Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong

Introduction

Stalin and Mao have been considered to be two of the most influential figures in modern history of Russia and China. Both of them held a crucial status as a revolutionary figure within their countries. Their personalities and ideologies have had a tremendous impact over two decades during their regimes. As the leaders, they shared similar cult of personalities and ideological perspectives. The paper intends to examine their ideologies with a focus on the daily life in Soviet Union and China under their regime.

Joseph Stalin

Stalin's Take on Marxism

A fundamental element of Marxist-Leninist ideology is that all historical development is a result of struggle, whether it is within a nation, between nations, or on an over-arching issue such as against imperialism. Stalin used ideology in an attempt to unite the Russian people: he suggested the philosophy of “Socialism in One Country,” which called for all Russians to play their part in building a new economy and society under a “political consensus maintained by the one-party dictatorship.”2 Once Russia succeeded in bringing about a socialist revolution, it would then serve an example for the oppressed classes of other capitalist states, encouraging them to initiate their own revolutions. Stalin therefore hoped that Russia, under his leadership, would not only transform itself, but also ignite a chain reaction resulting in a socialist world (Tauger, 44-55).

Stalin believed that the Marxist-Leninist ideology was actually a “science of the development of society, science of the workers' movement, science of proletarian revolution, science of the construction of Communist society4.” Stalin's ideology was based on a number of assumptions, including that of contradiction and struggle, which asserted that evolution is a process of struggle as inherent contradictions are exposed and overcome. Under this belief, class struggle was only a natural part of the evolution upwards from a contradictory capitalist system to a communist system. The primary contradiction of a capitalist system was its system of production: capitalism brings large-scale development plants and programs; however, for these plants to run they must assemble and organize a large workforce, giving rise to a social character which contradicts capitalism's basic tenet of private ownership. Therefore, as the mode of production develops and society evolves, communism is the natural advancement as the production unit becomes socialized to match its workforce; state-run production thus becomes logical as the proletariat replaces the bourgeoisie. Stalin believed that as the means of production evolved, they determined the accompanying changes in class structure, social institutions, and social ideas; this explains why Stalin placed so much emphasis on state-run heavy industries- they were meant to shape and control the development of the new communist society. Communist ideology was to Stalin a science of social development, and strong leadership by the Communist Party was necessary for a successful revolution (Service, 7-22).

Stalin's Rise to Power

Stalin's rise began in 1922 when Lenin appointed him General Secretary of the Communist Party where he had direct control over party appointments. While Lenin was ill, Stalin worked with Lev Kamenev ...