Little Red Book, Big Red Ideas: Part 1 of A Global History of Maoism
Jul 17, 2019
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Professor Julia Lovell discusses the intricate legacy of Maoism, emphasizing its contradictory nature and global impact. She delves into Mao's ideology, the Sino-Soviet split, and his embrace of contradictions. The episode touches on the role of Song Ching Ling in supporting the CCP, Edgar Snow's portrayal of Mao, McCarthyism's impact on Chinese expertise in the US, and Mao's influence on global insurgency.
Maoism is a diverse set of ideas and practices that Mao viewed as driven by contradictions, embracing inconsistency.
Sino-Soviet split was fueled by Mao's aim for world revolution, leading to xenophobia and authoritarianism during the Cultural Revolution.
Deep dives
Maoist ideology and its global impact
Maoist ideology, developed by Mao Zedong, had a significant global impact during the late 1950s and 1960s. Mao aimed to lead the world revolution and pick a quarrel with the Soviet Union as he believed it was losing its revolutionary spirit. This led to clashes between the Chinese Communist Party and the Soviets, creating a rift in the communist world. As part of Mao's efforts to spread revolution, China provided training and support to international rebels, hosting them in the Friendship Hotel and offering political and military training. While some individuals didn't follow through with revolution, others, like Tongogora and Guzman, went on to lead insurgencies in their own countries. However, Mao's vision of world revolution was accompanied by extreme xenophobia and authoritarianism during the Cultural Revolution, as any foreign influences were viewed as threats to the revolution.
Impact of the Cultural Revolution on Soviet policy
The Cultural Revolution had a significant impact on Soviet policy. Mao's accusations of Soviet revisionism and betrayal of the world proletariat rattled the Soviets, especially in their efforts to gain influence in the decolonizing world. The Chinese anti-Soviet propaganda targeted newly independent countries, claiming that only Mao's China could stand against American imperialism. This pushed the Soviets to recalibrate their foreign policy and extend aid and support to insurgencies in the developing world, such as the Vietnam War. The fear of appearing insufficiently radical in the third world drove the Soviets to be more expansive in their assistance to revolutions, ultimately shaping their foreign policy decisions.
Introduction of Maoist ideology and training programs
Maoist ideology was introduced through training programs and political education hosted in China's Friendship Hotel and other training facilities. Participants included individuals from diverse backgrounds who were sympathetic to Maoist ideas. They received political and military training in the late 1950s and early 1960s, aimed at fostering global insurgency. While some attendees did not contribute to revolutionary movements, others, like Tongogora and Guzman, who participated in these programs, went on to lead insurgencies that significantly impacted their countries in the following decades.
Contradictions and consequences of Mao's revolutionary ideals
Mao's revolutionary ideals, aimed at global solidarity and revolution, created contradictions and extreme outcomes. While Mao sought to lead the world revolution, his actions during the Cultural Revolution led to xenophobia and authoritarianism, where anything foreign was deemed counter-revolutionary. The cultural revolution unleashed violence against international influences and foreign cosmopolitan tendencies, which Mao saw as threats to the revolution. These actions, while meant to safeguard the international project of revolution, resulted in brutal consequences domestically and undermined the potential for genuine global solidarity.
This week, in part 1 of a special two-part edition of ChinaEconTalk, Jordan interviews Professor Julia Lovell, author of the recently published book on Mao’s international legacy entitled Maoism: A Global History. In this episode, Lovell introduces the core tenets of Maoist thought and its complex impact on both the Chinese Communist Party and other, offshoot devotees around the world. She outlines the key events in Mao’s life, the events that helped shaped his ideology, his idea of “violent, tumultuous world revolution,” and the friction during the Cold War that eventually culminated in the Sino-Soviet split. Sign up here for the ChinaEconTalk newsletter. Learn more about CLI here and use the promo code 'jordan' for $100 off any program. Quotes to listen for in this episode: 15:10: “Maoism, although it has this singular name, it doesn’t actually correspond to a single, unitary phenomenon...it’s a set of ideas and practices that is living and breathing that has been translated and mistranslated across different decades and across many different regions. And above all, it’s a set of often very contradictory ideas. And this is no coincidence because Mao himself was a great admirer of the idea of contradiction. He saw contradictions as possessing a kind of primal energy. He saw them as something that drove history on. So when there were contradictions in his own ideas or when he perceived them around him, he tended to embrace them. Inconsistency didn’t bother him.” 43:48: “The intellectual, political nub of it is that Mao feels that after Stalin’s death, Khrushchev is losing the Soviet Union, losing their revolutionary bite. They’re making nice with the United States and they’re turning their backs on the idea of a violent, tumultuous world revolution.” 46:03: “Throughout his career and particularly toward the end of his life, he consistently saw himself as a rebel, as an outlier, as someone who made trouble. You see this very strongly in the Cultural Revolution, but you also see this in the way he tries and often succeeds to provoke the Soviets.” Get bonus content on Patreon
