The Communist Revolution of China:
A Marxist Revolution?

Charlie Ma

          After the revolution took place, one of the fundamental principals of Marxism was not met. There were clearly class distinctions between politicians, and non-politicians. Universities were abolished for the sake of a classless society, yet some remained open. Those universities only allowed admission to the children of high ranking politicians. They're children were also given the best jobs available despite their actual capability. These politicians had many other perks, include cars and a driver when many workers could not even afford a bicycle. On the other end, people who were against the government and how it is run, even if they are Communists, people who were wealthy before the revolution, and their family. They were given the worse jobs at the lowest pay possible to survive. Manual labour was forced upon them regardless of the number of degrees they held, how intelligent or educated they were, or their age. Some people were even executed for refusing to work. Even though China claimed they had a classless society, it was actually far from free of distinctions. People were judged simply by who they were related to.

          The Communist Revolution of China is quite different from Marxism and the outline from The Communist Manifesto. A Marxist revolution relied on the consequences of industry, which China lacked. Chinese Communists liked the idea of communal living with minimal private property, but their actions were different from Marxism, a specific form of Communism. Although the Chinese Communist Revolution's result shared similarities with Marxism, the actual movement had few similarities. Marx could not have imagined that a Communist Revolution would be ended by major military confrontations between armies of millions, nor the implementation of his industrial regime upon an agrarian society. Though the proletariat and peasantry are both of the lower class, their similarities are considerable. The numerous deviations from Marxism can be explained in terms of the immaturity of Chinese industry. Applying a system ahead of its time created the inconsistencies. The Chinese Revolution cannot be an representation of Marxism not only because of the undeveloped industries in China, but also what the government did after the revolution.