Global Communism
The communist system promised equality and opportunity. It was a system people experimented with, rooted in the ideas of Marx: industrialization and revolution. Personally, I love Marxist theory because I see capitalism as the core cause of class conflict, and the cause the myth of the American Dream that comes up in many discussions. Communism is an extreme form of socialism. Communism rose in several places throughout the world following World War II during the twentieth century, but its primary places were Russia and China. Communist revolutions echoed the French Revolution as there were peasant upheavals because of the unfairness of high social classes with a goal of promoting utmost social equality for the lower classes. I have Communist Manifesto, but I just need time to read it. It is Eurocentric to say that communism has fallen because there are still countries in the world that consider themselves to be communist. When we say this, we are not embracing how these communist countries choose to identify. The West too is criticized for being democratic, capitalists that are just living a dream. We should just learn to embrace all worldviews and eliminating putdowns.
Revolutions as a Path to Communnism
Communism rose in Russia as there was a "massive social upheaval." Social movements took place through trade unions, soldier demonstrations, and the seizing of landowner property by peasants through years of extensive plotting and planning. Politically, the Provisional Government was unable to withstand this havoc. Thus the Bolshevics, a small socialist party, would control Russia, under the leadership of Lenin, whose main ideology was equality for lower classes. This led to the Russian civil war as many groups were determined to lead Russia's political future. Russia was renamed to the Soviet Union and remained communist.
Communism in China began in 1921 with the formation of the small Chinese Communist Party, which grew enormously and was lead under Mao Zedong whose opponent was the Guomindang (Nationalist Party), led by Chiang Kai-shek. Communists sought support from Chinese peasants in the country and also sought communist feminism, drawing on the liberation of women, for women's support in the movement, but men resisted their equality. Japan helped the CPC grow as their attack destroyed their opponent, the Guomindang, and just found growing support through the lowering of payments for peasants. Communist parties rose in China, but as a more intense form of socialism, hence the term communism because no other parties were allowed.
Building Socialism
Further, communist regimes aimed at creating more opportunities for women, as the organization Zhentodel was formed in Russia that promoted women's liberation, and in China the Marriage Law promoted free choice in marriage for women, in sharp contrast to hierarchal Confucian tradition. Still, there was a limit for women. However, I am reading God is Not One by Stephen Prothero, and he argues that filial piety actually meant that social relationships, though hierarchal, were equal.
In both China and the Soviet Union, socialism involved the redistribution of land for equality to end private ownership of property. In Russia, the peasants redistributed the land among themselves, but in China, land reform was more difficult because peasants were mobilized to confront the wealthy landowners. The collectivization organization of agriculture in both places meant that private property would end to be replaced by communal farming where multiple farmers share one enterprise. In Russia, however, collective farming was a violent and forced process that led to famine. China went even further to mobilize China's population to communal living through the Great Leap Forward.
I think an important quote is, "Though strongly anticapitalist, communists everywhere were ardent modernizers" (Strayer 943). I didn't think this would be true or possible because it was production and private ownership that sparked socialist movements in the first place. Industrialization improved standards of living but an elite class emerged. Mao tried to combat it with the Great Leap forward that would promote equality for all, but since that didn't work out, he launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution campaign for rural industrialization and bringing opportunity to the countryside, but it rejected feminism. In both the Soviet Union and in China, searches for enemies against communism. In the Soviet Union, it was known as the Terror, as many people were arrested and executed. In China, Mao organized the Red Guards, mostly student youth, as part of the Cultural Revolution to clear those who were anticommunist. A book I read a while back is called Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. From what I remember, it does talk about communist China countryside life and famine.
East versus West: A Global Divide and Cold War
Communist regimes launched global conflict. Western capitalists felt threatened by Soviet Union communism. In NATO, Western nations joined forces, and in the Warsaw Pact, it was the Eastern communist alliance. It was called the cold war because there was tension, but no fire. In Afghanistan, Islamic radicals feared communism because it promoted the liberation of women. Then, as Strayer puts it, "The most haunting battle of the cold war era was one that never happened" (952). The U.S. opposed communism in Cuba, so the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba so that the U.S. wouldn't invade, but then the U.S. and Soviet Union made a compromise, and the Soviet Union removed the missiles. This led to an arms race in nuclear weapons. The U.S., following World War II became the global superpower. The only country able to escape war pressures, it industrialized fast, culturally, economically, and politically. Communism lasted longer than people thought it would.
Paths to the End of Communism
It is interesting how Strayer divides the end of communism into three acts. Act One being the death of Mao Zedong and the abandoning of communist principles, Act Two being the rise of popular movements despising communism, and Act Three being the end. Communism ended because the economy was unable to keep up with those of capitalist societies, especially in the Soviet Union, where people had to wait to get products. Also, it failed because of moral, as it was an attempt for power because it was very opposing of capitalism. Following the death of Mao, Deng Xiaoping came to lead China and restore it after the chaos of the Mao era. Small-scale private agriculture was restored as opposed to communal farming. Economic growth was then restored, but people still tried not to talk about democracy. As for the Soviet Union, Gorbachev tackled the problems, but different than China as his glasnost policy involved more cultural freedom, but which sadly led to collapse.
I think it is interesting to check out some of the propaganda of the Mao era in the sources section. It looks very promising of communist intentions. The focus of the people on the posters are depicted as very happy, and it just seems like a very strong appeal to the audience. However, some of those promises weren't fulfilled. Before, I used to think extreme socialism would be nice because I love Marxist theory, but I guess we need capitalism here to sustain the economy.
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