Unpacking the Motives: Why Did Mao Start the Cultural Revolution?

Unpacking the Motives: Why Did Mao Start the Cultural Revolution?

The Cultural Revolution initiated by Chairman Mao Zedong in China is one of the most significant and controversial historical events of the 20th century. This revolution aimed to purge the country of “Western capitalist” and “bourgeois” influences, and it launched a decade of brutal political upheaval. Mao has been criticized and praised in equal measures for this event. In this article, we explore the reasons behind the Cultural Revolution and Mao’s motives for launching it.

Background: The Political and Economic Landscape

China, after the devastation wrought by the civil war and the Japanese occupation, was an impoverished country in the 1950s. Mao and the Communist Party vowed to transform it into an industrialized socialist state. However, Mao’s plans were hampered by his failure in the Great Leap Forward, a disastrous campaign aimed at rapidly industrializing the country through collective farming and mass mobilization. The failed program brought about widespread famine and economic failure, resulting in the loss of millions of lives.

Mao’s Loss of Trust in the Communist Party

Mao felt that his comrades in the Communist Party had failed him, as they had opposed his Great Leap Forward Initiative. He became increasingly paranoid and felt that his authority and legacy were under threat. He saw corruption and elitism creeping into the party and felt that his party colleagues were becoming too comfortable and affluent. Consequently, he launched the Cultural Revolution to rally the Chinese masses to “struggle against their class enemies” within the party, especially those in leadership positions.

Reaffirming Mao’s Ideological Legacy

Mao saw the Cultural Revolution as a means of safeguarding his ideological legacy as the founder of the Communist Chinese State. He wanted to ensure the continuity of his socialist vision by eliminating any perceived threat to it. He felt that that bourgeois values and capitalist ideas were infiltrating the country, and he saw the need to stamp them out. Under the Cultural Revolution, Mao promoted his ideas about a classless society, emphasizing the central role of the masses in creating a socialist state.

Redefining Chinese Identity

Mao believed that China needed to redefine its cultural identity to prevent it from being ‘corrupted’ by Western capitalist ideas. Mao emphasized how Western capitalism was a threat to China and its people. To counter it, he launched the Cultural Revolution as a means to get rid of Western influences and reassert the country’s cultural heritage. As such, he promoted the ideas of “the proletarianization of the intellectuals,” advocating the replacement of traditional Chinese values with Marxist ideology.

Conclusion

The Cultural Revolution served as a manifestation of Mao’s paranoia, his fear of losing power, and his desire to protect his socialist vision and legacy. It was a means to reassert his control over the Communist Party, eradicate capitalist and Western influence, and redefine Chinese identity. However, the Cultural Revolution had catastrophic consequences, leading to widespread destruction, poverty, famine, and violence. Understanding Mao’s motives behind the Cultural Revolution is critical to comprehending this defining event in China’s history.