Stalin And Mao
History has shown that strong individuals
and revolutionary ideas can have a
major impact on a country. Leaders are
often driven by what they perceive as a
desire to create a more perfect
country. Frequently their egos and methods sway
them from the realization of
the ideals they set out to achieve. Every country
has encountered a
noteworthy leader at one point or another. Some countries
realize this, and
take advantage of the fact, while others let him or her pass
slip away. A
great leader has an impact on a country, an impact that lasts, one
that can
be looked upon as an example for future generations. Mao Zedong,
of
China, and Joseph Stalin, of the Soviet Union were great leaders of
their time.
Mao and Stalin had similar objectives, means, and influences
on their country.
Both Mao and Stalin had similar ideas at the base of
their pyramid of goals.
Both leaders believed that Communism was the best
system for a their countries.
Mao said "If you want to know the taste of
a pear, you must change the pear by
eating it yourself. . . . If you want to
know the theory and methods of
revolution, you must take part in revolution.
All genuine knowledge originates
in direct experience." Mao believed that
some ideas may work better in one
country, and not at all in another. By
taking a bite out of the pear, you are
changing the pear itself. By changing
how you achieve your goals, you change the
final product. Mao had many
different plans to help China recover. One of the
most widely know plans was
the "Great Leap Forward." Mao encouraged people
to work longer hours and even
do work at home. This new plan called for the
formation of large units called
communes which incorporated agriculture and
industry and were supposed to be
self sufficient. This concept changed Mao’s
original "play" on Marxist
Communism. Mao believed that reforms, such as the
"Agrarian Reform";
Campaigns such as the "Hundred Flowers Campaign"; and
plans such as the
"First Five Year Plan" would help Communism rise in China.
In 1966 Mao
proclaimed a Cultural Revolution with two goals. The first was to
strengthen
his leadership position, and the second was to strengthen the
Communist
doctrine and restore the revolutionary spirit. He formed the Red
Guards,
a group of people dedicated strictly to Mao. Each Red Guard carried a
copy of
The Quotation of Mao Zedong, known as the little red book. Both Stalin
and
Mao had the objective to create a communist society for the good of
the
people These goals were corrupted by using total control, or a
Totalitarian
government as a means to achieve Communism. Stalin also created
plans and
campaigns to achieve Communism. Stalin was quoted saying "Comrades!
We must
abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all."
Stalin
believed that a person’s individuality should be abolished. Similar to
the way
Mao grouped workers together in communes during the "Great Leap
Forward,"
Stalin also implemented many five year plans. He did this in a
successful
attempt to industrialize the Soviet Union. After the
industrialization of the
Soviet Union, Stalin went more towards a
Totalitarianism system of government.
Under the Totalitarianism
government Stalin could carry out his objectives
through repression, force
and absolute rule. It has been proven time after time,
that a person can not
reach their goals unless they have the proper means. In
many instances both
leaders have been quoted saying that pure communism can not
be reached
without the aid of violence and that once pure communism is reached
it is not
hard to dominate other countries and defeat the enemy. As an
example
Chinese leader Mao was quoted saying "Communism is not love.
Communism is a
hammer which we use to crush the enemy." Mao is saying that in
addition to
Communism working for the commonwealth of society, Communism
is working to
defeat the enemy and therefore give more power to the country.
Mao came to
believe that defeating the enemy has a higher importance than the
well being of
the citizens. In China, after the KMT split with the CCP, many
battles took
place, some in which Mao led a small peasant army against the
KMT. Similarly
Stalin was quoted as saying "To choose one’s victims, to
prepare one’s
plan minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go
to bed . ..
there is nothing sweeter in the world." Stalin is saying that one
of the
greatest advantages in communism is not the benefit to the citizens,
but the
power that comes from it. There were many instances of this during
each
ruler’s reign of power. Such an example in the Soviet Union was the Red
Army.
Before Stalin came into power he was a Political Commissar in the
Red army. The
Red Army first saw action in the Russian Civil War against
the
counterrevolutionary White Russians, who were opposed to Communism. Also
During
the Russian Revolution, the Red Army assumed the responsibility of
maintaining
civil order in the city of Petrograd after mobs of angry workers
looted and
burned police stations. Red Army officers enforced the will of the
Petrograd
Soviet, or council of Workers’ Deputies. After A leader has set
his/her goals,
and has had the means to carry them trough can only wait and
witness the outcome
and the influence they had on their country. Joseph
Stalin and Mao Zedong’s
leadership had a long term negative effect on their
countries. Ultimately, a
leader does not effect only those in his/her
lifetime, but generations
thereafter. The true evaluation of a leader’s
impact is the leadership of the
generations that follow him. Mao’s Cultural
Revolution achieved only one of
his goals. Although the Cultural Revolution
firmly restored Mao’s positron of
power it severely damaged China’s economy.
It damaged education, industry and
agriculture and set back China’s
development. China was perceived as a nation
insensitive to its own people.
The country was divided into Radicals who
supported Mao, his wife Jiang Qing,
and their allies and the moderates led by
Zhou Enlai. Ultimately all of
Mao’s dreams for advancement for China and the
Chinese people were lost
to his need to maintain his own power. In the USSR
Stalin also left a
negative legacy. His policies did help to transform the USSR
into an
industrialized nation and strengthened the Soviet military presence. As
in
China many lives were lost to their leaders ideals. Stalin’s establishment
of
soviet control in Eastern Europe and his distrust of the west helped lead
to
the cold war. Stalin and Mao were inspired by the ideals of Karl Marx.
They led
Communist revolutions to create a new classless society for
their countries.
They championed the cause of the worker and the
development of human potential.
In reality a few influential government
leaders in each country held all the
power. No real power was ever given to
the people. Rather than help develop
their countries’ people, the governments
of Mao and Stalin controlled the
people through education, control of the
media, the arts, and free speech. They
used these controls and the violence
of a police state to corrupt the ideals of
Communism and create a
Totalitarian government. Every leader has an impact on
their country, whether
it is positive or negative, from a great leader or from
the worst. They will
always be remembered for what they did or didn’t do in
their country. Mao
said "Classes struggle, some classes triumph, others are
eliminated. Such is
history; such is the history of civilization for thousands
of years." This
statement successfully sums up almost every country in
history. It is not a
good thing, and we must prevent it from happening again.
The only way
this can be achieved is if we learn from our past. Teaching history
is one of
the most important resources we have so that the future leaders of the
world
do not make the same mistakes as their predecessors.