Orville Schell, a renowned Sinologist and Director at the Asia Society, and Alexander Boyd, associate editor at China Books Review, dive deep into intriguing parallels between Mao Zedong and Donald Trump. They explore how Mao's psychological complexities influenced his leadership style and reflect on the Cultural Revolution's lasting impacts on modern China, including Xi Jinping's family. The discussion also touches on loyalty dynamics and the role of civil society in defending democracy, illuminating the echoes of past authoritarianism in today's political landscape.
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insights INSIGHT
Mao's Love for Chaos
Mao Zedong thrived on chaos to consolidate power and disrupt social and political structures.
His affinity for disorder was an expression of deep class struggle and personal trauma from his paternal conflicts.
insights INSIGHT
Fathers Shaped Mao and Trump
Mao's adversarial relationship with his father shaped his worldview around conflict and survival.
Trump exhibits similar traits due to his own troubled paternal dynamics, influencing their leadership styles.
insights INSIGHT
Shared Anti-Intellectual Sentiment
Both Mao and Trump harbor deep resentment toward intellectual elites, seeing them as elitist adversaries.
This antipathy fuels their populist rhetoric and distrust of academic institutions.
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Benjamin Nathans
The Anaconda in the Chandelier
The Anaconda in the Chandelier
- excerpt from ChinaFile
Perry Link
Tyrants
Tyrants
Stephen Greenblatt
Thought reform and the psychology of totalism
a study of "brainwashing" in China
Robert Jay Lifton
This book, first published in 1961, is an analysis of the experiences of fifteen Chinese citizens and twenty-five Westerners who underwent brainwashing by the Chinese Communist government. Lifton outlines eight criteria for thought reform, including Milieu Control, Mystical Manipulation, Demand for Purity, Confession, Sacred Science, Loading the Language, Doctrine over person, and Dispensing of existence. The book explores the thematic pattern of death and rebirth, accompanied by feelings of guilt, that characterizes the process of thought reform and discusses its broader implications for the study of extremism and totalism.
Red Star Over China
The Classic Account of the Birth of Chinese Communism
Edgar P. Snow
Red Star Over China is a historical account written by Edgar Snow after he spent four months with the Chinese Communist leaders in 1936. The book provides the first authorized account of Mao Zedong's life, a history of the famous Long March, and insights into the men and women responsible for the Chinese revolution. It includes extensive notes on military and political developments in China, further interviews with Mao, a chronology covering 125 years of Chinese revolution, and detailed biographies of key figures. The book is significant for its unique perspective on the early years of Chinese communism and its prophetic insights into the future of the movement.
I Will Bear Witness
A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1933-1941
Victor Klemperer
I Will Bear Witness is a diary by Victor Klemperer, detailing his experiences as a Jewish professor in Dresden during the Nazi regime. The book chronicles the gradual erosion of civil rights, the tightening grip of Nazi oppression, and the daily struggles of living under tyranny. Klemperer's observations provide a unique insight into the thoughts and actions of ordinary Germans during this period.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
A History of Nazi Germany
William L. Shirer
This book is a monumental study based on extensive documentation, including testimony from Nazi leaders and concentration camp inmates, diaries of officials, transcripts of secret conferences, army orders, and private letters. Shirer spent five and a half years sifting through this massive documentation to create a definitive record of one of the most frightening chapters in human history. The book explores how Hitler's regime came to power, its impact on Germany and the world, and its eventual downfall. It is widely acclaimed as the definitive work on Nazi Germany and has won several awards, including the National Book Award for Nonfiction.
What can Mao Zedong teach us about Donald Trump?
To find out, ChinaTalk interviewed the legendary sinologist Orville Schell, who visited China during the Cultural Revolution and is currently at the Asia Society.
We discuss…
Mao Zedong’s psychology and political style,
Similarities and differences between Mao and Trump,
How Mao-era traumas reverberate in modern China, including how the Cultural Revolution has influenced the Xi family,
How Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping survived the Cultural Revolution, and which of their tactics could be useful in modern America,
What civil society can do to defend democracy over the next four years.
Co-hosting is Alexander Boyd, associate editor at China Books Review and former ChinaTalk intern.
Read Orville's article, "Trump's Cultural Revolution," here.
Read the Asia Society piece on religion and political power here.
Orville's crazy Asia Society event, From Pontius Pilate to Chairman Mao: Religion and Politics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opw9vqpPBqQ&ab_channel=AsiaSociety
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