From 1949 to 1976, Mao did everything in his power to make China flourish in economic and cultural gain. The first step in beginning a new government is establishing rules and regulations. With this in mind, a meeting was held with more then eleven hundred people who are part of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Mao was a man who stressed voluntarism, that is, that man is not dominated by impersonal forces; human will and effort can affect the outcome of historical events. Well aware of the downfalls of the USSR, Mao Zedong with other leaders, were cautious in every way possible. Taking into consideration the population’s lack of incentive to work hard, Chinese communists decided to take a Great Leap Forward. With economic gain in mind, and success in their hearts, major accomplishments were in mind such as industrial, agricultural and technological development. This leap included, according to a writer (Teufel, 1993, 109) such actions as marriages being contracted for economic gain, gambling, a large disparity in income levels and officials using their position for financial gain. Unfortunately, the Great Leap is now remembered for its economic failure. Another big impact Mao had on the Chinese community was the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The main goal, like the Great Leap Forward, was to end hierarchical order and increase equality. Even though this idea ended early on in its existence, many of its strategies remain several years later. The death of Mao Zedong led to the succession of the power of Deng Xiaoping, a more radical thinker. He introduced the rule of law. While Mao was more of equality thinker, Deng was a man who had prosperity on his mind. This idea of prosperity leads to the motive of profit. This resulted in people being able to sell in markets and factories and being allowed to keep earnings, something that is new and exciting for the People’s Republic of China.
Economics were essentially the main focus of the People’s Republic of China throughout the years. In the beginning, industrialization was most important, but at the same time, the riskiest idea. This being because of the ever going problems associated with it in other countries. The government of the PRC knew this and they knew to be extra careful with their ideas and thoughts with the subject. The Chinese Communist Party had two main goals in their economic efforts, according to a writer (Teufel, 1993, 172), which included equality and prosperity. In the beginning years, under the efforts of Mao, measures were taken to deal with the subject of inflation. These measures included revaluing the nation’s currency to a more realistic rate in order to reduce the lure of the black market currency transactions and those indulging in a currency speculation would be punished. On top of these, more stable measures were taken with equality in mind. Trading cooperatives arrived and put food in cities and prices became fixed at, what seemed to be, a fair rate. With these new measures in place, the PRC would, now, not have to worry about inflationary pressures and could focus on such things as rebuilding railroads and concentrating on agriculture. Mao Zedong, knowing that a large portion of the population was involved one way or another in agriculture, put most of his efforts in the rural areas. After the civil war, a need for land distribution was essential and new distinctions of class were put in place. New classifications were made and all seemed to be in order. This new land reform, which seemed to be the solution, created new problems for the PRC. Problems such as the leadership’s decision to give equal shares of land out, not knowing that with fifty million new landowners reduced the size of the average farm and the ability of the peasant to accumulate capital. Another problem arose with animals and where to allocate where they are to be bread. The last and most important problem that came from these new classifications was food shortages throughout the country. This occurred because newly landed peasants decided to eat the grain themselves rather then shipping them to markets. To solve these, a new group was formed by the name of the mutual aid teams (MATs). Included in these teams were usually up to five households at first that were only temporary. Later, MAT’s were finalized and groups of five to ten households were formed permanently. Another solution brought to the attention of the country was communes. Under this system, according to an author (Teufel, 1993, 177) private plots were eliminated and private property was nonexistent. These communes did such services as running factories, banks, and doing educational work. An example of this was that tools such as pots and pans were melted and taken away from peasants so they would be forced to eat in commune dining halls. The idea of communes and communism, then led to disaster. Crops died and animals were slaughtered and wasted by their owners. Over the next few years, the agriculture in the PRC would only worsen. This temporarily changed later on in the years, when it was restored, but peasants still remained weary.
