Written by Frank Li
What is the key difference between the U.S. and China?
They were born differently, almost totally opposite to each other! The U.S. was founded by/of/for the rich, whereas the PRC (People’s Republic of China) was founded by/of/for the poor. In other words, the American Revolution was a bourgeois revolution, whereas the Chinese Communist Revolution was a proletarian revolution. Let me explain …
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1. What is the American Revolution?
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – American Revolution.
The American Revolution was a colonial revolt which occurred between 1765 and 1783. The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783) with the assistance of France, winning independence from Great Britain and establishing the United States of America.
2. What is the Chinese Communist Revolution?
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Chinese Communist Revolution.
The Chinese Communist Revolution, led by the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao Zedong, resulted in the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China, on 1 October 1949. The revolution began in 1946 after the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 – 1945) and was the second part of the Chinese Civil War (1945 – 49).[3] In China, the revolutionary period is known as the War of Liberation.
3. What is the American Revolution, anyway?
Here is a famous quote:
It’s time to end the lie!
Specifically, was the American Revolution about freedom and self-governing, as you were taught in school?
No, the American Revolution was not about freedom (or liberty) per se! Instead, it was chiefly instigated by a bunch of rich people, most notably Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who wanted to keep more to themselves (instead of paying more taxes to the mother country), including the possibility of swallowing up everything that still belonged to the indigenous people, specifically and explicitly against King George III‘s decree (Royal Proclamation of 1763). They conspicuously hid this real reason behind an eloquent slogan of “no taxation without representation” and took a modest risk throughout the American Revolutionary War for huge potential gains.
Nor was the American Revolution about self-governing or against the “tyranny of the king”! It turned out that the American revolutionaries just did not like the British King (at the time). After the war was over, they asked George Washington to be their [new] king, instead! Washington refused, thus making it possible for America to be a republic …
For more, read: What is The American Revolution, Anyway?
4. What is the Chinese Communist Revolution, anyway?
At the end of WWII, China was controlled by two parties:
- The Kuomintang (aka “Nationalist Party of China”) led the Nationalist Government that controlled most of the cities.
- The CPC (Communist Party of China) controlled most of the countryside.
Both the U.S. and the USSR urged the two parties to reconcile, so as to form some kind of parliamentary system. But Mao Zedong wanted no part in it – He wanted to rule China, in its entirety!
The Chinese Civil War ensued. The CPC won the war, kicking the Kuomintang out to Taiwan.
How could the CPC have won such a big war in just three short years?
Aside from Mao’s brilliance as a military strategist, the CPC fought for the poor (aka “proletarians”), while the Kuomintang fought for the rich (aka “bourgeois”).
Chen Cheng, a leader of the Nationalist Government, said it the best:
“We fought for an ideal, but they fought for the people.”
5. Explanation with Marxism
To me, the difference between the American Revolution and the Chinese Communist Revolution can be best explained by Marxist theory: the former was a bourgeois revolution, while the latter a proletarian revolution.
5.1 What is a bourgeois revolution?
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Bourgeois revolution.
Bourgeois revolution is a term used in Marxist theory to refer to a social revolution that aims to destroy a feudal system or its vestiges, establish the rule of the bourgeoisie, and create a bourgeois state.[1] In colonised or subjugated countries, bourgeois revolutions often take the form of a war of national independence. The English, French, and American revolutions are considered the archetypal bourgeois revolutions, in that they attempted to clear away the remnants of the medieval feudal system, so as to pave the way for the rise of capitalism.[1] The term is usually used in contrast to “proletarian revolution“, and is also sometimes called a “bourgeois-democratic revolution“.
Here is my simple definition: a bourgeois revolution is by/of/for the rich.
5.2 What is a proletarian revolution?
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Proletarian revolution.
A proletarian revolution is a social revolution in which the working class attempts to overthrow the bourgeoisie. Proletarian revolutions are generally advocated by socialists, communists and most anarchists.
Marxists believe proletarian revolutions can and will likely happen in all capitalist countries, related to the concept of world revolution.
Here is my simple definition: a proletarian revolution is by/of/for the poor.
5.3 Why Marxism (vs. Adam Smith)?
Karl Marx is very popular in China, even more so than Adam Smith is in the West. More importantly, Karl Marx not only was more recent than Adam Smith, which means he developed his works on top of Smith’s works, but also has proven to be more correct than Adam Smith, on capitalism at least, communism notwithstanding! Two informative readings:
6. Discussion
Let me briefly discuss three big subjects: China, America, and America vs. China.
6.1 China
The Chinese Communist Revolution was brutal. But China was finally unified, after the century of humiliation, with an Emperor-like figure (i.e. Mao) at the top and an organization (i.e. the CPC) to effectively govern the entire country.
Unfortunately for China, it went through 27 disastrous years under Mao (1949-1976) for two main reasons:
Most of the CPC leaders, including Mao, were proletarians. They knew how to destroy an old world, but not how to build a new world.
The proletarians did not know how to make anything! After the inherited wealth from the old world was consumed, everybody in China became a proletarian!
It took China one full generation, and, more importantly, a great man named Deng Xiaoping to finally find her own formula of success: massively incorporating capitalism into the communist structure, resulting in the generation of great prosperity, thus truly making a country of/by/for the people: rich and poor!
Three informative readings:
- What is China’s State Capitalism, Anyway?
- Governance in China: Past, Present, and Future.
- The People’s Republic of China at Age 70.
Bottom line: Communism is bad, but China is not communism per se. The best description for China today is state capitalism. The challenging question for the world is this: can state capitalism be realized without a proletarian revolution first?
6.2 America
The American Revolution was also brutal, but it was nothing when compared with the Chinese Communist Revolution, especially in terms of casualties.
What was the end result of the American Revolution? A republic was born, with a constitution of/by/for the rich! For more, read: What Is the U.S. Constitution, Anyway?
Moreover, despite all the changes over the past 200 years, including the American Civil War and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, America remains a country of/by/for the rich, without solving any of the big problems (e.g. race, religion, and governance), which have been accompanying mankind over the past 2,000 years, at least. For more, read: China vs. America; Communism vs. Democracy.
Worse yet, America has morphed itself into a democracy, in danger of losing the last safe-guard against it: the Electoral College. For more, read: Warren calls for eliminating the Electoral College.
Bottom line: Democracy is bad. Not only is America becoming more and more democratic, it actually is more communistic than China in many ways, with the public-sector unions being one of the worst examples. The challenging question for the world is this: can America ever truly become a country of/by/for the people: rich and poor, without destroying itself first?
6.3 America vs. China
The American Revolution was of/by/for the rich. America remains so to date, despite all the changes over the past 200 years.
The Chinese Communist Revolution was of/by/for the poor. China has fundamentally transformed itself over the past few decades to become a country of/by/for the people: rich and poor!
The 20th century was clearly America’s. But which country will own the 21st century?
China!
Two informative readings:
America, reform our failing political system, as I have suggested (American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?), or become a fiddle, second to China!
7. Closing
To best understand the present and foresee the future, we must study the past.
To best understand today’s China and America, we must understand their births. This post has helped a little bit, hopefully.
Now, please sit back to enjoy the video below to better understand where the US-China relations are standing …
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