Maoism

Maoism, also known as Mao Zedong Thought, is a version of Marxism-Leninism that Mao Zedong created. He developed it while working toward a socialist revolution in the early stages of China's development. One key idea of Maoism is that a group of progressive forces, not just communist revolutionaries, could lead a revolution in societies that were not yet industrial.

Maoism became important in China from the 1950s until changes happened in the late 1970s. During this time, it guided the actions of the Chinese Communist Party and influenced many revolutionary groups around the world. After a split between China and the Soviet Union in the 1960s, both countries argued about who truly carried forward the ideas of Joseph Stalin and led the global movement for communism.

The word "Maoism" was first used in 1951 by a scholar named Benjamin I. Schwartz. He used it to describe how Mao practically applied Marxist-Leninist ideas, especially by organizing peasants to support the revolution.

History

Further information: Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party

Chinese intellectual tradition

At the turn of the 19th century, Chinese thinkers were focused on two main ideas: questioning old traditions and strong love for their country.

Iconoclastic revolution and anti-Confucianism

By the early 1900s, some educated people in China began to question the old beliefs and values from Confucianism. The fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 made many Chinese think that Confucianism was linked to old, unfair political ideas.

Chen Duxiu and others led movements like the New Culture Movement from 1915 to 1919, which challenged old Chinese traditions. These movements influenced young Mao Zedong and aimed to educate more people and challenge old leaders.

Nationalism and the appeal of Marxism

National pride and anger against foreign control grew strong in China. Events like the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which let Japan take land from China, made many Chinese very upset. This led to big protests, like the May Fourth Movement in 1919.

The Russian Revolution in 1917 also inspired many Chinese thinkers. After these events, more Chinese began to see Marxism as a way to reject old traditions and fight foreign control.

Yan'an period between November 1935 and March 1947

After the Long March, Mao and the Chinese Communist Party settled in Yan'an. Here, Mao shared his ideas about Marxism and began to shape what would become known as Mao Zedong Thought. This time helped Mao and the party think independently from leaders in other countries.

Mao Zedong's intellectual development

Mao's ideas grew in five main stages:

1. The early Marxist stage from 1920 to 1926
2. The early Maoist stage from 1927 to 1935
3. The mature Maoist stage from 1935 to 1940
4. The Civil War stage from 1940 to 1949
5. The time after 1949 when China won its revolution

Initial Marxist period (1920–1926)

Mao believed that education alone wouldn't change China from capitalism to communism. He thought the rulers needed to be removed, and the people had to demand change.

Formative Maoist period (1927–1935)

During this time, Mao didn’t write much about theory. His writings didn’t explain his ideas clearly.

Mature Maoist period (1935–1940)

This was a busy time for Mao’s thinking. He began to adapt Marxist ideas to fit China’s unique situation, different from how other countries did it.

In the late 1930s, Mao and others started sharing the Communist Party’s growing ideas. Mao called these ideas Mao Zedong Thought, saying they were still developing.

Beginning in Yan'an, Mao Zedong Thought became a guide for revolution and social change.

Civil War period (1940–1949)

In this time, Mao focused more on action than theory. He still believed theory should guide practice. He talked about avoiding two mistakes: relying too much on theory (dogmatism) and relying too much on experience (empiricism).

In 1945, the party officially adopted Mao Zedong Thought as its main idea.

Establishment of the PRC

For Mao, winning in 1949 proved his theories right. He updated his ideas to fit building a new society. By 1951, the term “Maoism” was used in English to describe his practical way of leading revolution.

In 1956, Mao first talked about the idea of constant revolution.

Cultural Revolution

The idea of cultural revolution comes from Marxism-Leninism. It says that even after a revolution, old ideas can return. So, people need to keep fighting old ideas and values to keep socialism strong.

Examples of this happened in the Soviet Union and in China’s New Culture and May Fourth Movements. These events shaped Mao’s ideas about cultural revolution. Under Mao, big movements like the Great Leap Forward and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s tried to apply these ideas.

During the Cultural Revolution, some people were criticized or treated badly for having old or wrong ideas. Mao later asked people to focus on learning his ideas instead of taking quick action.

Deng era

After Mao died in 1976, Deng Xiaoping began new economic changes in 1978. Deng said the true spirit of Mao Zedong Thought was to look at facts and judge policies by their results. He separated Mao from Maoism, saying Mao made mistakes too.

China’s leaders still keep Mao Zedong Thought as one of their main guiding ideas.

Xi era

Xi Jinping says Mao Zedong Thought is the main guide for China’s Communist Party. He describes it as learning from facts, listening to people, and keeping China independent.

Some people in China today worry about unfairness and inequality. Some young people are interested again in Mao’s ideas as they question today’s leaders. The government has limited some of these discussions.

Components

The CCP's way of thinking splits ideas into "Thought" and "Theory". Thought is more important and shows how much a leader matters.

Mao Zedong Thought grew from talks among early CCP leaders and mainly uses Mao's looks at Marxism and China’s history. It changes Marxism to fit China.

