People's History of Ideas Podcast

Workers, students and merchants in Shanghai take on the British authorities of the International Settlement and Japanese mill owners after protesters are massacred.Further Reading:Steve Smith, A Road Is Made: Communism in Shanghai, 1920-1927Some names from this episode:Li Lisan, Communist leader of the Shanghai General Labor UnionZhang Xueliang, son of Zhang Zuolin, occupied Shanghai’s Chinese cityZhang Zuolin, northern warlordGregory Voitinsky, Comintern representative in China in 1925Liu Shaoqi, Communist leader just below Li Lisan in the Shanghai General Labor UnionLiu Hua, Union activist executed for leading role in May 30 Movement Support the show

In response to a listener request, we consider the situation in the United States today in light of historical thinking on the question of revolutionary situations.Further reading:Lenin, The Collapse of the Second International (chapter two)Lenin, Letters from AfarLenin, “Marxism and Insurrection”Support the show

The Communist Party tries to figure out how to put the workers in the lead of the nationalist revolution, and has some initial success.Further Reading:Steve Smith, A Road Is Made: Communism in Shanghai, 1920-1927Some names from this episode:Deng Zhongxia, Leading Communist labor organizerLi Dazhao, Co-founder of the Communist Party, often credited as China’s first MarxistLi Lisan, Leading Communist labor organizerChen Duxiu, Chen Duxiu, General secretary of the Communist PartyGregory Voitinsky, Comintern representative in China in 1925Yang Zhihua, Communist leader in women’s movementSupport the show

The thinking of Chinese Communism’s two founders, Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu, diverges as revolutionary experience is gained.Further Reading:Maurice Meisner, Li Ta-Chao and the Origins of Chinese MarxismSome names from this episode:Li Dazhao, Co-founder of the Communist Party, often credited as China’s first MarxistChen Duxiu, Co-founder and first general secretary of the Communist PartyZhang Guotao, Communist leader and opponent of ‘united front from within’ with GuomindangSupport the show

The podcast discusses the collaboration between the Guomindang and Communist Party in China, exploring tensions and growing conflicts despite their united front policy. It highlights key figures like Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek, the role of Soviet advisors, and the ideological divides within the parties. The episode delves into the reorganization of the Guomindang with Communist involvement and the challenges faced due to anti-communism sentiments and opposition to mass mobilization.

A podcast version of a recently published article which argues that the rightward turn of Chinese politics in the 1970s was a key contributing factor in ending the revolutionary era of the long and global 1960s and ushering in the neoliberal age of reaction which followed.The article can be read on the podcast website.Support the show

The Communist Party of China tries to find a way to implement the united front with the Guomindang in 1923, but ultimately has to wait for the Soviet-Guomindang alliance to mature.Further reading:Tony Saich, The Origins of the First United Front in ChinaStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 2Some names from this episode: Sun Zhongshan/Sun Yatsen, leader of the GuomindangWang Jingwei, leader of Guomindang left-wing, later president of Japanese puppet state in ChinaCao Kun, northern warlord who controlled BeijingLi Yuanhong, president of China from 1922-1923Zhang Guotao, communist leader and opponent of ‘united front from within’ with GuomindangHenk Sneevliet, alias Maring, Dutch Communist and Comintern leader in China from 1921-1923Chiang Kai-shek, Japan-trained military officer, close confidant of Sun YatsenMikhail Borodin, Comintern agent and head of Soviet mission to aid the GuomindangSupport the show

Henk Sneevliet, Zhang Guotao, and Sun Zhongshan discuss the Communist Party's labor organizing drive and the united front with the Guomindang. It explores the challenges faced, collaborations with secret societies, successes in labor organizing, negotiations between the parties, and the aftermath of a defeated strike.

Guests include Chen Gongbo, Henk Sneevliet, Sun Zhongshan, and Georgii Chicherin. Topics discussed: early strategic decisions of the Chinese Communist Party, divergence in thinking between CCP and Comintern, potential alliance between CCP and Guomindang, and the impact of Third World revolutions on the Chinese revolution.

Explore the challenges faced by Chinese Communists in the early 1920s as they clarified their interpretation of Marxism, demarcated from anarchism, and advocated for revolutionary strategy. Learn about the influence of Marxism, the dynamic between the Communist Party and anarchists, the tension between individualism and group loyalty, and the challenges faced during the founding Congress in 1921.