Introduction
There are a lot of different regimes in the modern world which were in the past and which still function in different countries now. Even though modern globalization tends more to the democratization of the whole society, there are different regimes in the world. The history knows such spread ideologies as socialism, communism, and a democratic one. Each country chooses the way of development which is believed to be the most appropriate to it. China once has chosen the way of communism and total submission to its leaders. There were a lot of leaders who struggled for absolute power in the region. China experienced a period of total depression and the raise, some leaders were powerful, and others were weaker. The Communist Party is the only political union in China which has the right to rule the country. Mao Zedong, Hua Guofeng, Hu Yaobang, Deng Xiaoping, Zhao Ziyang, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping are the most powerful leaders of China. They ruled the country during different years. It is important to state that the Communism regime in China came through different periods. During the ruling of Mao Zedong the country was affected by the Cultural Revolution which harmed the country a lot, moreover, the economic and political relations with other countries were not very good. Nowadays, the Communist Party in China supports relationships with other countries. However, the communist leadership position remains a priority.
Communism
Communism is defined as “a political, social and economic system in which the government is based on a collective society with land, property, and economic activities controlled by the state” (Lansford 9). It should be noted that many countries came through the communist ideology. However, none of them has ever reached the main ideas of this regime. Therefore, it may be concluded that communism is an illusion which has never been achieved no matter how people strived for gaining this goal. One of the main reasons why communism has never been implemented successfully is the inability of any of the leaders to meet all five principles of communism. The first one is the control and ownership of all the economy. Therefore, no private business exists; everything belongs to the government. The second principle is the absence of real estate. The land belongs to the government, and the government guarantees that any benefit land brings is equally distributed in society. Third, wages are equal as there are no poor and rich people in the communist society. Fourth, education, health care, pensions and other means of social benefits are to be free of charge for society. Finally, the fifth principle of the communist ideology is the total rejection of any other political organization, totalitarian regime and the limitation of the religious expression. Such position of the communist countries creates many conflicts with other world countries which tend to democratic world development (Lansford 15). Therefore, any time the countries which tried to pursue communist ideology faced with many barriers and the world opinion was one of such complications. It is important to remember that China, being a communist country, still has several deviations from these principles.
Communist Leadership in China
Even though the theory and the practice of the communist development in the world state that this regime is unstable and many countries have faced several difficulties, China is the only country where this regime was established many years ago, and it continues to function. There is no need to say about the problems communist leaders faced as looking at the history of this country. During different periods China suffered from economic, political, and cultural crises which were the results of the political ideology the country pursued, however, the communist party continued its work and nowadays China is one of the strongest countries in the world with personal destinations in different fields of social life (Shambaugh 75). China remains a country with the ruling Communist Party that proves that communism ideology may survive. However, a close consideration of the communist ideology in China from the historical perspective helps to prove that the country faced many difficulties. The rise of the communist regime starts in 1935 with the defeat of the group of 28 Bolsheviks by Mao Zedong. The period between 1930 and 1935 is very complicated as the absence of a strong leader who could be able to organize the country created chaos. Mao Zedong is one of the most famous names in Chinese political life. He was the creator of the Chinese Communist Party (Kampen, 35). However, before its creation, several events occurred.
The history of the Chinese Communist party starts with the victory of Bolsheviks in the revolution of October 1917. China was closely related to Russia, and the Marxists studies were set up in the society as the first signs of the future Chinese Communist Party cofounded with Li Dazhao. The acceptance by the Chinese government the Versailles treaty was one of the forces of the communist party creation. Being formed in July 1921, it was headed by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao (Sullivan 75). Successful cultural and political work of Mao Zedong, his strong desire to be useful to the country and the support of the communist ideas made it possible for a young leader to become the country leader in 1923.
It should be stated that 1924-1934 is a period of the creation of the Chinese Soviet Republic. The role of Mao Zedong is extreme here. The period of the First World War was full of rebellions on the territory of China. Living in a small place, Moa saw all the troubles which existed in the society and encouraging people for rebellions and fight he tried to help the Communist Party to overcome the crisis. Since 1935 up to 1946, the leadership in the Chinese Communist Party belongs to Yan’s dynasty. During this period Mao Zedong takes the floor on the Seventh National Party Congress where announces his “New Democracy” report according to which “workers, peasants and bourgeois elements” (Sullivan 75) should become the part of the alliance. After this, Mao Zedong has announced the chairman of the communist party and starts the changes in the country.
