Mao Money, Mao Problems

"Setting the Stage"

The article by Doug Guthrie outlines how Mao Zedong started the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The leader created a communist government where the state controls almost every facet of life and every person, industry, job, everything is organized, sorted, and distributed the way the government saw fit.

A few key factors defined Mao's China. First, the government encouraged its people to protest and challenge certain conditions existing in China. Mao told the Chinese people to fight against unfair employers, foreign invasion, and anti-communists. He informed them of what was good for them and then encouraged dissent against these institutions. Thus, Mao set the stage for social unrest.

Second, Mao's government controlled production and industry. Factories and agriculture were put under state control and forced to reach production quotas. This enabled Mao to exert control over the supply and demand of the country in 5 year plans.

Finally, China under Mao was organized into collective communities of 30-50 households. The people in each community produced goods and services for the whole to pool resources. However, the goods were distributed according to each home's contribution so the wealthy still received more than the poor. Another cause of social unrest.

Mao Zedong is the father of the conditions Pei stated in the article from my previous entry. He told the Chinese to protest and riot against employment, foreigners, and other evils. Essentially, the climate for social unrest was implanted into Chinese society. The lesson here for the Chinese was that if you don't like something, rise up and change it. We can see this today in China, except now the people are protesting for their own idea of acceptable life.

"But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao... you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow."

Deng Changes a Few Things

Guthrie goes on, in this article, to explain how the fall of Mao and his ideas spurred a new way under leader Deng. Deng's plan was to slowly change industry and agriculture from a state-controlled entity to locally owned and monitored one. He also encouraged more foreign investment, and a legal system to ensure corruption would always be stopped. The key here for Deng's success was slow changes. This transformed the environment in China greatly and their economy is the 6th largest in the world to date. However, some problems started under Mao continue to plague China and, again, this can be seen in the conditions of today's China under Jintao.