Mao Zedong: His life, legacy, and limits

There is no doubt that the Chinese revolution is one of the greatest events in human history. It freed China from the shackles of imperialism after a heroic, decades-long struggle. This revolution was the fruit of the tremendous determination and spirit of sacrifice of the Chinese masses. And at the head of this movement was Mao Zedong. Since Mao’s death, capitalism in China has been gradually restored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bureaucracy. Mao is seen to have led a struggle against ‘capitalist roaders’ in the CCP in his final years. Thus many revolutionaries both inside and outside China have understandably looked towards the ideas of Mao as a guide to action in the struggle towards a new revolution. However, just as much as he achieved incredible things, there were not a few tragedies and horrors under his leadership that must be explained, such as the famines of the Great Leap Forward and China’s de facto alliance with the USA against the USSR. Is there a connection between these serious errors and crises, and the CCP’s eventual return to capitalism? And do communists need to make use of the best of Mao’s ideas to abolish once again capitalism in China? In this talk, Daniel Morley, from the RCP Central Committee, will answer these questions.

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