"What explains the obedience Mao received from the elite during the last years of his life, an obedience that extended beyond carrying out explicit orders inimical to elite interests to shaping positions according to expectations of the Chairman’s wishes, and holding sacrosanct his “line” even as he slipped into a coma? The answer lies in a combination of fear, belief, and moral authority, with both fear and belief basically reflecting moral authority. Fear was at root a fear of being off side with Mao, with possible consequences, varying by period, of loss of influence and position, or of mortal threat under the most dire circumstances, as well as of personal inadequacy in not being able to keep up with the Chairman’s thinking."
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Anti-fascistsPoets from ChinaGeneral Secretaries and Chairmen of the Communist Party of ChinaAnti-imperialistsNon-fiction authors from China
Original Language: English
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Sources
Frederick C. Teiwes and Warren Sun, The End of the Maoist Era: Chinese Politics During the Twilight of the Cultural Revolution, 1972-1976 (2007), Conclusion
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong
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Mao Zedong
1893 – 1976
chinesischer Revolutionär
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