Maoism: A Global History

This is a really interesting exploration of Maoism less as a philosophy and more as a historical phenomenon across the world. In the US, we're often taught to focus on the USSR as *the* Communist opposition, with China reduced to a secondary player, predominantly in Vietnam and Korea--so we pat ourselves on the back and say "the West won!" after 1989.

What makes this book so good is not just that Lovell shows that this is untrue, but that she does so in a nuanced way. None of the players are reduced to passive victimhood--all have made choices. Maoism had genuine appeal for people, whether or not it lived up to its promises. For itself, China has been an active exporter of ideology (and the power to back it) since before Mao took power. show more From his time in Yan'an, Mao used journalists to export a vision of himself that was what he wanted them to see: the champion of the peasantry, the man of the earth, of good humor, hard work, anti-imperialism, and equality. It worked. His beliefs--as structured for outsiders--inspired others to follow.

They had reason to. His anti-imperialism was appealing to those people just emerging from colonial rule as in Indochina, Indonesia, and Africa. His exhortations of the peasantry inspired those in deeply unequal societies in Peru and India. China worked to develop those ties--the Belt & Road Initiative is in the news now, but they were training ZANU rebels in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the 1970s and building projects in Zambia.

At the same time, though, Maoism often replicated problems in miniature: the elites, often dominated by men (despite claims to gender equality) dominated the upper ranks of revolutionary movements, talking about the masses as lesser. Naxalite leaders have profited from exploitation of natural resources, even as they criticize the Indian state for the same. Charismatic leaders like the Shining Path's Abimael Guzman led to terror and violence. At its extreme, Maoism led to the killing fields of Democratic Kampuchea and the closed personality cult of North Korea.

The book ends with a disquieting chapter: how Xi Jinping is now taking on the trappings (in a cut rate manner) of the Mao cult, looking to consolidate his power over China and, through economics, to expand his power abroad. Maoism hasn't died. show less

An appreciatively broad history that is too liberal in outlook to give “socialism with Chinese characteristics” (or the post-colonial African variant) its fair shake, though its scepticism is warranted for the various other perversions of Mao’s project. This book could have focused more on the Chinese context and the specifics of Tse-tung’s policies, given that these provide the entire impetus for Maoism’s global reach.

Coming soon