In 1 to 2 pages analyze how the country or individual followed Marx’s ideas or changed Marxism. You may highlight one or more major similarities or differences. The question to keep in mind is "Did the country or individual follow Marxism or did they change it"" If they changed it, how did they change it?
Marxism remains one of the most potent ideologies for change in the social sphere as devised by the great Karl Marx in his seminal treatise Das Kapital. Although it has not really been understood properly by many, some leaders who have embraced Communism put it into practice with varying degrees of success while others were actually a total disaster in this respect. A leader who springs to mind and who embraced Marxism wholeheartedly was Mao Tse Tsung and his earnest zeal in implementing Marxist reforms in China contrast sharply with the China of today which is totally bent on capitalism and rampant profiteering.
The China in Mao Tse Tsung ‘s time was a backward and agriculturally based economy with little social cohesion. Mao introduced such grandiose schemes as the Great Leap Forward which were good enough in terms of principle and theory but which failed quite disastrously in practise. Thus several millions died in the implementation of the Great Leap Forward which was a classic case of attempting to industrialize the country through the power of the workers. In theory, everyone would contribute equally toward production of agricultural produce as well as other material commodities such as steel and although vast quantities were made, most of the product was inferior as the production stage was badly planned.
Although Communism insists that everything produced should be shared equally by everyone, the situation in China was definitely not the case. Corruption infiltrated every level of state government and in the rural areas draconian measures were taken against those who did not wish to follow instructions with the result that hundreds of thousands died of famine. The end result was definitely not what Marx intended for his treatise and Mao Tse Tsung did manage to change the theory accordingly without much success.
Later on Tsung initiated the Cultural Revolution where he created a red Book philosophy which was very far removed from Marx’s original ideas. Unfortunately the country then descended into complete chaos with the result that no one really knew what the political philosophy was and how this was changing and was so far removed from the benign Communism which Marx taught and preached about in his book. The combination of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward brought disastrous effects on China as we know it.
Conclusion:
While Marxism and Communism preach the equal distribution of wealth amongst everyone, Ma Tse Tsung did initially attempt to put this into practice but he did fail miserably in the process of doing so. All this is reflected in the way he initiated reforms which ended up a complete chaos with the result that life in China became quite intolerable and ended up in a famine of epic proportions without any hope for salvation. The disaster is well documented in books such as Frank Dikotter’s, Mao’s Great Famine or Jung Chang’s Mao were the effects of Mao’s policies are examined at great length. The conclusion one reaches is that the way Mao took was far removed from Marxism espoused by Marx who had in mind the rise of the workers from their state of misery and oblivion.
Works Cited:
Dikotter F; Mao’s Great Famine, London, Bloomsbury 2010 Print
Marxism; Retrieved from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/367344/Marxism
What is Marxism; Retrieved from: http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/what-is-marxism-faq.htm
