Marxism, Maoism and Utopianism (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Maurice Meisner
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: If Maoism did not create a genuine socialism in China, it did indeed create a lasting revolutionary situation, providing the possibility of achieving (or at least pursuing) Marxist socialist goals. If the instruction to change the world rather than simply interpret it is the standard for judging a Marxist revolutionary, then, compared to Leninists, Mao might ultimately be considered a better Marxist. If Mao's non-Leninist (and non-Marxist) populist ideas were to eventually advance China's exploration of the utopian social goals predicted by Marxism in some way, this might be the most paradoxical of all paradoxes. — Maurice Meisner
Maurice Meisner, a renowned American expert in the history of the Chinese Communist Party, is the author of this seminal work, which reflects the typical analytical approach and argumentative style of Western Marxism. With a strong theoretical foundation in Marxism, the author attempts to restore the profound connotations of the so-called "utopianism" in the distorted works of Marx. He argues that if the "utopianism" characterized by the pursuit of the unknown world is lost, it practically means that humanity reduces or abandons its creative capacity. The reason Mao is considered a Marxist is that he fully maintained the "utopian" impulse while organically combining Marxism with "populism" according to China's specific conditions, forming a unique theoretical system known as Mao Zedong Thought. This book is translated from the 1982 edition published by the University of Wisconsin Press.