Democracy In Mao's Red Army

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

I have been reading a lot of Mao as of late, and he talks a lot about Democracy within the army and its importance. I was wondering if anybody could elaborate as to the actual practice, if any existed. Were democratic methods functioning throughout the war with Japan and Civil War? How did any democratic functionings within the army affect the relationship between the army and "the masses"?

Etc.

EDIT: If an admin could move this to History, or Learning it would be appreciated.

[RedStarOverChina]

If u look at the history of the leadership of the Red Army, whoever gets the support of the majority will take control of the Army. (Mao lost his position several times)

The idea of "people's democracy" is different from the democracy we talk about. In the Red Army, the leadership (especially when under Mao) emphasized publicizing and educating the common soldiers of the policies of the leadership. Without it, the moral of the soldiers go down as it happened during a long period of which Mao lost his position as the leader of the army. With "people's democracy" funtioning within the army, soldiers seemed to perform the best.


As for the relationship between the army and the masses, the Army is also responsible for teaching the masses the value of "people's democracy". U can reword it as spreading propaganda, but it doesnt matter. The army would form public conference, in which all civilians participate in criticizing their former oppressors. Execution of those oppressors(often landlords) happen often as emotions flare among the people.(yes...blame it all upon the rush of blood to the head...)

U could argue that the army won the support of the masses with "people's democracy"

[Snitza]

In contrast to the chinese nationalist army, the maoists certainly were much more "humane" in regards to how they treated their soldiers, how their soldiers related to the liberated population, and especially how they treated prisoners.

while they never advocated torture and execution(Mao was actually actively against this), what the Red Army would do when liberating a territory or town, was to literally hand over landlords and former oppressors to the townspeople, and let them choose how to punish them. Often such horrible deaths were dealt out, such as publicly burning nationalists alive, but the Red army always let the population have its way in carrying out punishments.

This, to me, is the most democratic action of the peoples liberation army.

[Severian]

Originally posted by Virgin Molotov [email protected] 30 2005, 12:27 PM
I have been reading a lot of Mao as of late, and he talks a lot about Democracy within the army and its importance. I was wondering if anybody could elaborate as to the actual practice, if any existed.
There wasn't any.

There was relative equality, by many accounts...relatively few material privileges for the officers over the soldiers, compared to a bourgeois army.

[RedStarOverChina]

the doctorine of the red army was that "whoever makes the right decisions who will come to power"

I briefly explained the idea of "people's democracy"
But then again like I said u might not agree with it cause its different from the democracy we talk about.

[redstar2000]

Originally posted by Virgin Molotov Cocktail
If an admin could move this to History, or Learning it would be appreciated.

Moved to History.

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/123.gif

[flyby]

The revolutionary army of China's people's war represented the interests of the broad masses of people -- and was a fierce antagonist to their oppressors.

Wherever it went, people were able to stand up. The sale of women stopped. The grinding oppression of the feudal landlords ended. The troops of imperialist powers were driven out.

And the Peoples Liberation Army was a radical new thing in china -- an army where leaders and fighters lived and died together, where the beating of soldiers was forbidden, where soldiers were educated in the goals and methods of the struggle and encouraged to raise their own ideas.

But let us not live in a childish fantasy world: revolutionary armies need to have revolutionary discipline and leadership.

You can't vote over military decisions -- because then you will make the wrong decisions and lose. If you were in a revolutionary campaign faciing "victory or death" -- would you want your most experiences and creative leadership making the plans or the fighters of each platoon?

The Peoples Liberation Army was the fighting arm of the liberation of the people -- and in that sense, wherever it went feudal oppression went down and the power of the people arose. But it was not run like a commune. It is run by democratic centralism.

Mao talked about the views of ultra-democracy in the PLA, and why they were dangerous.

the chapter on this from Mao's famous Red Book (http://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/ch15.htm)

[Clarksist]

What is interesting, here again, is that a communist leader promises so much for the people in terms of freedom. And he even has democracy in the army. And then once he takes in the office...

For an army, I believe Mao's take was pretty much the best overall for a more egalitarian army. But militarism, in general, is far from egalitarian if it is to work.

[bolshevik butcher]

Yeh, for all mao pro,ised he just became a stalinist dictator.

[Severian]

Nobody with sense ever expected anything different.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Alright, Mao-bashing is offtopic and unproductive. If you'd like to criticize the functioning of democracy within the Red Army, or the relationship between soldiers and civilians in the "liberated" areas, feel free - I'd be interested to hear some researched criticism, but quit the BS.

[cormacobear]

That's certainly the most democratic inclusion in any army I've ever heard of. The late period of the Roman army certainly had an element of pupular oppinion. The most popular General closest to the city gets to be Emporer, till his Generals become popular enough. Although it does sound more like heavy indoctrination, than real democracy. Perhaps the democracy notion is how they chose to spin it to the soldiers and the public. Because despite changes in leadership there was a fairly identifiable vangaurd.

[Fidelbrand]

You shoudl listen to this song if you have doubts about Mao's China:
http://www.csie.nctu.edu.tw/~ycchuang/shehui.swf