Mao Tse-Tung

[funlandatthebeach]

I recently bought the book MAO The Unknown Story, and I enjoy it for the most part, but at other parts it explains how many chinese died under his rule ( I also bought Mao's Little Red Book).

Was Mao a good communist leader, and if not, were there at least some good parts about his rule and thinking?

[#FF0000]

I can't stand Mao. There are maybe a handful of interesting bits that stem from Mao Tse-Tung thought, but other than that, I don't see what's so revolutionary about Mao or Maoism. It just seems like populist rhetoric mixed up with Legalism.

[Dominicana_1965]

Mao: The Unknown Story is a very anti-Communist piece of work. Not only did the authors utilize Mao's speeches and writings completely out of context to explain how brutal and careless Mao was but they also got most of their information (like most of the extremely exaggerated numbers) from Deng which attacked the Mao supporters.

The book, like it's sources, aren't reliable.


Mao, IMO did have some good writings and perspectives like his position on book worship, "phoney communism" (the Khrushchev & "revisionist" criticism), his view of Stalin which is actually correct in that we should study the positives and the negatives of all communists.

[Random Precision]

The Unknown Story is basically a hack job painting Mao as the most evil man in the world, exceeding Hitler by 10 times. Most of the documentary evidence backing it up is either taken out of context, has shaky citation, or is entirely fabricated. Not surprisingly, the bourgeois press fell in love with it when it was published.

That said, I think Mao was a bad leader and a worse theoretician. I had a rather interesting argument about his theories here (http://www.revleft.com/vb/maoism-t66462/index.html?t=66462) in which, I would argue, we can see the reactionary consequences of his ideas.

[Dros]

Worst book about Mao EVER.

Regardless of what you think of Mao, anyone with a mind can see that this is simply propaganidistic to the point of libel. All of the statistics are incorrect. They make absurd claims and brutally distort the reality of what occured.

[Hiero]

I can't stand Mao. There are maybe a handful of interesting bits that stem from Mao Tse-Tung thought, but other than that, I don't see what's so revolutionary about Mao or Maoism. It just seems like populist rhetoric mixed up with Legalism.

Then you have no idea what a revolutionary is.

Mao stood for 1) The overthrow of Japanese imperialism 2) The overthrow of the fuedal lords and the bourgeiosie 3) Overthrow of bureaucratic elements in revolutionary Chinese society.

Also, Maoist parties today are leading the revolution against semi-Fuedal society, capitalism and imperialism in Asia.

[Sankofa]

I don't see what's so revolutionary about Mao or Maoism.

:rolleyes: From an Anarchist even. Oh, the irony.

[Bright Banana Beard]

:rolleyes: From an Anarchist even. Oh, the irony.

He basically didn't know much deeper background, but he changed his mind when I Chat him on #che-lives (hopefully).

[Os Cangaceiros]

:rolleyes: From an Anarchist even. Oh, the irony.

Why do you feel the need to slander an entire ideology based on ONE person's opinion about Mao?

[Sankofa]

Why do you feel the need to slander an entire ideology based on ONE person's opinion about Mao?

I don't think we should derail the thread, but I didn't say anything about the Anarchist ideology.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I don't think we should derail the thread, but I didn't say anything about the Anarchist ideology.

Oh. I thought you were insinuating something about anarchism.

To which my only response is this:

:mad:

[Sankofa]

Oh. I thought you were insinuating something about anarchism.

To which my only response is this:

:mad:

k...?

[Os Cangaceiros]

k...?

Heh, I'm just joking around with you. :D

Anyway, I probably shouldn't disrupt this thread anymore than I already have.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

MAO The Unknown Story

You mean the book that states Mao is responsible for over 70 million deaths in peacetime alone?

[funlandatthebeach]

You mean the book that states Mao is responsible for over 70 million deaths in peacetime alone?
that's the one.

is there anything weird or wrong by owning the Little Red Book? Should I read through it as though it has something good to say, or just keep it as a piece of history?

[bezdomni]

that's the one.

is there anything weird or wrong by owning the Little Red Book? Should I read through it as though it has something good to say, or just keep it as a piece of history?

You should read it and find out if you think it has anything good to say.

In my opinion, it is filled with great quotations from a great revolutionary leader and thinker.

[RedStarOverChina]

I can't stand Mao. There are maybe a handful of interesting bits that stem from Mao Tse-Tung thought, but other than that, I don't see what's so revolutionary about Mao or Maoism. It just seems like populist rhetoric mixed up with Legalism.
LOL none of Mao's policies can be considered "Legalist".

He did used historic references to it in order to attack Confucianism.


And Jung Chang's a money-grabbing, gold-digging, no-academic-integrity-at-all-whore (excuse the sexism but that's what she is).

If I were you I wouldn't think much about her book.

[Panda Tse Tung]

Yeah, the little red book is quite a good read.
Though i dont agree with everything being said in it, i do agree with 99%.

[Winter]

I've seen Mao: The unknown story at the book store and knew immediately it was a capitalist hit piece. For the most part, most of the books you can find at a corporate book store are anti-communist completely, especially when you're looking for books on Mao, Lenin, and Stalin. At least they still have the integrity to have the Communist Manifesto in stock.

[Random_Guy]

Can anyone recommend a good biography book on Mao?

[BIG BROTHER]

I actually agree with a lot of Mao's theory. I also liked the way he sough to make a legimate socialist society with his cultural revoution, even though sadly enough it didn't go very well.