Why Communists Won in China - Sarah Paine

[wesleycornelius]

That's why Mao always said that if it wasn't for Japan there would be no communism in China

[kiddo]

My grand father was one of those 50-80 million whose families got utterly destroyed, whose lives, careers and livelihoods absolutely shattered thanks to Mao’s famine, Cultural Revolution, and the host of other political purges. My grandfather was one of them, a loyal communist and Mao follower who was a mayor of a midsized western city who got locked up during the cultural revolution for 10 years and left to starve for 3 days at a time without food. One time he got released and came home and ate 3 large bowls of nothing but noodles with black vinegar and salt and water because he was so famished and malnourished - this being a party leader who followed Mao in Yan’an since the 1930s. It utterly destroyed him and his family. This is the real face of totalitarianism and what it can do to a normal society: breaking up societal bonds, trust, familial relationships, making friends and family turn on one another. It’s ugly and disgusting on every level.

It’s so easy to reduce people’s lives to mere statistics when you don’t live in that moment of history. But never forget that it can intimately affect everyone’s families, including yours someday. Never in a million years could he imagine being imprisoned, harassed, and beaten and tortured by a bunch of high school teenagers who profess loyalty to Chairman Mao.

[kevd]

"I'll bring you health and equality!"
"And food, comrade?"
"Well let's not go nuts, Wang."

[davidcanfield]

Mao understood the fundamental tenent for acquiring political power. Promise them anything and everything, but in the end give them totalitarianism.

[weihurlee]

I am so glad my grandfather knew this was happening and fled to Taiwan

[JRay-mv]

This lady is very intelligent, always impressed when I see her videos. Very educational

[Parasuraman-eywo]

This academician is so compelling and clear in her analysis.
👏👍

[ondank]

There is a lesson to learn from this. People don't bite the hand that feeds them so long as they know that hand IS feeding them. If you can show the tangible benefits you are doing to make your constituents, your employees, hell even your family and friends lives better, you are going to build far stronger relationships with them.

[stephenhaas]

The chicoms watched the nationalist gets slaughtered by the Japanese. My dad told me that when I was a kid half a century ago. He heard it in Hawaii when he was stationed there during World War II.

[hananokuni]

Mao Zedong burned the house down to get rid of the rats and the roaches. Deng Xiaoping had to rebuild it.

[jasonleetaiwan]

Paine downplays the role the US played in preventing a KMT victory after WW2 by talking about these reforms to get support from peasants. While true, they were not the central reason the CCP won. The KMT could have still won but the US made sure they did not in favor of a coalition government which is 2 China’s. This gave the CCP time to arm themselves instead of fighting superior armies in open warfare. Then the Truman administration imposed an arms and ammunition embargo on the Nationalists giving the PLA the upper hand eventually.

[azadmahmud-jgbf]

Wasn’t it right that professors and intellectuals, who were so proud of their learning, were sent to countryside, to learn farming and animal husbandry, while the peasants were given a chance to pick up some learning at their vacant spots in the universities? The intellectuals came to realise that they knew not everything under the sun!

[kenfrank]

I'd like to see Sarah Paine discuss the current events
concerning Ukraine and Russia.

[이가람-sw]

Nationalists were doing the heavy lifting while Mao was playing good person behind the lines.

[Tokyo-yvql]

It's so incredibly tragic and sad that he did all this wonderful unification and harmony only to the ends of his own power and tyranny

[hcharton]

I am so grateful my family escaped to freedom!

[GlennGreene-yjxe]

Guess who read his handbook on HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE!!!

[CoreyChambersLA]

Spending other people's money can be a big advantage for a number of years, until it runs out — then 50 million starve.

[moneybagzz]

Sarah Paine can read the script to Zardoz and make it sound fascinating.

[nunomvca]

Please let the lady speak without adding that relaxing foot massage parlour background music.