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Science | History | Geography | Citizenship

A tense 100th birthday for Chinese communism

Is communism evil? This Thursday, the Chinese Communist Party turns 100. It has transformed China from a famine-stricken country into a superpower, but are its ideas inspirational or dangerous? In 1989 it looked like it was all over for then Chinese Communist PartyAt 91 million members, the CCP is the second-largest political party in the world.. Across the world, communism was collapsing. Democratic movements were tearing down then Iron CurtainA political, military and ideological barrier dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War Two until the end of the Cold War in 1991. . One million people gathered in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Then China sent in the tanks. Today, only five communist regimes remain, and the People's Republic of ChinaChina is home to a fifth of humanity. is by far the largest. This week, the ruling party is celebrating its centenary with a "patriotic extravaganza" of films, ceremonies and mass weddings. The mood is jubilant: the economy is booming and the pandemic is contained. China has even broken the Olympic curse. The slogan for the celebrations is "follow the party forever" and they hope to rule for "one thousand autumns and ten thousand generations". Experts say a Chinese Century has already begun, with the country replacing the US as the dominant superpower. When a young Karl Marx wrote his explosive Communist ManifestoThe pamphlet ends with the words: "Workingmen of all countries, unite." in 1848, it was just a radical idea held by a handful of European intellectuals. By 1917, communism was an international movement sweeping the BolsheviksThe Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in 1917 and later became the Communist Party. The party included Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin. to power in Russia. In China, the party under Mao ZedongA revolutionary leader, also known as Chairman Mao, who ruled China as head of the Communist Party from 1949 until 1976. took power in 1949. Marx's key idea was to end private property and share resources fairly, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs". Under capitalism, he argued, a factory or farm-owner gets rich whilst the workers stay poor. In China's Great Leap ForwardFrom 1958 to 1962 private farms were outlawed and land and factories were worked by people's communes., Mao put communism into practise on a massive scale. It was a disaster. Between 15 and 55 million people died in the worst famine in history and the reforms were abandoned. Mao's successor, Deng Xiaoping, said the party had been "70% right" and needed to progress more slowly and "with Chinese characteristics", adapting communism to the country's culture. Commentators say this flexibility, scrapping ideas that don't work, is why Chinese communism has survived so long. Deng's reforms started a "Chinese miracle" that saw the biggest and longest-running period of economic growth in history. Over the last 40 years, China has eradicated extreme poverty and created the world's largest middle-class and second-largest economy. After 1989, political theorist Francis Fukuyama predicted that capitalism would triumph over communism. Authoritarian governments could never meet the growing needs and aspirations of their people. But the party remains popular in China, despite critics denouncing Xi JinpingThe president of China, who has concentrated power and removed term limits allowing him to serve for life. as a "mafia boss" in charge of a "political zombie". Its popularity is helped by the many problems facing western democracies. Xi points to riots, terrorist attacks and ineffective pandemic controls. The choice, he argues, is between the stability of communism and the chaos of capitalism. But for many, this stability looks increasingly liken totalitarianismA system of government that forces citizens to follow the will of the state.. Internet use is controlled, and people's movements closely monitored by sophisticated digital technology. Democracy activists in Hong Kong sit in prison and millions of Uighurs have been interned in camps. Is communism evil? Apocalypse Mao Some say no, it is a misunderstood idea that asks an important question: where does wealth come from? The goal of communism is to make a fairer society built on friendship and shared property. No political idea is perfect. Capitalism values liberty and freedom, whilst communism values equality and society. Human greed and a love of power can distort both systems, but neither is inherently inhuman. Others say yes, it crushes the spirit. Every human is a unique individual, with different potential and a right to choose their own path in life. Because communism values equality above all else, it treats everyone the same and crushes creativity and difference. It dehumanises people and makes it easier for great cruelty to be carried out, such as the Tiananmen Square Massacre or the Cultural Revolution. KeywordsChinese Communist Party - At 91 million members, the CCP is the second-largest political party in the world.

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