The idea of the New Democracy was known to Chinese revolutionaries from the late 1940s. This idea said that for most people, the “long road to socialism” needed a “national, popular, democratic, anti-feudal and anti-imperialist revolution, run by the communists”.

Maoism believes that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun”, stressing the “revolutionary struggle of the vast majority of people against the exploiting classes and their state structures”, which Mao called a people's war. It encourages many people in the countryside to stand up against old ways by using guerrilla warfare, focusing on “surrounding the cities from the countryside”.

Maoism sees the gap between towns and countryside as very important, thinking capitalism uses this gap. It believes peasant uprisings are key to world change, seeing the countryside as stronger than cities. Because of this imperialism by rich towns on poor countryside places, Maoism supports national liberation movements in poorer nations.

The idea of the mass line grows from Vladimir Lenin’s thoughts on a vanguard party. It has a plan for leading people, strengthening the group, and building socialism. The mass line is “from the masses, to the masses”. It has three steps:

1. Collect ideas from many people.
2. Look at these ideas with a revolutionary view, thinking about what’s best long-term.
3. Share these ideas back to help people work together for change.

These steps should happen again and again to keep improving.

Mao took ideas from Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin to think about “contradiction” (maodun). He believed contradiction is natural and needed for growth. In essays like On Contradiction and On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People, he said things develop through struggle.

In 1974, China shared its Three Worlds Theory at the UN. This theory said during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were the “first world”. Other powerful nations were the “second world”. Poor nations were the “third world”. Both first and second worlds used the third world, but the first world was worse. Revolution was more likely in third-world countries.

Maoism focuses on countryside change rather than cities. This is called agrarian socialism. Maoist groups in places like Peru, Nepal, and the Philippines look at both city and countryside needs. Maoism differed from the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev, seeing it as state capitalist and Marxist revisionism.

Maoism and Marxism differ in who can start a communist revolution. For Marx, it was city working class. For Mao, it was peasants, whom he called the popular masses.

Mao strongly believed in uniting people. He looked at peasant uprisings in Hunan while others focused on cities and orthodox Marxist workers. Many ideas in Maoism, like not trusting experts too much, come from usual people’s views. The idea of “people’s war” comes from these thoughts. Mao thought experts and group leaders should first learn from people and then guide them. This was key to the “people’s war” plan.

International influence

From 1962 onwards, the challenge to the Soviet leadership in the world communist movement by the Chinese Communist Party caused divisions in communist parties around the world. At first, the Albanian Party of Labour supported the Chinese Communist Party. Many mainstream (non-splitter group) Communist parties in South-East Asia, like the Communist Party of Burma, the Communist Party of Thailand, and the Communist Party of Indonesia, also sided with China. Some Asian parties, like the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Workers' Party of Korea, tried to stay neutral.

Under the rule of Ali Soilih and the DRCP party, the State of the Comoros followed ideas inspired by Mao’s approaches. Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge had similarities to Mao’s ideas, though leaders of Maoism and Marxism often said the Khmer Rouge differed greatly from true Marxist teachings.

Efforts to bring together the international communist movement under Maoist ideas continued after Mao’s death in 1976. Many parties and groups formed in the West and Third World that looked to the Chinese Communist Party for guidance. They often used names like Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist) or Revolutionary Communist Party to show they were different from traditional pro-Soviet communist parties. These movements were influenced by the wave of student activism that swept the world in the 1960s and 1970s.

Only one major Western communist party supported the Chinese Communist Party, the Communist Party of New Zealand. Under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and Mao Zedong, a separate international communist movement grew to challenge the Soviet one, though it was never as organized as the Soviet-supported movement.

After Mao’s death in 1976 and the power struggles that followed in China, the international Maoist movement split into three groups. One group, made up of various neutral groups, gave limited support to the new Chinese leadership under Deng Xiaoping. Another group rejected the new leadership as traitors to the cause of Marxism–Leninism. The third group sided with Albania in criticizing the Chinese leadership’s theories.

The pro-Albania group began to act as an international movement led by Enver Hoxha and the APL, and it brought together many communist groups in Latin America, including the Communist Party of Brazil. Later, Latin American Communists, such as Peru’s Shining Path, also followed Maoist ideas.

The new Chinese leadership showed little interest in groups outside China that supported Mao. Many foreign parties that had aligned with China before 1975 either dissolved, left the Chinese government, or even gave up on Marxism–Leninism and became social democratic parties. Today’s international Maoist movement grew from the group that opposed Deng and said they followed the true legacy of Mao.

Afghanistan

The Progressive Youth Organization was a group in Afghanistan that followed Mao’s ideas. It was founded in 1965 and aimed to change the country through people’s war.

The Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan was formed in 2004 from five smaller groups.

Australia

The Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) is a Maoist group in Australia. It started in 1964 after splitting from the Australian Communist Party.

Bangladesh

The Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party is a Maoist party in Bangladesh. It was founded in 1968 and played a role in the country’s struggle for independence.

