Mao And Xi Jinping: The Communist Veneer

Mao and Xi Jinping: The Communist Veneer

Mao Zedong, China’s first communist leader for life brought turmoil and devastation to China’s economy and people. With no forms of checks and balances his power was unlimited, allowing him to do whatever he pleased as leader for life. Xi Jinping, the current leader of “communist China” just passed legislation allowing for him to lead for his entire lifetime, endangered future Chinese government and raising questions of his thirst for power. Xi Jinping's amendment to change a Chinese ruler’s term limits are the first steps to a lifetime leader since Mao Zedong, however Xi Jinping’s “dream” for a prosperous China is far from the devastation that Mao brought to the country.

As leaders, Mao and Jinping

Mao had engineered many movements, hoping to correct ills and deficiencies and at the same time augmenting his own dictatorial power. Early on he had settled on a method, a formula: to move openly and comprehensively from the bottom up and stir up the masses of China to expose the dark aspects of Chinese society. Stirring up the passions of youth, which turbulent passions in turn created the Red Guard movement, was a classic example of this formula.”

By enticing the large youth population of China, Mao was able to consolidate power through fear of the Red Guard and being re-educated. Mao brought hope to struggling lower and middle class youth through a feeling of empowerment. Mao’s re-education initiative swept through the country, disabling any Western ideas or defiance of his rule, claiming it was for the success of greater China. However Jinping took a different approach to consolidating power, deciding to fight against corrupt leaders as well as his challengers. Where Mao chose to rule through fear of being different, Jinping decided to consolidate power with the strength of the law behind him. Leading up to taking office, Jinping delivered a speech to declare the strategy he would use to consolidate power, “a sweeping crusade against corruption, which had become prevalent on every level of society after

Interestingly, China only replicates a few communist traits, but these are deeply held. Land and companies owned by the government reflects a Communist government; however, with one of the world’s largest free markets, China is far from the Communist country it portrays. Still, Mao and Jinping, both reinforced their power through claims that opposing them as leaders was opposing the country and Communism. The justification for those sacrifices was defined in a key slogan of the time: “Fight selfishness, criticize revisionism.” This propaganda, prompted the people of China to believe in their leader, while also supporting Communism. Mao was able to support his claims to power by claims that he would return China to a prosperous state, “Drawing his power from the large peasant population, Mao promised China a Communist society free of inequality, poverty, foreign domination -- and the corruption and revisionism he believed had derailed the Soviet original.” Mao captivated the masses, especially the large middle class of China, with the claims that supporting him was supporting Communism and their well being. With the communist party behind them, and treason as the only option of defiance, Mao and Jinping were both able to reinforce and rule and institute themselves as