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.”