People's History of Ideas Podcast

A discussion of the concept of opportunism as it developed in the international communist movement, and a close reading of the self-critical portion of the resolution of the Border Area Party Congress of October 4 to 6, 1928.Further reading:Lenin, “Opportunism, and the Collapse of the Second International”Cheng Yen-shih, ed., Lenin’s Fight Against Revisionism and OpportunismMao Zedong, “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People”Lynn White, Policies of Chaos: The Organizational Causes of Violence in China's Cultural RevolutionSome names from this episode:Du Xiujing, Inspector sent to the Jinggangshan by the Hunan Provincial Committee in May 1928 and who returned in JuneLiu Zhen, Secretary of the Yongxin County Party CommitteeSupport the show

A close reading of the portion of the resolution of the Border Area Party Congress of October 4 to 6, 1928, which later became a key early text in the Maoist canon.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Mao Zedong, “Why Is It that Red Political Power Can Exist in China?”Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Jane Degras, ed., The Communist International, 1919-1943: Documents, vol. 2: 1923-1928A name from this episode:Du Xiujing, Inspector sent to the Jinggangshan by the Hunan Provincial Committee in May 1928 and who returned in JuneSupport the show

The Communists fight to regain lost territory, and ethnic tensions explode among the peasants in the base area.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Some names from this episode:Du Xiujing, Inspector sent to the Jinggangshan by the Hunan Provincial Committee in May 1928 and who returned in JuneGong Chu, Political commissar for the 29th regimentChen Yi, Political commissar for the 28th regimentKang Keqing, Peasant guerrilla fighter from Wan’an CountyYuan Wencai, Leader of the 32nd regimentSupport the show

The 29th Regiment goes against Mao’s orders and decides to stay in Hunan, with disastrous results for the Communists.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaAgnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh [Zhu De]Jurgen Domes, Peng Te-huai: The Man and the ImageStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Some names from this episode:Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongYuan Wencai, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongHu Shaohai, Commander of the 29th regiment of the 4th Red ArmyDu Xiujing, Inspector sent to the Jinggangshan by the Hunan Provincial Committee in May 1928 and who returned in JuneFan Shisheng, Guomindang general and old friend of Zhu DeYuan Chongquan, 28th Regiment battalion commander who mutiniedYuan Desheng, Representative of the Hunan Provincial CommitteePeng Dehuai, Guomindang colonel who was secretly a Communist and who launched an uprising in July 1928Support the show

Mao explains his refusal to comply with orders from the Hunan Provincial Committee.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaStuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Some names from this episode:Du Xiujing, Inspector sent to the Jinggangshan by the Hunan Provincial Committee in May 1928 and who returned in JuneYuan Desheng, Representative of the Hunan Provincial Committee in the JinggangshanYang Chisheng, Guomindang commander defeated by the Communists in June 1928Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongYuan Wencai, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongWang Jun, Guomindang military commander in JiangxiShang Chengjie, Guomindang military commander in HunanXu Kexiang, Guomindang military commander in HunanWu Shang, Guomindang military commander in HunanSupport the show

A talk that I recently delivered at the University of Hamburg, focused on the development of a new socialist political economy late in the Cultural Revolution and how this influenced the Communist Party of Peru.Further reading:Alessandro Russo, Cultural Revolution and Revolutionary CultureFabio Lanza, The End of Concern: Maoist China, Activism, and Asian StudiesAntonio Díaz Martínez, China: La revolución agrariaCatalina Adrianzén, “Semblanza de Antonio Díaz Martínez”Peer Moller Christensen and Jorgen Delman, “A Theory of Transitional Society: Mao Zedong and the Shanghai School”Stephen Andors, China's Industrial Revolution: Politics, Planning, and Management, 1949 to the PresentSome names from this episode:Catalina Adrianzén, Peruvian anthropologist in China from 1974-1976Antonio Díaz Martínez, Peruvian agronomist in China from 1974-1976Zhang Chunqiao, Leading figure on Maoist left in ChinaJiang Qing, Leading figure on Maoist left in ChinaSupport the show

In light of the Ukraine crisis, a historical look at communist thinking on the connection between a third world war and revolution.Further reading:Sergei N. Goncharov, John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean WarDavid Holloway, Stalin and the BombEdward Wilson, “Thank you Vasili Arkhipov, the man who stopped nuclear war”Mao Zedong, “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People”Mao Zedong, “Speech at a Meeting of the Representatives of 64 Communist and Workers’ Parties”M. Upshaw, “Considerations on a Revolutionary Situation in the United States: Likely Triggering Factors, Potential Political Contours”Some names from this episode:Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet foreign ministerVasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov, Soviet submarine officer who averted nuclear war during the Cuban Missile CrisisSupport the show

The Hunan Provincial Committee decides that Mao must obey its authority.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaElizabeth Perry, Anyuan: Mining China’s Revolutionary TraditionSome names from this episode:Wang Meisheng, Courier between Anyuan and the JinggangshanDu Xiujing, Inspector sent to the Jinggangshan by the Hunan Provincial CommitteeYuan Desheng, Sent to work in the Jinggangshan by the Hunan Provincial CommitteeYang Kaiming, Sent by Hunan Provincial Committee to replace Mao as secretary of the Jinggangshan special committeeYuan Wencai, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongSupport the show

In the wake of their military victories in late Spring 1928, the Communists carried out a major land redistribution and a mass recruitment drive. There were some unforeseen complications.Further reading:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949Stuart Schram, ed., Mao’s Road to Power, vol. 3: From the Jinggangshan to the Establishment of the Jiangxi Soviets, July 1927-December 1930Marcia Ristaino, China’s Art of Revolution: The Mobilization of Discontent, 1927 and 1928Some names from this episode:Wang Zuo, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongYuan Wencai, Bandit leader who joined with Mao ZedongSupport the show

Mao Zedong and Zhu De learn warfare through warfare as they face continuing onslaughts from Guomindang forces.Further reading/watching:Stephen Averill, Revolution in the Highlands: China’s Jinggangshan Base AreaPang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji, Mao Zedong: A Biography, vol. 1: 1893-1949China: A Century of Revolution documentaryCommunist Party of Nepal (Maoist), “Experiences of the People’s Warand Some Important Questions”Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), “Advance in the Great Direction of Creating Base Areas!”Mao Zedong, “Problems of Strategy in China’s Revolutionary War”Name from this episode:Sunzi [Sun Tzu], Ancient Chinese generalSupport the show