Why is Maoism so popular?

I don't understand why, after a century of repression and terror under people like Stalin, Mao, Pol Pott, etc that Trotskyism isn't more popular with the left and is still accused of being "revisionist" and "anti-Marxist." What is so great about Mao that so many leftists are following his ideals? He didn't even read Marx until the 1960's, so knew very little about Marxism, yet they say Maoism is the true continuation of Marxism-Leninism?I don't get the celebration of mass murder and the hostility toward Trots that still exists on the left. Is ignorance still that bad?

In the Netherlands the only Maoist group is about ten people big. The Belgian PvdA is one of largest Maoist parties in Europe (around 3000 members), but also steadily moving to the right, becoming increasingly more reformist and are following the Dutch SP as their lead example (a post-Maoist opportunist, populist and rather nationalist leftwing party, but also a party which was somewhat of a pole of attraction until a few years ago with around 50 000 members at their highest point, now declining to about 48 000).

So, are they really so popular?

Maybe I am mislead, but at least here on RevLeft it seems that the Maoists are trumping everyone else. Plus, I'm finding that most Maoists in industrialized countries are abstaining from membership in any organization. Here in the US, the main "Maoist" party is the RCP, but their are other "umbrella" parties, such as the Worker's World Party, PSL and even the CPUSA that are extremely tolerant to Maoism. Also, the big question is, why isn't Trotskyism the dominant chool of theory on the left in the 21st century? What can we do to get there?

The demise of "Stalinism" and Mao's response to it parallelled a time of upheavel in the West (late 60's, early 70's). Trotskyism never had such an influence from "the outside" and it suffered from internal rows at that time.

In the Netherlands the only Maoist group is about ten people big. The Belgian PvdA is one of largest Maoist parties in Europe (around 3000 members), but also steadily moving to the right, becoming increasingly more reformist and are following the Dutch SP as their lead example (a post-Maoist opportunist, populist and rather nationalist leftwing party, but also a party which was somewhat of a pole of attraction until a few years ago with around 50 000 members at their highest point, now declining to about 48 000).

So, are they really so popular?

Yeah, Q, I believe Maoism is huge at the moment; eg. the Naxalites and the Nepalese, I think at the moment they're probably the two biggest socialist movements in the world right now.

Yeah, Q, I believe Maoism is huge at the moment; eg. the Naxalites and the Nepalese, I think at the moment they're probably the two biggest socialist movements in the world right now.

But they're also quite localised to Nepal and India, are they not? Like I said, I don't know of a big Maoist movement in Europe.

Well I think Maoism is perhaps less applicable in Europe than in places like Nepal and India, what with the focus on peasantry. The Maoist strain of Marxism is definitely more relevant in the lesser developed countries of the world, it talks to the peasants more, you know?

So, how are they doing in Africa then?

Well, I'm not trying to defend Maoism or anything, I'm sure you could take any country and say how said Marxist sect is doing there. But, you're right I hear next to nothing of any Marxist activity in Africa. I think perhaps there's too much civil war and whatnot there; Africa took the colonial brunt in the 19th century.