Belgium

The split between supporters of the Soviet Union and China affected communism in Belgium. The pro-Soviet Communist Party of Belgium had a Maoist split led by Jacques Grippa. Grippa formed the Communist Party of Belgium – Marxist–Leninist (PCBML). Though it had some influence, it never grew as large as the pro-Soviet group. The PCBML was the first European Maoist party.

Ecuador

The Communist Party of Ecuador – Red Sun, also known as Puka Inti, is a small Maoist group in Ecuador.

Denmark

Small Maoist groups formed in Denmark in 1964. Over time, these groups split and changed, with some becoming more aligned with the Soviet Union or Third World movements. The Communist League Marxist-Leninist and the Communist Workers Party were among the notable Maoist groups.

France

In 1964, a Maoist group formed at École Normale among students who studied with Louis Althusser. French Maoism grew after the split between China and the Soviet Union, especially from 1966 to 1976. After the events of May 1968, Maoists became more influential in French intellectual circles and contributed to movements for gay and lesbian rights and the early feminist movement in France.

The École Normale Maoists joined with leaders of the May 1968 protests to form Proletarian Left. For six years, it was the most visible Maoist group in France, working in cities, suburbs, rural areas, and immigrant communities on issues like abortion rights and organizing workers. Proletarian Left included supporters like Jean-Paul Sartre and Michel Foucault. It dissolved in 1974.

Germany

In West Germany, several groups formed in the late 1960s that followed Maoism as part of the German New Left movement.

India

Mao’s ideas gained followers among Indian communists during uprisings in the 1940s and 1950s. The Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong became popular after the 1967 Naxalbari uprising and the start of the Naxalite Movement. The leader of the first phase, Charu Majumdar, emphasized studying Mao’s writings. The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is the main Maoist group in India today.

Iran

The Union of Iranian Communists (Sarbedaran) was an Iranian Maoist group formed in 1976. It launched an uprising in 1982 but failed, and the group dissolved that same year. The Communist Party of Iran (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist) formed in 2001 as a continuation of the Sarbedaran Movement.

Israel

The 1970s group Ma'avak was influenced by Maoism. After a split, some members were charged with meeting with Syrian officials.

Italy

Articles criticizing a Italian communist leader increased interest in China’s communist approach. Soon after, the first Italian Mao-inspired party was founded. Groups like Servire il Popolo modeled themselves on China’s Red Guards. Other groups included the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades).

Mao-Spontex

Mao-Spontex was a Maoist interpretation in Western Europe that emphasized cultural revolution and rejecting hierarchy. It was a movement from 1968 to 1971 that combined Maoism with Marxism and libertarian ideas.

Palestine

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine was initially influenced by Maoism but later shifted toward the Soviet Union.

Peru

Peru had a strong Maoist movement due to the Sino-Soviet split and the actions of Shining Path. Shining Path, led by Abimael Guzmán, viewed revolution as needing long-term people’s war. In the 1980s and 1990s, it waged an insurgency that caused many deaths.

Philippines

The Communist Party of the Philippines, formed in 1968, was based on Maoist ideas. It has an armed wing, the New People’s Army, and is still active today.

Portugal

Maoist movements were active in Portugal during the 1970s, especially during the Carnation Revolution in 1974. The Portuguese Workers' Communist Party was one of the most active groups.

Spain

The main Spanish Maoist group was the Communist Party of Spain (Marxist–Leninist). After rejecting Maoism, the Communist Party of Spain (Reconstituted) became the leading Maoist group, with an armed wing.

Sweden

In 1968, a small Maoist group called Rebels formed in Stockholm. There were several other Maoist groups, some of which later aligned with Albania.

Tanzania

Tanzania’s socialist approach under President Julius Nyerere used Maoist ideas like self-reliance and the importance of peasants.

Turkey

The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist is a Maoist group currently fighting against the Turkish government. It was founded in 1972 and has an armed wing.

United States

After the events of the 1960s, Maoist ideas were a major part of American socialism. Groups like the Revolutionary Communist Party and the October League emerged. The Black Panther Party was also influenced by Mao’s ideas. In his autobiography, BPP leader Huey P. Newton wrote about how reading Mao changed his views.

Criticism and implementation

Maoism lost support within the Chinese Communist Party, starting with reforms by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. Deng thought Maoism showed the risks of extreme left ideas, seen in harmful mass movements during Mao's time. Deng said Mao was "70% right, 30% wrong," separating Mao's revolutionary ideas from his governance style. Many Chinese scholars agree this view keeps Communist rule legitimate while criticizing Mao's economic and political methods.

Some scholars outside China think this change helped return capitalist ideas to China. In 1978, this caused the Sino-Albanian split when Albanian leader Enver Hoxha called Deng a revisionist and created Hoxhaism, a different form of Marxism. Enver Hoxha criticized Maoism, saying it stopped class struggles and allowed capitalist exploitation. Some political thinkers see Maoism as mixing Confucianism and socialism.

Mao's belief in China's important role in international socialism shaped Maoism. This strong nationalistic view set Mao apart from other Chinese communists and influenced his path.