Being weary was a trait the population of the PRC was often used to, aside from the case of education. Since 1949 there has been a steady quantitative improvement in education facilities. According to a writer (Waller, 1981, 66), with around 80% of the total population being illiterate to having nine out of ten of the younger generation having at least basic literacy, a great improvement has definitely been made, but more improvement is still necessary. The average education level remains at around4.5 years and the educational system is still unevenly distributed, with higher levels of education in some areas then others. Measures the CCP have taken are to popularise and spread standard pronunciation and simplify the many of the more common characters. The education system is divided into three major sections which are primary, secondary and higher or university level. Primary education, beginning at the age of seven, lasts for five years and is attended by virtually all children. Secondary education, also lasting six years, consists of two stages of middle school, which are upper and lower and consist of three years each. This was later changed to one four year sector. In addition to these middle schools, there are schools for teacher and technical training as an option. Full-time as well as Part-time schools are available to all. University, if one decided to attend, would take only three years to finish. Differing from the educational system in North America, entrance examinations are not used, rather students were selected on the basis of recommendations. This proved beneficial for the country because students would often do labour work for several years before entering university, which undoubtedly benefited the economic system.
The population of the People’s Republic of China is diverse and unique. With peasants accounting most of its population, they play a large role in how china works. The peasant’s standard of living has increased since the beginning of communism economically, socially and educationally. The Public health system in the PRC has also been greatly enhanced. Disease, which before had been a serious threat to common peasants, has now declined drastically. Improvements such as travelling paramedics and more hospitals have increased the life expectancy as well as increased the population. The younger population of China is significant as well. According to a writer (Teufel, 1993, 121), with over 60% of the population under twenty-five years of age, the younger generation cannot be missed. Problems for the younger generation are numerous. With difficulties in getting work after school, the young generation are often not motivated to continue in their efforts in education and often drop out at an early age. Women in the PRC are regarded as inferior to men, but are not invisible by all means. Male children were often preferred and if a girl child was born, they were sometimes killed. Young girls were usually married at an early age and given no rights or freedoms. All of these occurrences were a normal thing until, in 1953; a law was passed giving women more rights and freedoms. Marriages were now contracted with both parties agreement, and polygamy and child marriages were virtually eliminated. Discrimination however, is still evident in other forms. Although all of the Chinese population are paid the same amount of money for doing equal work, women get paid less because their work is not considered to be equal to men.
An author (Teufel, 1993, 236) states that Mao Zedong’s states that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun”. This is a perfect example of the value placed on the police and court systems of the People’s Republic of China. Courts and public safety were one of the Chinese Communist Party’s main focuses. According to one writer (Waller, 1981, 125), the public safety bureau, established in 1959, plays a large role in how the PRC is run. The courts were, viewed by the Communist Party, as an instrument of state policy, for achieving the revolutionary goals of society and for suppressing those persons considered to be counter-revolutionaries, instead of an instrument used for protection of individual rights. Police and public security services within the country had powers beyond simply law and order. On top of the original tasks a public safety officer also has tasks such as doing census registration, surveillance of overseas Chinese and politically suspect individuals, investigation of criminal cases and border patrol among others. Throughout the PRC there are main security offices in urban areas as well as in rural areas.
In conclusion, the People’s Republic of China benefited, but overall failed desolately. There beliefs, ideas and goals were forced it in a downward spiral. Reasons for this include the poor use of hierarchy, economics, education and security, to name a few. These systems, though put in place with good intentions, failed because of poor organization, formation and execution. People were neglected and institutions were overlooked. Another problem with the system is all the government failures that occurred. Failures such as The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution created disbelief and uncertainty among the PRC’s population. These uncertainties forced the people of the PRC to become ashamed to be a part of their country and eventually created chaos. If the People’s Republic of China was simply governed with a little more thought and consideration to its public, maybe it would have survived longer.
June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Political System, (New York, 1993), p. 3.
June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Political System, (New York, 1993), p. 1.
June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Political System, (New York, 1993), p. 32.
June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Political System, (New York, 1993), p. 79.
Derek J. Waller, The Government and Politics of the People’s Republic of China, (London, 1981), p. 42.
D.J Waller, The Government and Politics of Communist China, (London, 1970), p. 43.
John Edicott and W.R. Heaton, The Politics of East Asia: China, Japan, Korea, (Colorado, 1978), p. 37.
June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Political System, (New York, 1993), p. 174.
June Teufel Dreyer, China’s Political System, (New York, 1993), p. 179.
Derek J. Waller, The Government and Politics of Communist Asia, (London, 1970), p. 64.
Derek J. Waller, The Government and Politics of the People’s Republic of China, (London, 1981), p. 157.
Derek J. Waller, The Government and Politics of the People’s Republic of China, (London, 1981), p. 125.
Derek J. Waller, The Government and Politics of the People’s Republic of China, (London, 1981), p. 127.
