3.1.2 Leftism in the Communist Party during the Great Leap Forward period Coined during the French Revolution, the terms left and right refer to the seat arrangements in the Estates General. The delegates sitting on the left opposed monarchy and supported the establishment of a republic, while those sitting on the right advocated conventional institutional arrangements, including monarchy. After the French Revolution, the application of these two terms was generalized. The term “left-wing” refers to those whose political advocacy is radical and often revolutionary, while the term “right-wing” refers to those whose advocacy is conservative and sometimes reactionary. In China, these terms can be used to describe the practices of Marxism. …show more content…
Also, during the Agrarian Revolution, his policy of grabbing and killing landlords and distributing their properties to the poor won the respect of the masses. Mao also enjoyed their praise. Actually, from 1945 to 1957, not only did Mao criticize or pretend to criticize personal idolization of leaders, but the party also held rules and executed them against idolization. So, at this point, the enormous respect paid to Mao failed to evolve into idolization. However, after Khrushchev filed a secret report against Stalinism in 1956 and a rash of opinions against Mao also emerged, Mao sponsored the revision of On the Historical Experience of Proletarian Dictatorship, an editorial published in the People’s Daily, where the principle against personal idolization was again emphasized. But Mao suggested a dichotomy, dividing personal cults into “correct” cults and “incorrect” cults of personality. In 1958, he stressed that it was necessary to idolize those who cherished the truth, those such as Lenin and Marx. At the Lushan conference in 1959, Peng Dehuai, a high-ranking governmental official, made a critique of the instituted policies of leftism, which had resulted in serious disasters throughout the nation. He warned of leftist errors. His critique was totally within the order of the day and his opinions were reasonable …show more content…
Although Mao had been the leader of the Chinese Communist Party since 1935, he consistently suffered the indifference of Stalin. Stalin did not interfere when Kuomintang tried to exterminate the CCP, and publicly favored the KMT. After the Sino-Japanese war, Stalin signed a treaty with the KMT, the dominant party in China, and persuaded Mao to compromise with the KMT. Even when Mao conquered Nanjing, where the KMT government was based, Stalin still strove to coordinate the CCP and KMT. Also, when he visited Moscow in 1949, Stalin proceeded to belittle Mao. Ashamed and indignant, Mao harbored a growing