China’s struggle for independence was protracted and difficult. The difficulty of the struggle was exacerbated by the fact that Chinese society was traditionally feudal. It was almost impossible to achieve a unity of purpose in the country. Nonetheless, Mao Zedong envisaged a revolutionized Chinese society way before the revolution materialized. Therefore, this essay examines Zedong’s work, “On New Democracy,” which was published in 1940 in a bid to understand the circumstances surrounding it.
The principal argument presented in work is that an unprecedented revolution was taking shape in China. It would transcend Chinese borders and affect the entire world. Its first stage, which sought to transform the Chinese society from a colonial, semi-colonial, and feudal status to an independent democratic society, was already underway (Zedong par. 17). The second stage of the revolution would then transform the Chinese state into a socialist society (Zedong par. 16). This two-stage revolution was unique to China because it was being shaped by the characteristics of Chinese society. Therefore, according to Zedong, it would culminate in a new democracy that had never been observed elsewhere before (Zedong par. 14).
As already noted in the introduction, this work was written by Mao Zedong and was published in January 1940. We should remember that in the early 1900s, Chinese society was firmly under the control of Japan. Feudalism was also prevalent across China (Zedong par. 7). Therefore, the prime reason behind this work was to exhort the Chinese society and its contemporary leadership to rise and liberate itself from Japanese imperialism and feudalism.
The work was published at a time when the Chinese society was already organizing itself into class-based political groupings (Zedong par. 17). The bourgeois was struggling to spearhead a democratic revolution, but they lacked the support of the proletariats (Zedong par. 17). However, some notable revolutions that occurred elsewhere changed everything. For example, the Russian Revolution of 1917 gave impetus to the Chinese bourgeois-democratic revolution making it part of the proletarian-socialist world revolution that changed the history of the entire world (Zedong par. 17).
The information presented in this work helps provide a useful link between China’s past and its current prosperity. The country’s current prosperity had been envisioned before it became an independent state. This information makes it apparent that a country’s journey to prosperity is often long and full of challenges because the same trend is observable in America’s history as well as the history of Western Europe.
Zedong’s choice of language was simple, making the work easy to understand because it was intended to reach the biggest possible audience. The author appeals to the Chinese to espouse unity and definiteness of purpose to make their dream a reality (Zedong par. 38). The many analogies that litter the work only serve to make the underlying message clearer. Some of these examples include the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution of 1917.
In conclusion, this article underscores the arguments that were advanced by authors such as Marx, Lenin, and Stalin that as society advances, protracted struggles between social classes and races coupled with fierce campaigns against colonialism, imperialism, and feudalism, are inevitable. These struggles pave the way for a united and freedom-loving society. Therefore, these challenges are necessary because they awake the society to the realities of its circumstances.
Works Cited
Zedong, Mao. On New Democracy. Marxists.org, Jan. 1940. Web.