HISTORY OF COMMUNISM

• Communism is described as being a "political and economic ideology that calls for a classless, government-controlled society in which everything is shared equally".
• Communism first began in Russia in 1917, but has since spread to China, Korea, Kenya, the Sudan, Cuba, and Nicaragua, among many other countries.
• The Communist Party of China was formed in July of 1921, and Mao Zedong became its leader in 1927.
• "Mao led a revolution, and the communist party obtained control in 1947."
• In 1949, Mao "[declared] his creation of the People’s Republic of China".

CHINESE COMMUNISM

• When Communism was first introduced to and instated in China, the country "followed the example of the soviet model of development through heavy industry with surpluses extracted from peasants".
• After Mao's death in 1976, Deng Xiaoping took over China's Communist Party. "He instituted changes in the economic system where they developed what he considered to be socialism with Chinese characteristics." Specifically, this was called "market socialism".
• The CCP has more than 85 million active members, making it one of the largest political parties in the world.
• Throughout the country, every province has two sets of government officials: local government, and Communist party officials.
• In China, "the Communist leadership structure is geared toward capitalist ends". This is in opposition to traditional Communism, which is opposed to Capitalism.