By focusing on and promoting the values of the rural areas, China has soared past us all today, this is the hidden lesson of the CR and the genius of Maoism.
Han's book, this series, and the lessons of the Cultural Revolution should have tremendous interest for developing countries. The CR is a blueprint for lifting essentially non-industrial societies into the socioeconomic stratosphere. The blueprint is not provided by the IMF they have certainly had decades of chances.
The idea that China's success is due to being a "Western sweatshop" is, it is rarely remembered, merely a way to credit the West for China's success. No, it is due to Chinese innovations and adaptations of ideas already present around the globe.
A key flaw in Western capitalist allegations that the CR was simply a way for Mao to gain control: if that's true what could he have possibly gained by encouraging criticism of Confucius? The CCP was already in control there was no "pro-Confucian Party" which was taking the CCP's power. Confucianism is an inherently conservative ideal why rock that boat? Bring up this point to those who are anti-CR and they will certainly be totally flummoxed.
But criticising Confucianism, which is such a thrillingly productive and superbly admirable philosophy which I have learned much from for years, was a way to pull down the dominant class and replace it with the oppressed classes.
However, Chinese culture remains incredibly Confucian, any Chinese person will tell you. I predict that one day the ubiquitous phrase "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" will be replaced with a regional generalisation of "Confucian Socialism", and this phrase will describe not just China but include Vietnam, Korea and (hopefully) others. This is exactly the same as how "Iranian Islamic Socialism" is a variant of the larger "Islamic Socialism". These truths are self-evident, if not yet fully flowered".
When discussing the anti-Confucius campaigns, Han writes: "But it had specific meaning for ordinary people. The major theme of the campaign was to criticize the elitist mentality in Chinese culture. It promoted Mao's idea that the masses are the motive force of history and that the elite are sometimes stupid while working people are intelligent. These were not empty words. Villagers toiled all year round, supplying the elite with grain, meat and vegetables. But they were made to feel stupid in front of the elite. They did not know how to talk with the elite, and accepted the stigma of stupidity the elite gave to them."
This idea that rural Trash are stupid, that urban leaders are right to view themselves as "elite" is something which has to be remedied in the West, or else Western society can never be whole. The rural-urban divide is the most urgent divide in the West today, but the CR shows it can be resolved.
Unfortunately, because they adhere to capitalism-imperialism, many nation in the West are not trying to be united at all their people subsist on contempt for "the other" as well as competition to join the 1%, as capitalism-imperialism ceaselessly instructs them.
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This was the final article in an 8-part series which examined Dongping Han's book The Unknown Cultural Revolution: Life and Change in a Chinese Village in order to drastically redefine a decade which has proven to be not just the basis of China's current success, but also a beacon of hope for developing countries worldwide. Here is the list of articles slated to be published, and I hope you will find them useful in your leftist struggle!
Part 1 A much-needed revolution in discussing China's Cultural Revolution: an 8-part series
Part 2 The story of a martyr FOR, and not BY, China's Cultural Revolution
Part 3 Why was a Cultural Revolution needed in already-Red China?
Part 4 How the Little Red Book created a cult 'of socialism' and not 'of Mao'
Part 5 Red Guards ain't all red: Who fought whom in China's Cultural Revolution?
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