Mao, Marxism, and the Chinese Revolution

Two recent books review the history of Marxism's development in China over the course of the twentieth century. Chinese Marxism, by Adrian Chan, is an attempt at a new, comprehensive narrative, while Marxism in the Chinese Revolution, by Arif Dirlik, is a compilation of already published essays spanning the past thirty years. While both books have a common starting point and motivation-to squarely position Mao's revolution in the context of an evolving global Marxism-Dirlik succeeds much more than Chan in providing a meaningful, comprehensive evaluation. Unfortunately for Chan, he is unable to rise above a misguided, cold war-style polemic against prior American scholarship on Mao and Chinese Marxism, and he fails to establish his own scholarly voice. Dirlik, by contrast, in his familiar style of personal rumination coupled with strong research into a multitude of difficult intellectual and practical issues, creates a ''usable past'' for Chinese Marxism, and the opportunity to reflect on the significance of its accomplishments and its passing.