Yes, I heard that the number of billionaires has decreased slightly.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I am basing my arguments exclusively on historical facts—the vast majority of which have been verified against sources from both the West and the East.
If you have any specific questions regarding this, please point them out to me.
As for me, watching documentary footage of the events that took place in China during those years sometimes makes my hair stand on end…
We are not discussing modern Chinese history right now; we are talking about the post-war era in China.
Oh, I also forgot to add something. The USSR handed over complete technical documentation for 1,500 major industrial enterprises to Mao. The USSR provided all of this free of charge. Can you imagine what Mao would have managed to build there without it? He probably would have forced peasants to engage in mechanical engineering and metal rolling right in their vegetable gardens.
I recall you claiming that Mao built things—or something to that effect—without any involvement from the USSR… yeah, right.
To me, Mao is akin to Castro or Che Guevara—certainly not to Stalin in the 1930s. Mao was a professional, iron-willed revolutionary; Mao was a warrior. He succeeded in uniting the Chinese people and leading them. Mao established a robust state system—one that subsequently withstood the onslaught of capitalism.
This is the first I’ve heard of the Line of Masses—very interesting.
This is the first I’ve heard of the “Line of the Masses”—very interesting.
Is this connected to those leaflets that were pasted on the wall? I’ve forgotten what those walls are called.
I would like to understand the mechanisms of this process.
I never said Mao did not rely heavily on the USSR, so I will largely ignore those points as we do not really disagree.
Regarding the Mass Line, it is essentially the tactic of taking policy from the people, and having the party reinterpret it and enact it accordingly. It is a way to avoid commandism and tailism, and has been applied by various ML or Maoist parties. Maoists tend to believe it is universal, while MLs tend to believe it is particular to certain conditions similar to China’s experience.
As for cracking down on excessive luxury, one example is the censorship of flaunting wealth on social media, and punishing those found guilty of corruption, taking bribes, etc. In China, the number of billionaires is decreasing, as the NEP-style economy is transitioning to a more advanced planned economy gradually.
Yes, I’ve familiarized myself a bit with the mass line; yes, I agree, it’s a very good idea.
While looking into it, I came across this:
“But the socialist system in our country has been established only recently; its formation is not yet complete, and it has not yet fully consolidated itself. In joint state-private industrial and commercial enterprises, capitalists still receive a fixed percentage—that is, exploitation still exists; in terms of ownership, enterprises of this type are not yet fully socialist in character. Some agricultural and handicraft production cooperatives still retain a semi-socialist character; even in fully socialist cooperatives, certain specific issues regarding ownership still need to be resolved.”
No, Comrade, it wasn’t Xi who said that; it was Mao in 1957… ))) I hope you catch the hint, Comrade.
I decided to explore Mao’s writings a bit and chose this book:
“On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People”
This is likely not an attempt to combat ostentatious displays of wealth, but rather a move to temper public resentment—to keep it out of the public eye.
By the way, a fierce crackdown on corruption is currently underway in Russia. This began after the war started, when it turned out that everyone had been pulling the wool over Putin’s eyes with inflated reports. A great many generals are currently in prison, and the same applies to local officials; Putin has given them a bit of a shake-up.
Corruption is dangerous and harmful under any political system.
Yes, I heard that the number of billionaires has decreased slightly.