Common Misconceptions About Maoism:
Misconception 1: MLM is Nothing New - Just Marxism-Leninism as applied in China, with Mao's name tacked on!
MLM is a qualitative development of Marxism. Maoism isn’t just the "Chinese application" of Marxism-Leninism—it redefines important elements of revolutionary strategy and theory. MLM is the summation of two centuries of scientific class struggle. Key developments include: People’s War as a universal strategy (not just for agrarian societies), the Mass Line as a method of leadership and organizing, a deepening of the theory of contradiction, with the most important discovery being that class struggle continues under socialism, especially seen in Mao’s analysis during the Cultural Revolution, the principle that class struggle continues after the seizure of power—an answer to why previous revolutions were reversed. The necessity of the Left to impose itself on the Right to combat modern revisionism and prevent the restoration of capitalism, the three instruments of revolution: Party, People’s Army, and United Front, and the thesis of two-line struggle and its importance for the development of the Party.
Misconception 2: Maoism is rural or peasant-based, so it doesn’t apply to modern or urban societies. Our methods only work in semi-feudal, semi-colonial societies.
While Mao developed Protracted People’s War (PPW) in a rural Chinese context, MLM theorists argue that its strategic core— conquering dual power, the three stages (defensive, stalemate, and offensive), and integrating military, political, and mass organizing—can be adapted to different material conditions. Urban applications are being theorized and tested by contemporary Parties like the Communist Party of the Philippines and CPI-Maoist, and some MLM groups in imperialist countries are trying to adapt PPW to their own terrain (e.g., the concept of Accumulation of Forces and Revolutionary Base Areas, even in cities).
Misconception 3: The Cultural Revolution was just chaos, a power grab by Mao. It was a violent purge and consolidation of personal power.
The Cultural Revolution (1966–76) was a mass movement to continue the class struggle under socialism—an attempt to combat capitalist restoration and bureaucratization within the Communist Party. It was chaotic in its early stages, yes, but also incredibly democratic and empowering for workers and students, who created revolutionary committees, seized power in workplaces, and even criticized/overthrew high-ranking party officials. Maoists believe that the GPCR was the closest that humanity has advanced towards communism, and there will need to be several during the socialist period, because capitalist weeds will continue to appear. Socialism is a new thing, whereas capitalism is an old thing that has insinuated its roots in the minds of many, even in the Party and its mass organizations.
Misconception 4: Maoism led to mass starvation and disaster (e.g., Great Leap Forward). Maoism is inherently linked with famine, authoritarianism, and economic stagnation and failure.
Yes, there was famine during the Great Leap Forward, but the mainstream narrative flattens it, ignoring key causes like:
- Natural disasters
- Soviet withdrawal of aid
- Local cadre inflating grain production numbers, leading to poor state decisions
- The contradiction between rapid development and state planning mechanisms
Many MLM theorists view it as a tragic but complex moment of attempting to accelerate socialist transformation without sufficient preparation, not a case of intentional mass murder. Also, there’s growing historical research that challenges the inflated famine death tolls often cited (most of which were released during the Deng era to heap scorn on socialism and attempt to justify the capitalist reversal).
Misconception 5: Maoists worship Mao or treat theory dogmatically. Maoists are stuck in the past and treat Mao’s word as Gospel.
MLM emphasizes creative application of theory to concrete conditions. The principle is: “Marxism is a science, not a religion”. Maoism encourages dialectical thinking, continuous summation of practice, and criticism/self-criticism. Serious MLM organizations constantly debate and update theory and practice in accordance with concrete conditions —e.g., Gonzalo Thought (Peru), Prachanda Path (Nepal, exposed as revisionist), and others.
Misconception 6. MLM is obsolete or irrelevant in the 21st century. It is a Cold War era ideology with no relevance today.
MLM continues to inspire revolutionary movements across the world, including here. The Black Panther Party was heavily inspired by Mao Zedong Thought and the Cultural Revolution. The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is leading an armed insurgency. The Communist Party of the Philippines has been waging People's War for decades. MLM groups in Turkey, Latin America, and Europe are active. Even in imperialist countries like the U.S., Canada, and Germany, MLM orgs are growing and theorizing paths to revolution under advanced capitalism-imperialism in the 21st Century!
Misconception 7: Maoists Worship Modern China
China is a capitalist country. The Maoist position is that there is no such thing as Actually Existing Socialism (AES), and state monopoly capitalism is not better than regular monopoly capitalism. The Communist Party of India (Maoist) and Communist Party of the Philippines have made many analyses of the machinations of Chinese social-imperialism in their countries. China economically collaborates with Zionism through arms deals and trade, objectively a knife in the back of the Palestinian people. Social-imperialism is, essentially, socialism in words, imperialism in deeds, and it is important that communists are clear on this question.