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The Battle for China's Past: Mao and the Cultural Revolution
by Mobo Gao - £24.99 Pluto Press (2008)
paperback
ISBN 13: 9780745327808 | ISBN 10: 074532780x
Mao and his policies have long been demonsised in the West, with the Cultural Revolution considered a fundamental violation of human rights. As China embraces capitalism, the Mao era is also being surgically denigrated by the Chinese political and intellectual elite. This book tackles the extremely negative depiction of China under Mao in recent publications and argues that most people in China, including the rural poor and the urban working class, actually benefitted from Mao's policy of a comprehensive welfare system for the cities and basic health and education provision for rural areas, which are being reversed in the current rush towards capitalism.
A critical analysis of the mainstream account of the Mao era and the Cultural Revolution and by revealing what is offered in the unofficial e-media debates, this book sets the record sraight, making a convincing argument for the positive effects of Mao's policies on the wellbeing of the Chinese people.
"This important book opens a much needed window into Chinese perceptions of the country's post-Mao direction...Highlights the renewal of popular support for socialism and the growing opposition to contemporary state policies."
(Martin Hart-Landsberg, Professor of Economics, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon)
(Price & availability last checked: August 2018)
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