China Ep. 8: Mao Zedong and Maoism with Yueran Zhang

Yueren Zhang joins us to discuss Mao Zedong and the political philosophy of Maoism. Yueran Zhang is Assistant Professor in the department of sociology at the University of Chicago. He specializes in the comparative studies of capitalism, socialism, and transitions in between, with a special emphasis on political economy and the dynamics of development in the Global South.

The conversation opens by presenting a biographical and historical overview of Mao Zedong, the context in which the Chinese Revolution occurred, and Mao's role in the Chinese Revolution. We then introduce Maoism as a philosophy and political practice and take a deep dive into how Mao's philosophy shaped his political practice—using the cultural revolution and building mass movements as examples. We explore Mao and his relationship to Deng Xiaoping, China's political system, and whether we can view China as a socialist or capitalist state (Yueren holds a very different view from most of our previous guests in this episode), the role that Mao's political practice and philosophy play in modern-day revolutionary movements, and much more.

Although the episodes in our series build on each other in certain ways, all of our series are designed so that each episode can be listened to as a standalone.

Further resources:

• The Cultural Revolution at the Margins: Chinese Socialism in Crisis, by Yiching Wu
• Studies show strong public support for China's political system (Jason Hickel)

Related episodes:

• Listen to our ongoing series on China
• Migration as Economic Imperialism w/ Immanuel Ness
• Revolutionary Leftism with Breht O'Shea (includes an introduction to Marxism-Leninism)
• Dialectical Materialism w/ Josh Sykes (includes a basic introduction to Maosim)
• Historical Materialism w/ Torkil Lauesen
• Our ongoing series on the Alliance of Sahel States
• Our ongoing series on Venezuela
• Our ongoing series on Palestine

Intermission music: "The Way That You Slope Your Shoulders" by Witchdream Mansion

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