PRC State Ideologies
from Marxism-Leninism to “Harmonious Society”
Political Ideology
• A systematic set of ideas
• explanation of political phenomena
• criteria and standards of evaluation
• social and cultural orientation to define and affirm individual and collective identity
• program of political action– Lenin: “What is to be done?”
Pillars of Communist Regimes
• Marxist ideology– Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)
• Communist Party– Lenin (1870 - 1924)
• command economy– Stalin (1879 - 1953)
Marxism
• Dialectics– contradictions and class struggle
• Materialism– productive forces, economic structure, and
superstructure
• in time proletariat will be emancipated from capitalist exploitation through an international revolution
Leninism
• Marxist revolution can happen– in one country– before industrialization– before capitalist democracy
• Bolshevik party– highly disciplined– hierarchical organization– of professional revolutionaries
Mao Zedong Thought
• practical politics and inconsistency
• continuous revolution in a backward agrarian society of half a billion peasants
• the “red” versus “expertise” debate– revolutionary change– smooth administration
• technical expertise
• ultimate goal of making China strong
Mao Zedong Thought
• attacked traditional Chinese culture– especially the network of relationships– replaced with class identity, nationalism, and
new loyalty
• incorporated traditional elements– ideological indoctrination– Mao’s monopoly on determining what would
constitute correct ideology for China
Voluntarism
• properly motivated people could overcome virtually any material odds to accomplish their goals
• contradicts Marxist materialism
• e.g. the “Great Leap Forward”– 1958 - 1960
Mass Line
• A leadership doctrine developed in 1940s
• vanguard role of the party– dictatorial leadership
• strong participatory role for the populace– before decision making– during implementation of policy initiatives
• “from the masses to the masses”
• intended to avoid losing touch with masses
Mass Campaigns
• concentrated attacks on specific issues– through mass mobilization of the populace
• social or political transformation
• economic development
• e.g. Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries (1951)
• e.g. Great Leap Forward (1958 – 1960)
• e.g. Cultural Revolution (1966 – 1976)
Struggle
• directly contradict Confucian ideal of “harmony”
• bad class labels:– landlords– capitalists– rich farmers
• violence
Egalitarianism
• frugal living
• Confucius: “those who head a state do not worry about scarcity but about inequality”
Anti-Intellectualism
• In Mao’s view, intellectuals– embodied the traditional culture– lost touch with the masses– used technical expertise to counter
revolutionary enthusiasm– reinforced social inequality
• repression of intellectuals cost China a generation of highly trained specialists
United Front
• “unite with all who can be united”– united with Chiang Kai-shek to fight Japanese
in 1930s– united with “democratic parties” to fight
Chiang Kai-shek in late 1940s
Class Struggle
• Mao’s unorthodox interpretations of Marxist class concepts
• class labels were assigned in 1950s– carried by every resident until after Mao died
• class status could be determined by political attitude– e.g. “capitalist-roaders” during the C.R.
• class status could be hereditary
Self-Reliance
• Mao: “keep the initiative in one’s own hand”– whether a community could sustain itself even
in adverse circumstances
• the sudden withdrawal of Soviet aid in 1958
• Maoist China strived to minimize its dependence on any single foreign country
Political Hierarchy
Current PRC Constitution
• “Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China
• “and the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of ‘Three Represents’
• “the Chinese people …”
“Deng Xiaoping Theory”
• “emancipate minds
• “and seek truth from facts”
• “It doesn’t matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice”
• “cross the river by groping for stones”
Jiang Zemin’s “3 Represents”
• “the Communist Party represents the development requirements of China's advanced social productive forces”
Hu Jintao: Harmonious Society
• China Daily: “In a harmonious society, the political environment is stable, the economy is prosperous, people live in peace and work in comfort and social welfare improves.”
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