It is well know that there are many reasons why the communists were successful in their movement, but in my opinion, the main reason for their success was the mass support they gained.
By 1949, communism was becoming popular. The Nationalists lost public support to China because their government was corrupt and inefficient, unable to build an effective army, incapable of halting the inflation, and unmindful of the peasants' demand for land and the workers' demand for better living conditions. This was the perfect time for the communists to come in, take charge, and gain support. They taxed the rich, broke up the large estates, gave land to the peasants, encouraged the formation of cooperatives to foster industry, and maintained an effective fighting force, assisted by military supplies from Russia. Although these are a few reasons why the communists gained popularity, there are two main reasons. These reasons are, a) they provided a means of criticizing the western dominance, thereby slaving Chinese pride, and b) they were anti-Japanese. With this stance, the Chinese could blame Chinas pitiful weakness on foreign capitalism invasion. It promised salvation soon. In addition, because the communists were anti-Japanese and the Japanese aggression was the main factor in Mao’s power, aligning with people against the Japanese made the communists popular with the common people, especially the peasants who were the vast majority of the population.
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a book now on the Long March which sheds some light on this. On the one hand, the Communists definitely adopted policies which were popular, as you describe. On the other hand, the book makes clear that they also adopted policies, such as purges or forced conscription, which were very unpopular. It really casts the Communist revolution in a new light--popular, yes, but also with problems.