The Strategies for Development Of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping - Assignment Example

Compare and contrast the strategies for development Of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping Order No.265675 January’09 Compare and contrast the strategies for development of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping Mao Zedong was the Chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1935 until his death in 1976. Mao has been credited for creating a unified China. It was for the first time since the Opium War that China was free of foreign domination. Mao developed his own brand of Marxism-Leninism that came to be known as Maoism. Deng Xiaoping was the de facto leader of the Peoples Republic of China from 1978 to the early 1990s. His brand of socialism according to some had “Chinese characteristics". His economic reforms also known as the "socialist market economy," opened China to the global market. Deng also improved Chinese relations with the West and it was during Dengs leadership that both Hong Kong and Macao were returned to Chinese sovereignty. According to Qing Hua (2008), “The Maoist era and the Dengist era represent two polarized systems of ideology, development strategies, class struggle and Chinese Communist Party Rule that both worked for China during their respective times.” Mao was a visionary and a powerful leader who insisted that his initiatives should be implemented even if they were destructive and against national, organizational or individual interests. Deng in comparison was a pragmatist more interested in reckonable results than grandiose visions. They were similar in that they both had steely determination and always wished to get things done their way. Mao Zedong led with an iron fist while Deng Xiao Ping was more liberal and during his leader ship there was a gradual increase in economic freedom without compromising on political stability. Mao focused more on reinforcing and serving the community than individual growth and prosperity. On the other hand Deng believed in a more capitalist economic ideology, which enabled China to become an economic force in the global community, at the same time providing its citizens more liberties and luxuries than before. As Humayoun Khan (2006) has said, “Mao gave the initial stability and security which was needed and Deng gave the economic boost which was the need of that time”. Mao considered individual wealth as a hindrance to achieving community goals and in meeting production targets. People were burdened by his policies such as collectivization and land reformation and movements like The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. However under his rule China was able to give the masses a standard of living that lifted them from poverty and starvation. Under the policy of collectivization cooperative farming was promoted and land was redistributed because it was felt that the gains of labour could be better distributed equitably if the land was not under private ownership. This also took away the power from the elite and the rich peasantry and made the communes and peasantry the main participants of progress. This initiative also constituted what came to be known as China’s Great Leap Forward. With this Mao and the State attempted to surpass Great Britain and other European countries in agricultural production. Communities worked hard to significantly increase China’s production so that the world could see the country’s growing prowess against the powers of the West. The Great Leap Forward was a disastrous failure that resulted in a loss of over 2 million lives. Instead of raising the status of communities it denigrated individual freedom. Deng Xiaoping believed more in individual incentives rather than on collective incentives. Under his leadership China transformed itself into a force to reckon with in the world. His strategy was to strengthen China’s economic backbone even if there was a risk of political insecurity. Deng’s advocated private ownership, believed in adding luxuries to everyday life. His broadened capitalist approach altered to a great extent the political infrastructure of China. Deng believed in giving the individual more power and independence to in guide his future. He did not believe in the collectivization system of Mao and replaced it with a new responsibility system in which each household looked after itself This endowed the citizens of China with more economic freedom, individual prosperity and success than in Mao’s time. China underwent great changes in matters of freedom of individuals and communities during the leadership of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiao Ping. Mao curtailed individual rights with his Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution initiatives which attempted to unify the nation under a single cause, that of communal agricultural production. However as mentioned earlier these initiatives emphasized more on developing a strong political structure than on individual freedom. . In Mao’s era, there was no freedom of speech as there was censorship of enormous proportions. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution renounced individual thinking and Confucian philosophy. Mao until his death emphasized maintaining the revolutionary ideals of communal ‘freedom’ and demanded the sacrifice of the individual for the development of China. Deng, on the other hand, wanted China to become a global force. He was for economic fortune at the expense of everything that Mao had established. With his policies he was able to bring freedom and democracy to the People’s Republic. Deng overlooked Mao’s concepts of egalitarianism and elitism. He focused on restoring institutions that were destroyed by the Cultural Revolution. His strategy was to bring in economic efficiency through use of technology and competition. Mao’s focus was primarily on mass organization. Mao’s mass line approach was very successful in developing China by making the general population loyal to the CCP disregard the fact that the nation had actually become poorer and weaker. His campaigns encouraged the people to denounce Confucianism, while simultaneously using a system of crisis induced situations to stir political involvement in the populace. Most of the campaigns like Land Reform, Three Anti and the Five Anti, Ant rightist, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution strengthened the centralized role of the CCP and the People’s Republic of China Mao believed that one should “keep the initiative in one’s own hands”. Deng Xiaoping too believed in the principle of self-reliance but he did so by opening up China’s economy to foreign investment instead of keeping China closed Four Special Economic Zones were set up in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen