Rising Ideas: Communism in China
"An economic and social system envisioned by the nineteenth-century German scholar Karl Marx. In theory, under communism, all means of production are owned in common, rather than by individuals. In practice, a single authoritarian party controls both the political and economic systems."
~Definition of Communism, Courtesy of the American Heritage Dictionary
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was formed in 1921 and Mao Zedong became the party's leader in 1927. Mao and the CCP fought for twenty-two years and defeated the Chinese Nationalist Party and foreign occupational nations in 1949.
"Chairman Mao declares the People's Republic of China (PRC)," October 1, 1949
Courtesy of CCTV4
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"The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China is established today." ~Chairman Mao Zedong |
Even though Mao celebrated this victory, China was devastated by the civil war and foreign invasion. Mao's priority was to bring China into prosperity by following the Soviet model of development through heavy industry with surpluses extracted from peasants.