Unit 2: Authoritarian regimes in Europe and Asia

unit 2​ : authoritarian regimes in europe and asia   communism in china under mao   What is ​ authoritarianism​ ?   Emphasis on “authority of the state”   ● Non-elected leaders most of the time   ● Leaders are known as dictators     ● Unregulated exercise of political power   ● Limited civil liberties     ○ E.g. lack of freedom of speech/press, strict censorship   ● Lack of opposition   ● Control by coercion or persuasion     Communism - China, Mao   Nazism - Germany, Hitler     what is communism?   The political theory of socialism, which gave rise to ​communism, had been around for hundreds of years by the time a   German philosopher named Karl Marx put pen to paper. Marx, also known as the father of communism, spent most of   his life in exile in Great Britain and France. He wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848, which later served as the   inspiration for the formation of the Communist Party. Communism is also known as "Marxism."     Marx believed that a truly utopian society must be ​ classless and stateless​ . (It should be noted that Marx died well   before any of his theories were put to the test.) Marx's main idea was simple: Free the lower class from poverty and give   the poor a fighting chance. How he believed it should be accomplished, however, was another story. In order to liberate   the lower class, Marx believed that ​ the government would have to control all means of production so that no   one could outdo anyone else by making more money​ .       Marx described three necessary phases toward achieving his idea of utopia.   ● Phase 1: A ​ revolution​ must take place in order to overthrow the existing government. Marx emphasized the   nee​d for total destruction of the existing system in order to move on to Phase 2.   ● Phase 2: A ​ dictator or elite leader​ (or leaders) must gain absolute control over the proletariat. During this   phase, the new government exerts absolute control over the common citizen's personal choices -- including   his or her education, religion, employment and even marriage. Collectivization of property and wealth must   also take place.   ● Phase 3: Achievement of utopia. This phase has never been attained because it requires that all   non-communists be destroyed in order for the Communist Party to achieve supreme equality. In a Marxist   utopia, everyone would happily share property and wealth, free from the restrictions that class-based systems   require. The government would control all means of production so that the one-class system would remain   constant, with no possibility of any middle class citizens rising back to the top.     10 essential tenets of communism:   ● Central banking system   ● Government controlled education   ● Government controlled labor

● Government ownership of transportation and communication vehicles   ● Government ownership of agricultural means and factories   ● Total abolition of private property   ● Property rights confiscation   ● Heavy income tax on everyone   ● Elimination of rights of inheritance   ● Regional planning     In the communist society that Marx described, the government has supreme authority through its total control of land   and means of production. Because the government distributes land and property among the people, communism sets a   standard of equality – both economically and socially – among its followers.     Communist-related terms   ● Socialism​ : A system that advocates the state’s ownership of land, industry and capital. Communism is   a branch of socialism.   ● Capitalism​ : Economic system in which individuals or corporations own land and means of   production ​ (communism is countering this)     ● Bourgeois​ : The middle-class/upper-class, or the owners of land and means of production   ● Proletariat​ : The working class     Communism vs. Socialism   Attribute     Communism   Socialism   Basic Philosophy   From each according to his ability,   to each according to his needs.   From each according to his ability, to each   according to his contribution.   Economy Planned By     Central government   Central government   Ownership of   Economic Resources   All economic resources are publicly   owned and controlled by the   government. Individuals hold no   personal property or assets.   Individuals own personal property but all   industrial and production capacity is   communally owned and managed by a   democratically elected government.   Distribution of   Economic Production     Production is intended to meet all   basic human needs and is distributed   to the people at no charge.     Production is intended to meet individual   and societal needs and distributed   according to individual ability and   contribution.   Class Distinction     Class is abolished. The ability to   earn more than other workers is   almost nonexistent.   Classes exist but differences are   diminished. It is possible for some people   to earn more than others.   Religion   Religion is effectively abolished.   Freedom of religion is allowed.

communist reforms in china   Social   ● Education     ○ Many schools were opened to reduce the illiteracy rate, which was as high as 80 percent   ● Women were given equal rights in marriage     ● Public health campaigns were undertaken to bring diseases under control   ● Opium dens and brothels were closed   Economic   ● Finance   ○ Government nationalised China’s major banks, railways and heavy industries   ○ The People’s Bank was established to control monetary matters including issuing of notes   → Successful; inflation was brought under control   ● Agriculture   ○ Land reform   ○ Mao introduced an Agrarian Reform Law in 1950 and sent Communist Party   workers to each village to enforce the law   ○ They shared out the land in the village between the peasants   ○ Got peasants to put the landlords on trial in so-called “People’s Courts”   ■ Landlords were accused of things like charging high rents or mistreating   their tenants     ■ Some were let off, some were imprisoned/executed     → Increased peasants’ support for Mao   ○ Cooperatives   ■ To solve problem of insufficient food production to avoid famine (land reform was   not enough)   ■ Mutual Aid Teams - peasants worked on each other’s land, fertilising, killing pests   or harvesting so that each family’s plot would become more productive     ■ Government supplied extra fertiliser and extra tools to reward families who grew   more food   ■ From 1953 Mao encouraged cooperatives   ● Industrial development   ○ Soviet Union loaned China $300 million over five years     ○ 10,000 Soviet engineers were sent to help China     ○ 8,000 Chinese were sent to the Soviet Union for technical training   ○ Like Stalin’s industrialisation programme in the 1930s, priority was given to the heavy   industries (e.g. steel, coal) and light industries were neglected     ○ Living standards were sacrificed to make the industrialisation programme succeed

Mao’s Five Year Plans   ● Economic problems facing China in 1949   ○ Farming     ■ Small units of land   ■ No farm machinery, no fertilisers   ■ Old-fashioned methods of farming by hand   ■ Many peasants were on military service and were away from their villages   ○ Industry     ■ Years of foreign and civil wars had caused widespread damage to Chinese industry   ■ Lack of investment   ■ Outdated machines   ■ Damage to transport systems (roads, rail, bridges)   ○ Inequalities between rich and poor   ■ In the countryside, most of the land was owned by a few rich landowners     ■ The ordinary people lived in great poverty, poor housing, working long hours,   often in dangerous conditions, for low pay, poor health, little education   ■ In the cities, factories and businesses were owned by an elite rich     ● Mao’s economic aims   ○ Mao wanted China to be a great military power which could dominate other countries but   China was poor and most of the population were peasant farmers (over 90%_   ○ If China was to be strong, prosperous and indepen