Review, MacFarquhar & Schoenhals, Mao's Last Revolution

(Originally posted at Amazon. Disclaimer: this reviewer has not visited China and has no professional expertise on China. This is strictly a book review, and not an assessment of Chinese politics.)

This book has been highly praised as a magisterial history of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR, the official term). Other reviewers have been impressed by its detail and high expectations for readers. It is certainly a valuable book for people interested in the history of the GPCR, but there are some serious caveats I have with the work.

The book suffers from a tendency of historians of Communist subjects to "work towards" the official story on China. The authors introduced the term "work toward" to refer to how members of a dictator's entourage try to figure out what he wants to ensure his continued patronage. In this case, the authors focus on the action at the very top of the political system, with other considerations outside the scope of the book. This allows them to present the leadership as acting in a virtually context-free environment. The choice of focus is, of course, required; but it just so happens to support the premise of an arbitrary and largely omnipotent totalitarian movement free to behave however it pleases. Possibly MacFarquhar and Schoenhals believe that "context" (i.e., compelling explanations for the decisions made by the principals) muddies the waters and exposes them to the charge of "moral relativism."¹ If so, that would explain their indifference to any of the un-sordid possible explanations for Mao's behavior--viz., those that existed outside of the Politburo. The authors say up front that this book focuses on the action at the top, and they do not spend much time dwelling on the different point of view that a Chinese revolutionary would have from that of, say, a Harvard professor or World Bank economist.

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