The flourishing remembers the period of Mao Zedong ruling of economics. Mao paid much attention to agriculture and the development of the heavy industry. Much attention was paid to human rights. However, trying to reach the greatest results, Mao wanted to create the communes where people had to live of the common equal rights and work for the benefit of the country. The manufactured products appeared to be of low quality, and economics in the country became ruined. Conducting the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong also failed to do it successfully. Therefore, the cultural life of the country was also reduced. The repression was directed at those who dared to reject the views of the regime. Educated people were repressed as they were considered to be against the Communist Party, and their knowledge prevented the spread of the communist ideology. During this time, many scientists and professors left abroad. Such a leak of information was not very good for China (Cheek 106).
Speaking about contemporary China and its political regime, it should be stated that the leaders of the Communist party still rule the country. However, the country is opened for foreign investments. Moreover, the political and economic life of the country offers more freedom for people that allows them to establish a private business. Nowadays, the country has entered the phase of the new Cultural Revolution, which supports scientists. China is one of the leaders in the manufacturing of various products. The government understands that trying to refuse from technological innovations and the refuse from science development negatively affects the country flourishing. The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China how consists of more than 20 members who set the development of the country. Even though China nowadays carries all the changes and does all possible to make sure that it is a modern country with the Communist regime, the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China refused to set a personal website on the Internet having stated that this is an unnecessary measure (Li 102). The Chinese government controls all the media in the country. Therefore, there is no need for a personal website. This is one of the remindings that China remains the country with the communist regime whose consideration concerning politics have remained unchanged, it is just the developed and slightly changed vision that makes people live in a more innovative world.
The Influence of Communist Ideology in the World
The communist ideology has brought much to the world, especially during the Cold War. Remembering this specific period of life, the communist party did much for the estrangement of the Chinese social, political and economic life of this country from other countries in the world. Such communist countries as the USSR and China were isolated from another world. The Cold War lasted for several years, during which the parties did all possible to harm each other without direct actions. The absence of the economic and educational connection between the countries with the communist regime and those which chose a democratic direction created several difficulties for both sides. Therefore, China was a closed country for many years. It was almost impossible to leave abroad as well as to enter the country. Even though some scholars believe that the communist regime is the time waste of society, this regime remains the main for Chinese people (Marlo 51).
The Affect of the Communist Ideology in North Korea
Speaking about North Korea as a communist country, it should be stated the regime there differs from that in China. The main similarity between Chinese and North Korean communist regimes was the cult of the leaders. However, Mao’s effect on mass media was greater than that of Kim’s. The Chinese communist ideology affected that of North Korea as the significant periods in the communist development of these two countries coincide. It is possible to speak about the “echo effect” of Chinese actions on the North Korean development, “North Korea’s Flying Horse movement is comparable to China’s Great Leap Forward movement and some elements of the North Korean collectivization were copied by China” (Graham) and such examples are numerous. The events which took place in China were distributed in North Korea.
Conclusion
Therefore, it may be concluded that the history of the Chinese political party was interesting and varied. The struggle for power and leadership in the country was very important during some periods. Moreover, there were several years when China was a closed country with restricted political and economic ties. Nowadays, the country has overcome many difficulties and has opened its economics and politics to the world community. However, the country remains a communist one with the principles established by this regime. China is a specific country with a particular culture which lives its own life. Having well-educated professionals who got education abroad and managed to return home, the technological development of the country is flourishing. Chinese people are good patriots, therefore leaving China for studying in colleges all over the world, they return home with their knowledge and start working there, increasing the country economics. The communist party has given much to Chinese people, and the devotion to its country is one of the main destinations of the regime, which helps increase the country patriotism.
Works Cited
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Graham. James. “Comparison of Chinese and North Korean Communism up to the 1980s (Part 2).” Web.
Kampen, Thomas. Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and the Evolution of the Chinese. New York: NIAS Press, 2000. Print.
Lansford, Tom. Communism. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2007. Print.
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Marlo, Francis H. Planning Reagan’s War: Conservative Strategists and America’s Cold War Victory. Potomac Books, Inc., 2012. Print.
Shambaugh, David. China’s Communist Party: Atrophy & Adaptation. California: University of California Press, 2009. Print.
Sullivan, Lawrence. Leadership and Authority in China: 1895-1978. London: Lexington Books, 2012. Print.