Mao Zedong Case Study

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Mao Zedong began his consolidation of power after becoming a founding member of the CCP in 1921. Mao was a Marxist who had believed that to conquer China completely, he must destroy all traces of the old feudal culture and the class levels. He wanted to use violence to remain fully in control of the people through terror and threat, and establish his power in China. Mao had been able to consolidate his power through the elimination of rivals within the CCP, the use of campaigns against enemies and repressing Chinese population, and the imposed military control which enabled him to spread his communist ideals. Mao was able to purge his political rivals within the CCP, through the use of threats and public persecutions to silence them. After…show more content…
In 1951, all Chinese citizens over 15 years old had to carry official residence permits and obtain permission if they wanted to move to another area. Citizens were constantly being watched, and neighbours were encouraged to inform on each other. The suppression of Counter-revolutionaries campaign was launched in October 1950 and focused on internal threats to the Chinese revolution. This included anyone who had links to the GMD as wells as criminal or religious affiliations. In Shanghai, there were 28,000 executions in less than a year, and through ruthlessness and careful organisation, much crime which happened before 1949 was stopped and the Communist Party increased its control over Chinese society. There was also the three-Antis campaign which targeted corrupt bureaucracy including managers, State officials and Party members. The campaign was able to find many corrupt practices which had become the norm in Chinese business, and party members were sharply reminded of the danger of independent thought. The Five-Antis campaign was also carried out in 1952, targeting bourgeoise class. If the family once belonged in a privileged bourgeois class, they were publicly denounced and their property would be seized by the CCP no matter if they pledged loyalty to Mao’s new regime. Millions of landlords had their land seized and redistributed amount the peasants, and then sent to labour camps. Through mass campaigns, the number of participants in the revolutionary activity became apart of all areas of Chinese life. This way Mao ensured that many more people than just the CCP members became committed to revolutionary struggle and survival in the communist regime. Those that were not committed had been repressed and terrorised until the opposition was
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