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Maybe you are thinking that, yes, of course, there was an elite in communist China, there is one everywhere—but surely they would be different names and people
by desdiv 12y ago
Maybe you are thinking that, yes, of course, there was an elite in communist China, there is one everywhere—but surely they would be different names and people from those that formed the pre-communist elite.
I'm not sure if it's that simple. Mao Zedong actually served as the Director of Propaganda for the Kuomintang. Had the civil war not happened, he was destined for senior cabinet positions, maybe even the presidency itself.
He's not alone in this either. Eight of the so called "Ten Marshals of People's Republic of China"[0] were commissioned officers in the Kuomintang. Most of the Communist elites were Kuomintang elites, so the lack of surname distribution change doesn't really surprise me.
[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Ten_Marshals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Ten_Marshals
- lumberjack 12y agoI was also thinking, surely most of the elites had the means and common sense to leave the country once the political tide turned against them, only to return a generation of two later when things started returning to normal and I'm sure they didn't return empty handed both because they probably had capital stashed outside the country and also good connections and know-how to continue their business operations from elsewhere.