Maoism: A Global History

When Mao made the deal with Nixon, the early Seventies to turn off the "spigot" of Revolution, Maoism really ended. China then was allowed to freely develop markets and its exporting capacity, recall that Japan was ready to sell its commodities, automobiles to national communist sovereigns, as in South East Asia, and those supported by Mao. This is why the USA allowed Detroit to meltdown, so to accommodate the Japan car makers. This is a great survey of Maoism; Let's be real..... Maoism was a product, a commodity and was we now see only product China had to export, and this gave it some bargaining chip at the table of globalized capitalism. What you come away with from this book is to decipher how Maoism functioned within capitalism.It was only internalized, the predators there could only support the domesticate populace as we learn from the various histories of Stalin. Certainly the Trilateral powers knew full well, where Mao was lending rendering military support, surveillance and"guerilla" education to the nations that surrounded China. Nixon clearly saw the impasse,(with Vietnam) that American power did have its limitations(as it abandoned the gold standard Bretton Woods) as Maoism learned that the Cultural Revolution was a dead-end;that it would only impoverish China further had it continued, China would have been isolated by global export capital, and ripe for picking by international predator investors . Lovell I think misses this grand overview the "realpolitik", and comes to focus on where "orthodox" Maoism thrives. We learned that Maoism has its only body politic,its own '' plasticity'' that it has its extreme forms, as Pol Pot, the horrific experiences of Cambodia and the Gang of Four debacle on the mainland and more passive forms, as those Chou en lai wanted to develop.. But still the forms can be adapted to wherever you are within the globe. This is something the Soviets missed altogether during the Cold War. They thought they could export Stalinism say to the Muslim sovereigns in the Middle East or corrupt dictators in Latin America. It doesn't work. It doesn't work because Maoism or the Soviet readings was always is in direct contact in direct confrontation with international global capital.Both were always ready to make a deal with the West, with the USA and its Allies, Stalin was so accommodating during the Spanish Civil War and World War Two.......... So the "winnings" will always be compromised, rendered with many contingencies and reservations. I guess my view is to see Maoism more as "neuro-plasticity", to how well it can or cannot adapt itself. There is a theory that the magnificent success of current capital China was only made possible by the intense discipline, the structuring of the populace of the Mao Years, The Cultural Revolution. This is always the problem for sovereigns how to control your own masses. In the USA we've learned through drug non-enforcement, prisons,rampant racism and pop, rock culture to control the minds and hearts masses.

This book is highly readable, also for those who have only a casual interest in history. After a good introduction of Maoism and its early history, it describes a long list of connected events and developments all over the world. I enjoyed reading details about many topics that I was only vaguely aware of before. It filled many white spaces in my mental map of recent world history. A slight shortcoming of the book is that some parts are somewhat unstructured. In particular, the chapter on Maoism in the west is a hodgepodge of topics without a clear underlying framework. Some more editing might have improved this. But still, the book is highly recommended.

This book is a fascinating and historically enlightening engagement with a topic that has been virtually ignored by popular history, namely, the engagement of Maoist political thought with the non-Chinese world. The author writes with a knack for pace and clarity while providing a lively introduction to a subject the broader world, including myself, knows little about. Highly recommended for anyone who wishes a clearer understanding and background on mid-20th century geopolitics, and Maoism’s catalytic effect upon them. This work belongs on the level of Frank Dikotter’s works on Mao and Ezra Vogel’s biography of Deng Xiaoping as a key introduction to the history of Communist China.

This book is a wonderful global tour of Maoism and it’s impact. Extremely well written. Highly enjoyable. The author makes this subject matter not only easy to read but a true pleasure. Excellent anecdotes, some humor. Most highly recommend.

For those who are interested in the development of Chinese Communism in the last 100 years, "Maoism, a Global History", is interesting throughout. It covers communist insurrections, their successes and failures, in several Asian and South American countries, as well as in China itself. To the best of my knowledge, many of these communist insurrections have not been so thoroughly researched and explained until the publication of this book. Highly recommended.

An essential read, linking China’s past with it’s present. It does the job of taking Maoism seriously as a coherent political force –without putting over much weight on it’s Marxist ideology but a lot on violence, peasant revolution and force of will. Much of the stuff on Maoism in China is pretty familiar – but more context than usual – but the tour de force is its global impact, on the left in the West, on Africa, on the cold war in creating the domino theory. The chapters on India and Nepal particularly fresh. Well written, accessible, academic in rigour but judiciously sprinkled with anecdotes.

Brilliant

Do you want understand the subject, then nothing is better than this. In this world of fake news and propaganda, this book will help you the true history of Maoism. Go for it.

Well researched and articulated narrative on the cultural development of Maoism as a philosophy

The most pressing thought which comes to mind in reflection upon this original and masterful work is why has no one previously attempted a global coverage of a powerful and influential ideology? Maoism may very well be the most enigmatic, yet dangerous ideology of the 20th Century, and probably the least understood. So, Julia Lovell is faced with two questions, firstly, what is Maoism? Secondly, what is Maoism’s global impact? The first question is a question this reader has struggled with for years, and never properly understood, perhaps because it is relatively simple, and Lovell explains it in simple terms. Maoism is much more a revolutionary ideology than a governing ideology. As a governing ideology, it appears incoherent and unattractive, as Mao himself, by his own admission, was no great Marxist theorist. However, as a Revolutionary, both in theory and practice, he was second to none. At its core is the notion that the revolution can begin in the countryside, that peasants and small townsfolk can rise up and surround the cities, and that the revolutionary army is like water, and hides among the people. Essentially, Maoism is the doctrine of people’s war. Secondly, what is the Global impact? The global impact is huge and far reaching, from Indonesia, to Cambodia, to Peru, to Nepal, to the Red Brigades of Italy and many more European revolutionaries, Maoism was the revolutionary ideology of the Avant Garde, the true spirit of rebellion. Of particular interest is the chapter concerning the Shining Path in Chile, and the Red Brigades in Italy. Interesting, but heavily overlooked episodes of world history. The book also deals with Mao’s governance in China, and his controversial legacy. Lovell, like many others, contends that Mao himself is a double-edged sword for China’s governing party, he is essential for their historical legitimacy, yet dangerous for their continued hold on power. The very spirit of rebellion that Mao embodies, and the more egalitarian form of socialism he represents, is both a source of legitimacy and a paradox for contemporary China. Mao is to be approached cautiously, as though his embalmed body itself emanates radiation. Lovell’s encyclopedia of Maoism isn’t just a study of history or ideology, it is a tour de force of world revolution, a journey into the very spirit of rebelliousness. It both informs and excites the reader and may very well inspire. The book, likes its subject matter, is hot material, and should be approached with caution.