Who's the Star: Mao Zedong Essay

Mao Zedong (26th December 1893 to 9th September 1976) popularly known as Chairman Mao has been regarded as a founding father of the nation of People's Republic of China. Mao was a brutal tyrant who killed over 45 million of his people by means such as overworking and starvation. The mass murder surpassed by far that perpetrated by Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin in Europe combined who reigned in the same era (Snyder). Despite multitude loss of lives, it argued that without Mao Zedong and including his policies, China would not have raised to become what it is today, a dominant power on the world stage. Mao nonetheless remains a "star" in the Chinese history for number key reasons (Snyder).

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One of the reasons is, of course, the infamous colossal death toll caused by devised disasters to the innocent people during the cold war. He is also remembered for how he defeated a regular military army with commoner guerrilla peasantry army, a tactic well adopted in the subsequent warfares. Mao Zedong also led the Korean War against the United States military power that resulted to its stopping using an army that had failed in all previous fights against the western military force. Zedong is also the man who led to the discrediting of the famous Marxism and Socialism ideologies in the late 1890's due to the enormous economic fall down. He also illustrated an example in China how serious a continued dictatorship government would be and the powerful secret tool of brainwashing subjects. This man also came up with an ingenious way of dividing the country using military forces and creating an influential warlord and many other subordinates that conquered a large land of about 9.6 million square kilometers. Mao Zedong will also be remembered as a prominent person since he is the one who founded the People's Republic of China in its modernity state that has not been altered besides ensuring the survival of China besides the cold war and subsequent reservation of a permanent position in United Nations Security Council following development of nuclear weaponry (Wang).

There is an excellent chance that China would not be united if it were not for Mao Zedong. To begin with, he is the one who started the People's Republic of China in 1949, the uncharted territory now boasts as the top world population and exhibiting most rapid growth rate today. Mao Zedong managed to unite the workers and peasants to form a ruling organization that was the genesis of Communists achievement in attaining power from the USSR. Mao not only led the people of China in the liberal prospects but also led China in the current socialist path. He contributed with the effort to the foundation and success of Chinese people by ensuring a growing economy in the country that fostered a sense of belonging and unity even among the least earners in farms and factories. Mao Zedong also led a successful military confrontation with the Japanese who wanted to expand into China's territories in 1949 that united the country (Zach).

Many military leaders were fighting on different fronts (Philips). There were political tensions and the influence of external parties such as USSR that would influence said fighting between the different groups. If USSR supported a particular group, divisions would arise, and China

would have had to get divided into various countries, never becoming one of the "largest countries" and the critical economy that it is today (Zach). Mao was keen on ensuring that there was a good relationship with neighbors and at the same time prevent superpowers from creating powerful neighbors. This is why China was involved in the Vietnam War.

There were many policies initiated by Mao that changed the Chinese economy for better; primarily the centralization of industry and agricultural sector. In agriculture, the government was supposed to control the sale of farm products by manipulating the markets. It got perceived that centralized farming would be easily controlled (Mueller). The Mao government ordered the farmers to use new agricultural methods that were unscientific and unproven. Initially, many people suffered as the output was not sound. However, farmers learned over time, improved farming methods and that the country was now not only able to feed its large population, as well as export the excess to the international market. This is a project that was successful much later, but the efforts of direct involvement by Mao's government are the reason for the achievement (Mueller).

Chairman Mao's charisma among the Chinese was unrivaled. He effectively used the "Cult of Mao" to push through almost all of his policies. One of the ways he tried to do this is through a Socialist Education Movement which tried to incite the peasants against capitalistic gains. The Cult of Mao played a key role in the initiation of the Cultural Revolution. Every form of art was used to propel political propaganda and to propagate communism, praise Chairman Mao and glorify China. Through the propaganda, most of the youth became Mao's greatest supporters. The Cultural Revolution started in August 1966 and continued up to 1976, after Mao's death. It is believed that China's modernization would not have begun save for the

Cultural Revolution. The Red Guards played a great role in this "re-education" phase and preached communism among the Chinese. Chairman Mao made everyone believe that Communism was the best system ever. Though the methods used were brutal, many workers were forced to offer cheap labor in the rural areas. The Chinese people developed a culture of hard work, and their productivity remains very high up to date. Consequently, the grain production increased, and the economy grew significantly. This became a turning point in the Chinese economy as the Cultural Revolution became the foundation of China's rapid modernization. The agricultural sector thus provided a starting point for the growth of other industries, considering that it offered raw materials as well as capital that was needed for investment (Castillo). The increase in this sector meant that the government could generate more revenue through taxes and use the same to invest in infrastructure as well as the building of industries.

Mao played a significant role in empowering the women, by ensuring that they were allowed to work alongside men. He abolished family planning which was affecting the health of the women in the country, and this led to the vast population in China which is an essential resource considering that many companies today manufacture their products in China because of the massive supply of skilled labor (Mueller). The skilled labor is the reason behind innovation in China that is now helping in the growth of other countries in the world. If there were no equality between men and women, there would be too much dependency by women within the country, and this would have dragged the sheer growth of the economy behind, rendering the economic growth virtually impossible to achieve (Mueller).

The communist ideology by Mao led to the nationalization of companies, which was very crucial in ensuring that it is the government that was driving the growth of China. It meant that the resources were under control of the government, and this would ensure that there were no limitations when it came to the setup of industries or developing the infrastructure needed. Communism assured that the benefits from various sectors did not just go to a few people in the society but benefited many people. It is unlike the capitalist economies where a few people are rich, and the majority are impoverished. Today, the infrastructure in China is cheap and of high quality, because there are no people demanding compensation of land or refusing to allow roads or rails to pass through their territory. Communist policies initiated by Mao have thus enabled the country to develop proper infrastructure that promotes local and international trade. The impact has been that China can produce manufactured products that get exported to the rest of the world. Also, farming has meant that the country can provide enough to feed the people within and also export their valuable resources to the international markets, significantly boosting their economy(Castillo).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Chairman Mao Zedong's policies have shaped present-day China. Today, the country has become a global economic giant, rising to become the world's leading economy within the last four decades. Some of China's major industries include mining, transportation and processing industries among others. It is also one of the major global manufacturers in the world. Mao Zedong is thus a star in the modern world and an influential figure that will get remembered for his contribution to the Chinese economy and the rest of the world. No one theory can explain the growth of the Chinese economy, but the policies under himself can show why the economy is currently one of the best in the world. If it were not for Mao Zedong, China could not be nearly where it is presently, a global economic powerhouse.

Works Cited

Castillo, Anthony. "The Impact of Maoist Policies on the Success of China Today. | Spring 2015 | Washington State University." History | Washington State University, 17 Jan. 2015, history.libraries.wsu.edu/spring2015/2015/01/17/sweat-shops/.

Mueller, Rose. "Impact and Effects of Communist Mao Zedong in China." Location, 24 Aug. 2010, owlcation.com/humanities/Mao-China.

Phillips, Tom. "The Cultural Revolution: All You Need to Know About China's Political Convulsion." The Guardian, 28 Nov. 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/11/the-cultural-revolution-50-years-on-all-you-need-to-know-about-chinas-political-convulsion.

Zach, Morgan. "Don't Forget China's Role in the Vietnam War." Don't forget China's role in the Vietnam War." I make history useful., 26 Aug. 2014, www.usefulhistorian.com/2014/03/06/dont-forget-chinas-role-in-the-vietnam-war/. Accessed 4 May 2018.

Snyder, Timothy. Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin. Random House, 2011.

Wang, James CF. Contemporary Chinese politics: an introduction. Prentice Hall, 2009.