China's Communist Party example essay topic

As many other countries around the world China has its long history of a struggle for equality and prosperity against tyrants and dictatorships. The establishment of People's Republic of China in 1949 seemed to have put an end to that struggle for a better life. "The Chinese people have stood up!" declared Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of China's Communist Party (CPP) - a leading political force in the country for the time. The people were defined as a coalition of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the petite bourgeoisie and the national-capitalists.

The four classes were to be led buy the CPP, as the leader of the working class. For the first time in decades a new Chinese government was met with peace and hope, instead of massive violent opposition, within its territory. The government and its political force, the CPP, were expected to fulfill century long dream of the Chinese people for "reason, liberty, progress and democracy". The government promised to bring about a string of swift political and economical reforms that would dramatically improve life of every Chinese citizen within the life span of one generation.

A promise of a vast land reform that would give long-awaited land to millions of peasant families won their support for the new government. At that time the party's members of peasant origin accounted for nearly 90 percent. The Chinese intellectuals supported the communists for their promise to establish a variety of democratic institutions that would ensure smooth transition of the country toward a free democratic society. The government promised to run a vast educational reform in order to educated millions of Chinese people. And finally the communists had ambitious plans to rapidly industrialize the country and within 15-20 years surpass world's industrial leaders such as England or America. At first these plans along with an extremely ingenious propaganda campaign stirred great optimism and productivity within the Chinese people, but as years went by the initial flare and excitement went out and few of these promises, reforms and goals had been reached.

In some cases the promises were lies. The real actions of the Communist party showed quite a different picture than the lie of democracy that it was feeding the people. The new government never was a democratic one. As a matter of fact it was a dictatorship controlled by the China's Communist Party (CCP). Throughout the years the communist government consistently and cruelly suppressed any attempts for the country's democratization. But some of the promises made to the people were fulfilled.

In a few short years Chinese peasants were moved from their small plots of land into large communes and cooperatives. On these communes very had enough to eat, everyone shared the work, and there was a real sense of community. The Chinese government set up a wide system of primary schools. For the first time in all of China's history the majority of the population received a complete basic education.

Even though the government's "Great Leap Forward" program didn't put China among leading industrial countries as it intended, it did give China a solid foundation for the future. 15 years after the founding of communist rule in China, the leaders of the government, such as Mao Tse-tung, believed that the revolution had lost its momentum. In order to able to continue to rule the country the communists had to come up with new ideas and find new enemies. In the middle of 1960's Mao Tse-tung and its political allies launched the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution."Down with old, up with the new" was its main slogan. The main goal of the Revolution was to replace all old, therefor bourgeois, culture with new proletarian culture. The Cultural Revolution brought violence and disruption to the life of the country.

Many people lost their jobs and even lives for lacking the proper enthusiasm for the revolution. Schools and university closed down. Factory and country cooperative production dropped. The social and democratic life virtually collapsed. It was the price that Chinese people had to pay for the political games of their leaders. The Cultural Revolution lasted for several years and its effects were felt well into 1970's.

These days the Communist government of China is seeking new ways of improving the economical situation in the country. The communists finally realized that the lack of democracy and freedom would eventually lead China to the economical and cultural collapse. Finally a set of real reforms that are supposed to give Chinese people some political and economical independence is introduced. These reforms will hopefully bring China prosperity and stability that it has long deserved.