12-18-2016, 08:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-19-2016, 03:57 AM by FireIceTalon.)
http://monthlyreview.org/commentary/did-...p-forward/
It should be noted ahead of time that the the author doesn't try to make Mao out to be a hero or even necessarily support either his particular tendency within Marxism, or general policies as a whole. Nor does it take an overall stance on the merit of The Great Leap Forward itself. Rather, it simply focuses on the fact that bourgeois sources, both Chinese and western, are largely distorted, inconsistent, and slanted against Mao, Maoism, and communism as a whole; that the sources they rely upon for "death toll figures" are vastly unreliable and inauthentic, exaggerated, and that most western views toward communism in general are grounded in popular sensationalism rather than objectivity. There is apparently substantial evidence that shows many or even most of the deaths in Mao's China can be attributed to natural disaster rather than policy, but western sources conveniently ignore this.
The article is very long, but worth reading whether you are a communist (MLM or otherwise) or anti-communist; for the intricate details and data it provides.
As for me, my thoughts tend to echo the authors in that maybe one day a sensible discussion on what really happened in China (and other places where "communist movements" took place) can occur, but unfortunately such discussions seem far away given the very substance of what this article is about. The most important thing, is that the facts be gathered from reliable sources and be consistent, and for western sources regarding this subject, that has been far from being the case as the author observes. They have an agenda (to slander communism) that prevails over facts.
It should be noted ahead of time that the the author doesn't try to make Mao out to be a hero or even necessarily support either his particular tendency within Marxism, or general policies as a whole. Nor does it take an overall stance on the merit of The Great Leap Forward itself. Rather, it simply focuses on the fact that bourgeois sources, both Chinese and western, are largely distorted, inconsistent, and slanted against Mao, Maoism, and communism as a whole; that the sources they rely upon for "death toll figures" are vastly unreliable and inauthentic, exaggerated, and that most western views toward communism in general are grounded in popular sensationalism rather than objectivity. There is apparently substantial evidence that shows many or even most of the deaths in Mao's China can be attributed to natural disaster rather than policy, but western sources conveniently ignore this.
The article is very long, but worth reading whether you are a communist (MLM or otherwise) or anti-communist; for the intricate details and data it provides.
As for me, my thoughts tend to echo the authors in that maybe one day a sensible discussion on what really happened in China (and other places where "communist movements" took place) can occur, but unfortunately such discussions seem far away given the very substance of what this article is about. The most important thing, is that the facts be gathered from reliable sources and be consistent, and for western sources regarding this subject, that has been far from being the case as the author observes. They have an agenda (to slander communism) that prevails over facts.
https://www.youtube.com/user/FireIceTalon
"Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class." - Marx (addressing the bourgeois)
"Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class." - Marx (addressing the bourgeois)