China's institutions and culture in the Mao Era

Sun Sheng Han () and Ning Yan ()

Chapter 4 in Institutions, Culture and the Chinese City, 2025, pp 64-87 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Chapter 4 examines the institutional and cultural characteristics of communist China and the key steps taken to establish them. Under Mao Zedong's leadership, the new government fulfilled the promises he made before the takeover. A coalition government was formed to engage multiple parties, but it was short-lived. The inclusive political system transformed into a Party-State System, characterised by a one-party monopoly and a proletarian dictatorship, soon after the communists gained total control over the country and its people. A nationwide land reform was implemented, but, once again, private land ownership was revoked through agricultural collectivisation. Mao aimed to transform China into a communist society rapidly and initiated the nationwide socialist transition movement as a crucial stage. Through numerous crackdowns, campaigns and propaganda, Mao consolidated the power of the Chinese Communist Party alongside his own authority, while a submissive party culture was firmly established. Simultaneously, a command economic system was installed, allowing the Chinese Communist Party to own and plan everything, including urban land and enterprises. Mao launched the Great Leap Forward to achieve an unrealistically high speed of industrial and agricultural growth, and the Great Cultural Revolution to safeguard his authority, ideology and leadership. The impacts of these initiatives were devastating, bringing the party state to the brink of collapse. This chapter prepares readers to understand Mao's extractive political and economic institutions and party culture, which are fundamental for comprehending Chinese urban policies, programmes, implementation channels and consequences.

Keywords: Proletarian dictatorship; Socialist transition; Command economy; Party culture; Great Leap Forward; Great Cultural Revolution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035312429
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