as a part of the capitalist experiment. In those four zones government interference was very limited. There were enormous disparities in the two eras in modern Chinese history. During the Maoist period, Mao created a new class that was based on heredity. While under Deng the coastal areas became more prosperous as they were the locations of the SEZ resulting in huge regional disparity that increased day by day. Mao Zedongs strategy for socialism was different from that of Deng. Mao looked at socialism from the viewpoint of a class struggle while pushing for economic development. He believed that economic growth may lead to capitalism if there is no proper political-ideological orientation. The Cultural Revolution reinforced this standpoint, but during 1966-76 this ideology resulted in factional political battles that led to anarchy and extensive persecution. Deng in 1978 repudiated the Cultural Revolution and in its place emphasised the need for a socio-political stability. Under Dengs leadership relations there was a marked improvement in relations with the West In 1979, he became the first Chinese leader to visit the United States and meet President Carter. Shortly after that the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic of China. There was improvement in Sino-Japanese relations too. Deng like Mao did not try or did very little to improve relations with the Soviet Union. Both felt that the Soviet Union was as "hegemonist" as the United States, but more dangerous and a threat to China because of its geographical proximity. Deng was the core of the "second generation" Communist Party leadership. He was responsible for developing China into one of the fastest growing economies in the world. He is credited with vastly increasing the Chinese standard of living. However he was unwilling to bring in wide political reforms. His reforms that opened Chinese economy also led to increase in crime rates and corruption, growing economic disparity between the rural population and the urban working class and loss of traditional values. There were many protests throughout China. According to John Gittings (1996), “The result in many rural areas has been a complete breakdown of the remaining trust between Party and peasants, which had survived even the upheavals of the Great Leap and the Cultural Revolution.” Maos strategy for development included mass campaigns of economic construction, a centralized management of the macro-economy. His strategy was dependent on the dictates of the class struggle. Mao was ignorant of economics and did not make any effort to set right the problems created by hasty initiatives like agricultural collectivization and the Great Leap Forward that were based more on ideology. This resulted in extensive damage to the political, economic and social structure of Chinese society. Deng while continuing with Maos emphasis on the importance of agricultural production encouraged decision-making at the local level and individual peasant level. Material incentives and political appeals were used to motivate the labour force and peasants were allowed to sell their produce at free markets to earn some extra income. This income helped them to purchase more domestic products which in turn stimulated industrial growth. The goals of Dengs programme of reform, Gaige Kaifang which means Reforms and Openness can be summed up by the “Four Modernizations” that of industry, agriculture, military and science and technology. Deng believed in reducing the role of ideology in economic decision-making, and emphasised on policies of proven effectiveness. “It doesnt matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it can catch mice”, said Deng Xiaoping. Explaining this, Andrey Gidaspov (2008) said, “In the traditional idiomatic language of China that meant that people should be free from ideological burdens and be able to pursue a living as they saw fit. A businessman has to do what a businessman has to do, and that is to make money”. Deng unlike Mao was of the opinion that socialism did not mean shared poverty. Dengs development strategy laid emphasis on medium and light industry and was export oriented. State owned industries were generally free from government interference. This export-led growth provided China with foreign investment, advanced technologies and professional management. While these policies helped China to be on par with the West many Chinese nationalists have criticized Deng for adopting too many foreign ideas that made domestic industries insignificant. Deng’s economic emphasis on modernization was manifested in the political process as well. Some Chinese leaders disagreed with the form and pace of these reforms but many other senior Chinese leaders were aware of the dangers of neglecting economic development and extended solid support to the reforms. As for the political system the difference in strategies between Mao and Deng was noticeable in their handling of opposition. When Mao faced opposition from party bureaucrats in the implementation of his radical programs he retaliated by purifying the party. In contrast, Deng in the 1980s when faced with similar opposition tried to reach an agreement and build a coalition around his economic program. In conclusion it can be said that though Mao and Deng Xiaoping had different strategies, one cannot deny the fact that much of the economic successes of the reforms brought about by Deng would not have been possible had Mao not built a structure of collective. As Y.Y. Kueh (2008) argues in his book that though Deng Xiaoping’s economic strategy is widely regarded as a complete anathema to Mao’s it would have been impossible for Deng Xiaoping to carry out the reforms and implement the open-door policy if Mao had not laid the initial foundations. According to him Deng shared Mao’s aspirations and his approach to China’s industrialization. Maos vision of socialism is a sort of reference point to assess Deng’s reforms. References 1. Gidaspov Andrey (2008), The Cat Learned How to Catch Mice: Now What’s Next? Retrieved from http://portal.twc.edu/china/node/72 on 8/1/09 2. Gittings John (1996), Real China: from cannibalism to karaoke Simon & Schuster, London 3. Hua Qing, (2008), Two of China’s Most Powerful Men in Modern History; Mao Zedong Versus Deng Xiaoping, http://www.theasianeconomist.com/two-of-chinas-most-powerful-men-in-modern-history-mao-zedong-versus-versus-deng-xiaoping/ 4. Keuh Y.Y (2008), China’s New Industrialization Strategy, Edward Elgar Publishing 5. Khan Humayoun (2006), HISTORICAL VIEW OF CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS BIG POWERS, Retrieved from http://www.issi.org.pk/journal/2006_files/no_2/article/a4.htm on 8/1/09 6. Deng Xiaoping, Quote retrieved from www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=130227, on 8/1/09 Read More