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Is it generally understood that Mao was right in the Sino-Soviet split? (feddit.nl)

submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by fort_burp@feddit.nl to c/history@hexbear.net

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You guys are all much more well-read on communism than me, so I ask based on this quote:

As a reminder, the Sino-Soviet split occurred due to an ideological fracture in the Communist bloc whereby Mao accused the Soviets of being “revisionists” after Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization and his embrace of “peaceful coexistence” with the West.

Now that the ex-Soviet countries are pretty much all capitalist oligarchies and China is, well whatever it is but hugely successful and prosperous, is there a consensus about the Sino-Soviet split? I mean yea it sucks that it had to go down like that but can we say in general that Mao was right about that?

I know it's just an arbitrary point in time (as now) and that there were and are loads of factors at play so this is perhaps a simplistic way of framing it, but I'd love to get your thoughts on the matter. Every time I ask something of the dope-ass bear I'm blown away not just by how little I know but also that I wasn't even looking in the right direction, so if this is a stupid question I'm sure you'll let me know, lol.

EDIT: Thank you very much for your answers! Very informative.

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[–] Cowbee@hexbear.net 18 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I agree with Reform and Opening Up, and uphold Deng Xiaoping Thought as a correct response to China's material conditions at the time, just like I uphold Mao (and those who recognize my comments should gather by now). However, certainly the case could be made that the PRC could have sought development by working closely with the USSR and not the US Empire.

The PRC was deeply impoverished, correct, but I'm unconvinced that going to the US Empire for investment was preferable to a timeline where they went to the USSR for win-win development. The split ultimately hurt both the USSR and PRC, and the fact that Reform and Opening Up works does not mean that it was the only possible path. I know the USSR also gets blame, there's no such thing as hard "either/or" lines, but the split itself was bad.

What we saw was siding with Cambodia over Vietnam, and the US over USSR, all number of strategic errors. The USSR, despite its incorrect reforms as compared to the PRC's correct reforms later, managed to maintain a better internationalist line, supporting Vietnam, Cuba, GDR, and more. I blame the worm and his secret speech, incorrect reforms, etc as much as anyone else, but I can't say that Mao was 100% correct either in going through with the split.