How Did Mao Zedong Lead Millions

Gulsah Sarpoglu
Ms. Nicola Robinson
English
12 March 2015
How did Mao Zedong control and lead millions even though his policies failed and killed millions?
Mao Zedong was the leader, spokesperson and symbol of the Communist revolution in China. He is qualified as the greatest mass murderer in world history, killing 45 million in four years. Anyone who opposed him was punished by execution, imprisonment or forced famine but anyhow his authority was rarely questioned. Even today he is is treated as a hero in China with a Mausoleum dedicated to him “visited daily by large, respectful crowds.” (Edwards) He was able to sustain his power by making peasants believe he supported them, assuring he was aimed to improve the country and manipulating people
of China through his propaganda techniques and his ability to infuse fear.
It was widely believed by the peasants that they had Mao's support therefore they supported him through his reign. His land reform program was seen as a genuine attempt to improve the living standard of the masses by the rural population “even though the division of land offered no solution for China's fundamental economic problem; he assured “redistribution of land would put an end to payments to the landlords, and then another series of measures would lay the foundation of a prosperous rural life.” (Chang). However his methods were rather different from the ideal version of his policy. What he did was to “plunge rural society in China into such depths of despair that the peasants had no choice but to follow him.” (Chang). He resorted indiscriminate confiscation, violence and carnage. First he destroyed the possibility of peasants to make an independent living then he instilled fear of retribution. Even though peasants believed he was on their side there is evidence of “people dying of starvation at the doors of grain warehouses” (O’Neill) because “Mao refused to open the state granaries as he dismissed reports of food shortages and accused the peasants of hiding grain.” (Becker, 81) During a secret meeting in Shanghai in 1959, Mao even stated, “When there is not enough to eat people starve to death. It is better to let half of the people die so that the other half can eat their fill." (Dikötter, 88) These evidences prove that Mao Zedong could not care less if not at all about peasants. His actions and promises were mainly towards making them believe he was doing what was good for them even though the reality was far more different just to have their support. Mao convinced Chinese people that he was determined to improve country’s conditions by bettering the economy and ending chaos caused by country’s poor governance.
Mao proposed a plan called “Great Leap Forward” to transform China into a society capable of competing with other industrialized nations, within a short, five-year time period. People already dying from famine willingly accepted Mao’s plan and blindly believed that he was bettering the country’s prosperity values however the first phase of collectivization was not a great success; there was widespread famine in 1956, though the Party's propaganda machine announced progressively higher harvest. “Economists estimate that the Great Leap caused a loss of $66 billion to the economy; demographers calculate that up to 30 million people died as a result f the Mao-made famine, the worst in Chinese history.” (Akbar) Those who benefited from Great Leap Forward did not oppose Mao Zedong’s actions mostly because they were doing fine. People who were aware and did not oppose can be a result of a psychological effect called “SEP (Somebody Else’s Problem)”. SEP is when people choose to dissociate themselves from an issue that may be in critical need of recognition. Such issues may be of large concern to the population as a whole but can easily be a choice of ignorance by an individual. No oppositions being made can also be a result of people were probably not aware of others were suffering since Mao was controlling the media and
negative news did not spread much if not at all. Regarding its failure “Great Leap Forward” was nothing but an empty promise. Mao did not only deceive people he also did not better conditions in many cases and millions died under his “Great Leap Forward” plan.
While his promises were mostly lies and his movements were failing Mao managed to keep them under the radar with his control over the media and excellent propaganda techniques.
Mao did not only hide his failures but he also made a glorious, heroic and sacred public image of himself through mass media and propaganda. Propaganda in China during the Cultural Revolution took on many forms; there were mass Red Guard demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in support of Mao Zedong, pictures of Mao were put up in every conceivable location from restaurants to the posters in nurseries. Posters and slogans were spread everywhere that could be seen and proclaimed Mao as a great man, which must be given loyalty to. As a result everybody who encountered these posters enough looked up to Mao as their savoir and saw his as an outstanding leader. While promoting his image the posters also “encouraged Mao’s supporters in the working class to attack the revisionists.” (Ozensoy) Another form of propaganda was made through books and pamphlets Mao wrote; his most renowned book known as the “Little Red Book” contained Mao Zedong’s quotes and was distributed to every Chinese citizen. People were forced to read and join the meetings to study what Mao thought which was believed to be the only truth at that time. They would sit around, read, study and report mistakes people made very much like in George Orwell’s 1984. They would blow the whistle on their neighbors, co-workers and even their friends in
those meetings because they thought that was what a good comrade would do. His propaganda techniques were in fact a key factor that kept him in charge and covered up things that went wrong to keep him in charge.

Mao managed to keep power and followers through making people believe he was giving what they needed and covering up if he failed through propaganda. He faced no protests because people were either under SEP effect or not aware of the situations’ severity. Mao achieved making an outstanding image of himself and his party through various propaganda techniques; he gained followers and did not lose them all thanks to his media manipulation. Even when he failed there was no one to object his actions so he kept on ruling with all his glory.

Works Cited

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Becker, Jasper. Hungry Ghosts: Mao's Secret Famine. New York: Free, 1998. Print.
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Dikötter, Frank. Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe,
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