What is Maoism? - What is Maoism?

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Could anyone enlighten me on the principles of Maoism?

[Geddan]

It's got something to do with the communists not turning to the proletariat but the farmers, since China were not very industrialized before Mao.

I will borrow some of Mao Zedongs books to enlighten myself. I don't really know much more about him, except his guerilla theory (the revolutionaries should hide among the people like fish in the water or something like that) but I believe that maoism is very large here in Sweden. However nowadays, the farmers are bourgeoisie!

(Edited by Geddan at 11:27 am on Dec. 5, 2002)

[nz revolution]

just so people dont forget about this thread, I'll answer so it goes back to the top.

I think it is also about continuous revolution to help combat revisionism. I dont know if this means violently overthrowing the leaders.

Ive only read: Mao Tse Tung on Contradiction.

[JoYKiLLaH]

I know he was emperor of China and went on a mass killing spree, but he helped shape things in the world through his negative actions.

[nz revolution]

really? In all my years at school, doing a bit of the Chinese revolution, I was never once told he killed lots of people, and if he did im sure the teachers would have loved to say that.

He was no emperor, just Chairman Mao.

Negative actions were modernising China ;)

"But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you anin't gonna make it with anyone anyhow" revolution - The Beatles.

I think Mao was an alright little dude

[redstar2000]

I actually used to "be" a "Maoist"...though, with my attitude, you can probably guess that I wasn't very good at it.

The "basic document" (sort of like the Communist Manifesto is the basic document of Marxism) was actually not written by Mao but by a fellow called Lin Pao. It was called "The East Wind Prevails Over the West Wind"...and it was a pretty thorough repudiation of Marxism, though it didn't say that.

The thesis is that in the modern world the main revolutionary contradiction is between the peasant-based societies of the third world and the western imperialist powers (including the working classes in the western world). "Socialist" revolution must FIRST take place in these peasant societies and only AFTERWARDS will there be socialist revolutions in the advanced capitalist countries. An interesting idea...just not Marxism.

The criticism of Maoism is that it overlooks the "natural" outcome of revolutions in peasant-dominated countries at their "best": namely, capitalism. So it happened in Russia and China and even eastern Europe. There are the clear beginnings of capitalism in Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea.

What a Marxist (namely, me) would say is: of course! That is what "should" happen, if Marx was right.

Mao himself occupied a role in China with a LONG historical tradition; the "modernizing emperor" who clears away the piles of historical rubbish so that the nation might advance. Over China's long history, there have been others like him, but there are western examples as well: Peter the Great of Russia and Napoleon of France, just to name two.

Mao's own writings suggest a creative blend of western thought, including some Marxism, with Chinese traditions of rebellion against corrupt dynasties that had "lost the mandate of heaven".

He was a towering figure in Chinese history and, things being what they are these days, it is only a matter of time before he has his own "theme park".

:cool: