Hi everyone,
Saw some recent posts on various communist issues, and thought I'd try to clarify what I read as some confusion over the two different models of communism under discussion.
1. MARXISM:
Remember that the original Marx-Engels model of communism was based on Hegel's dialectical materialism, the idea that history is driven by a continual cycle of opposing stratified forces in society. Over time, the lower stratum overthrows the upper stratum, eventually becoming the upper stratum itself. Hegel expressed it like this:
thesis vs. antithesis --> synthesis, vs. antithesis --> synthesis, etc.
Marx & Engels saw the "thesis" as the people who controlled the means of production in a society -- the money, education, and such. The other people, workers and peasants, had only their labor to contribute, and thus were always under the control of the former. At some point, the lower class would attempt a forcible revolution, but the pattern would soon repeat itself because they'd form a new upper class.
The solution, they thought, was to distribute the means of production over the entire society, so that everyone had equal access to the wealth, property, and intellectual opportunities. They felt this could only be done by ending private ownership of land, technology, etc.
2. MAOISM:
Mao was originally a moderate communist, but as his policies (esp. the Great Leap Forward) failed and he faced strong opposition, he became radicalized. In order to justify his maintenance of power, he re-interpreted the Marxist model to mean that the creation of a communist "synthesis" -- ie. the "Revolution" -- had to be renewed in every generation. This required the periodic re-distribution of both property and political positions, and it allowed him to send his rivals off to "re-education" labor camps.
This led to the "Cultural Revolution," in which the most extreme proponents (The Red Guards) attacked everything old, destroying both old Chinese institutions like Buddhist and Confucian temples and non-Chinese things seen as corrupted by feudalism, like the Tibetan monastic system.
3. COMMUNISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS:
Eventually a number of party cadres realized this wasn't doing any good, so when Mao died (1979) his supporters were quickly rounded up and dealt with. Deng Xiaoping became PM, and created a new model of communism called "Communism with Chinese Characteristics." In this model, private enterprise in certain areas was encouraged as a stimulant to state prosperity, and large industrial, finance, and technological ventures were financed by the government to foster the economy. These businesses, in turn, were expected to re-invest in the infrastructure of the country on behalf of government bureaucracies.
Though they won't admit it, this model is a transitional stage toward a European-style capitalist/democratic-socialist system, though it'll still be a long while before the change is completed.
* * * * * * * * *
The Nepali communists are apparently following the Maoist model of cultural revolution, which the Chinese have already seen doesn't work. There are still Maoists in the Chinese gov't., who may be supporting the Nepali communists directly, but I find it hard to believe that the present ruling faction would want to support them.
Hopefully this helps clear things up a bit.
Saw some recent posts on various communist issues, and thought I'd try to clarify what I read as some confusion over the two different models of communism under discussion.
1. MARXISM:
Remember that the original Marx-Engels model of communism was based on Hegel's dialectical materialism, the idea that history is driven by a continual cycle of opposing stratified forces in society. Over time, the lower stratum overthrows the upper stratum, eventually becoming the upper stratum itself. Hegel expressed it like this:
thesis vs. antithesis --> synthesis, vs. antithesis --> synthesis, etc.
Marx & Engels saw the "thesis" as the people who controlled the means of production in a society -- the money, education, and such. The other people, workers and peasants, had only their labor to contribute, and thus were always under the control of the former. At some point, the lower class would attempt a forcible revolution, but the pattern would soon repeat itself because they'd form a new upper class.
The solution, they thought, was to distribute the means of production over the entire society, so that everyone had equal access to the wealth, property, and intellectual opportunities. They felt this could only be done by ending private ownership of land, technology, etc.
2. MAOISM:
Mao was originally a moderate communist, but as his policies (esp. the Great Leap Forward) failed and he faced strong opposition, he became radicalized. In order to justify his maintenance of power, he re-interpreted the Marxist model to mean that the creation of a communist "synthesis" -- ie. the "Revolution" -- had to be renewed in every generation. This required the periodic re-distribution of both property and political positions, and it allowed him to send his rivals off to "re-education" labor camps.
This led to the "Cultural Revolution," in which the most extreme proponents (The Red Guards) attacked everything old, destroying both old Chinese institutions like Buddhist and Confucian temples and non-Chinese things seen as corrupted by feudalism, like the Tibetan monastic system.
3. COMMUNISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS:
Eventually a number of party cadres realized this wasn't doing any good, so when Mao died (1979) his supporters were quickly rounded up and dealt with. Deng Xiaoping became PM, and created a new model of communism called "Communism with Chinese Characteristics." In this model, private enterprise in certain areas was encouraged as a stimulant to state prosperity, and large industrial, finance, and technological ventures were financed by the government to foster the economy. These businesses, in turn, were expected to re-invest in the infrastructure of the country on behalf of government bureaucracies.
Though they won't admit it, this model is a transitional stage toward a European-style capitalist/democratic-socialist system, though it'll still be a long while before the change is completed.
* * * * * * * * *
The Nepali communists are apparently following the Maoist model of cultural revolution, which the Chinese have already seen doesn't work. There are still Maoists in the Chinese gov't., who may be supporting the Nepali communists directly, but I find it hard to believe that the present ruling faction would want to support them.
Hopefully this helps clear things up a bit.
