Unicorns in Narnia

China Today

  * Karl Marx a German philosopher shaped Mao's ideas about class struggle. Marx predicted that the industrial working class (proletarian) would rise up against the ruling class, and that the proletarian revolution would spread around the world and create a new classless society. Mao adapted Marxism to Chinese conditions and put faith in China's poor landless peasants to carry out the revolution (because China only had a small industrial working class. The 1917 Communist revolution in Russia also inspired Mao. It showed that a strong Communist party could lead the people.
  * PRC: During 1930-40 Mao rallied supporters to free China from the forces of oppression (greedy landlords, corrupt officials, foreign imperialism). Mao's communist disciplined peasant armies beat the nationalists. By 1949 the communists entered Beijing and announced the start of the PRC. (Goals of revolution: better life for poor, development of a modern economy, restored place of world power.
  * Deng Xiao Ping took control in 1976 when Mao died, he eased some of the governments strict economic controls, he also allowed Chinese to study abroad, and welcomed foreign investment. This caused the educated middle class to press for democratic reform.
  * Totalitarian State: government that lesser the individual to the state and strictly controls all aspects of life by use of   force.
  * Propaganda: information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause
  * After taking control the communists restored order through writing a new constitution. Years of war had devistated China (economically, chaos, suffering) so a totalitarian state was set up.
  * Great leap forward: China was divided into communes which controlled the land and peasants' lives. This was a means to improve infrastructure and increase food output.
  * Cultural Revolution: Mao stressed class struggle, wanted to lessen capitalism (free market economy). The Red Guards: students and factory...