Mao Zedong’s Analyses of Social Classes in Revolutionary China (1921-1949)

Mao Zedong’s changing theories of social class and class conflict cannot be understood simply as theoretical innovations or departures, but as expressions of fundamental changes in conditions and motives. Mao’s analysis of classes reflects the transformation of the Chinese Communist Party’s composition and purpose from a proletarian socialist political party to a peasant-based, nationalist military organization.