World Watch

Do you believe that a widespread and cataclysmic event such as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution could occur again in China today?

I believe that Mao Zedong acquired much of his political power from a Chinese state of mind that dates back thousands of years. Chinese rulers were believed to be divine, so culturally, Mao could claim some of that thought pattern for himself. Lineages of kings, emperors, military nobleman, and clergy maintained power for extended periods of time, sometimes hundreds of years, by requiring the common people to think the same way they did. Free thinking was discouraged, books were burned, and fear was a definite factor in preserving social concord. Which is not to say that uprisings and revolutions didn’t occur. Many have died in China’s history due to unrest, power struggles, and cultural revolutions. The question is: can another one occur in China today?

It’s ironic that during the last revolution, the fight was against the very rulers whose titles gave Mao the cultural power he needed to ignite the people. The leaders of China today don’t seem to have the same power. China is not totally its own anymore, and is gradually embracing its place in the global world. The West has entered and too many people are watching for another revolution, such as the one Mao led, to become a reality today.

However, in recent African (Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Chad, and Kenya) and Burmese histories, the world has watched as anarchy, tribal wars, and deranged military might have killed hundreds of thousands of people. Unfortunately, human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch will remain necessary for years to come. Sometimes a world watching is not enough. (See http://china.hrw.org/ for BEIJING 2008: CHINA'S OLYMPIAN HUMAN RIGHTS CHALLENGES)