The left in China
a political cartography
- ISBN: 9780745342955
- Editorial: Pluto Press
- Fecha de la edición: 2023
- Lugar de la edición: London. Reino Unido
- Encuadernación: Rústica
- Medidas: 23 cm
- Nº Pág.: 240
- Idiomas: Inglés
'Does a great service by shifting our attention to the oppositional movements of Chinese workers, peasants, students, and women who have contested inequality and exploitation' - Manfred Elfstrom
Tracing the history of left-wing, subversive and oppositional forces in the People's Republic of China over the last seventy years, Ralf Ruckus pulls back the curtain on Chinese politics.
He looks at the labour strikes in the 1950s, the rebel uprising during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, the democracy movements in the 1970s and 1980s, the struggles of urban and migrant workers since the 1990s and 2000s, and women's forms of resistance until today. Each of these struggles inspired left-wing groups and movements that criticised or challenged the regime of the Chinese Communist Party, from Mao Zedong's rule to the regime under Xi Jinping.
Is the country still socialist today, the Chinese Communist Party a left-wing organisation, and the leadership indeed Marxist? The book sorts out the confusion by presenting the fascinating history of social movements and left politics in the People's Republic up to the present day.
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction: Understanding the Left in the People's Republic
Initial Questions and Perspectives
The Making of the (Global) Left
Visualizing the Composition of the Left
Early History of the Chinese Left
Structure of the Book
2 Against Broken Promises: Workers Claim Equality and Participation in the Socialist 1950s and 1960s
Workers' Struggles and Political Discontent 1956-57
Economism and the Rebel Movement 1966-68 Conclusion: Regime Betrayal and Class Resistance
3 For a Better Future: Worker Movements Demand Democratic Reforms in the 1970s and 1980s
The April 5 Movement 1976
The Democracy Wall Movement 1978-80
Workers in the Tian'anmen Square Movement 1989
Conclusion: Movements For and Against the Reforms
4 Defense and Nostalgia: Social Struggles Drive Leftist Resistance in the 1990s and 2000s
Peasant Struggles Against Reform Effects
State Workers Against Smashing the Iron Rice-bowl
Maoist Organizing and the New Left
Conclusion: Old Class Composition, New Leftist Mobilization 5 Social Unrest and Organizing: Challenges for the CCP in the Capitalist 2000s and 2010s
The New Working Class
The Recomposed Left
Women*'s Struggles Against Patriarchal Regimes
Feminists (Not) Challenging the Party State
Conclusion: Struggles Force the Regime to Adapt
6 Conclusions: Social Discontent and Left Opposition in Socialism and Capitalism
How Social Unrest and the Left Changed Since 1949
Dynamics of Struggles and Countermeasures
Visualizing the PRC's (Other) Left
The CCP's Anti-leftist Record
Lessons for Left-wing Strategies
Epilogue Chinese Terms and Characters
