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
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
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