People's History of Ideas Podcast

A podcast version of a recently published article which argues that the rightward turn of Chinese politics in the 1970s was a key contributing factor in ending the revolutionary era of the long and global 1960s and ushering in the neoliberal age of reaction which followed.The article can be read on the podcast website.Support the show

The Communist Party of China tries to find a way to implement the united front with the Guomindang in 1923, but ultimately has to wait for the Soviet-Guomindang alliance to mature.Further reading:Tony Saich, The Origins of the First United Front in ChinaStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 2Some names from this episode: Sun Zhongshan/Sun Yatsen, leader of the GuomindangWang Jingwei, leader of Guomindang left-wing, later president of Japanese puppet state in ChinaCao Kun, northern warlord who controlled BeijingLi Yuanhong, president of China from 1922-1923Zhang Guotao, communist leader and opponent of ‘united front from within’ with GuomindangHenk Sneevliet, alias Maring, Dutch Communist and Comintern leader in China from 1921-1923Chiang Kai-shek, Japan-trained military officer, close confidant of Sun YatsenMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangSupport the show

Henk Sneevliet, Zhang Guotao, and Sun Zhongshan discuss the Communist Party's labor organizing drive and the united front with the Guomindang. It explores the challenges faced, collaborations with secret societies, successes in labor organizing, negotiations between the parties, and the aftermath of a defeated strike.

Guests include Chen Gongbo, Henk Sneevliet, Sun Zhongshan, and Georgii Chicherin. Topics discussed: early strategic decisions of the Chinese Communist Party, divergence in thinking between CCP and Comintern, potential alliance between CCP and Guomindang, and the impact of Third World revolutions on the Chinese revolution.

Explore the challenges faced by Chinese Communists in the early 1920s as they clarified their interpretation of Marxism, demarcated from anarchism, and advocated for revolutionary strategy. Learn about the influence of Marxism, the dynamic between the Communist Party and anarchists, the tension between individualism and group loyalty, and the challenges faced during the founding Congress in 1921.

Gregory Voitinsky, a Comintern organizer, arrives in China in 1920 and helps found the Communist Party. The podcast explores the influence of the Russian Revolution on China and the establishment of the Communist International. It also discusses Lenin's interpretation of Marx's 'Capital', commodity fetishism, and the importance of breaking free from capitalist thinking.

Exploring the founding and purpose of the Communist International, the betrayal of principles by the Second International, Lenin's analysis of the Labour aristocracy, expectations of the Russian Revolution, and the strategic shift and expansion of international communist strategy.

Exploring Mao's intellectual development towards individualism, his belief in physical discipline for China's youth, his transition to collectivist anarchism, the influence of Li Dajao and the May 4 movement on his ideology, and the clash with Li during the new culture movement.

In this episode we explore the move from liberalism toward Marxism among progressive intellectuals in the 1915-1919 period, and how those ideas began to be brought to the working class in China’s cities. This includes the New Culture Movement, the May 4th Movement, and the June 5th Movement.Further reading:Maurice Meisner, Li Ta-Chao and the Origins of Chinese MarxismArif Dirlik, The Origins of Chinese Communism Some names from this episode:Yuan Shikai, leader of the Beiyang Army and dictator after the fall of the QingSun Yat-sen/Sun Zhongshan, leader of the GuomindangChen Duxiu, editor of New Youth and leading New Culture intellectualLu Xun, progressive writer who wrote “A Madman’s Diary” for New YouthLi Dazhao, collaborator with Chen Duxiu and leading proponent of learning from the Russian RevolutionSupport the show

In this episode we look at Mao Zedong’s childhood, family background, and see what he was thinking in 1912. Further reading:Edgar Snow, Red Star Over ChinaStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 1: The Pre-Marxist Period, 1912-1920Lee Feigon, Mao: A ReinterpretationJonathan Spence, Mao Zedong: A Life Some names from this episode:Ba Jin, anarchist novelist who wrote The FamilyShang Yang, founder of the Legalist schoolSima Qian, author of Records of the Grand Historian Support the show