Did Chinese people benefit from the Communist rule?

There definitely were groups in China who benefited from Communist rule. These were the Chinese woman. Through the Communist rule they were given much more gender equality compared to previous years. Painful traditions that women had to take place in, such as the binding of their feet, were now forbidden. Both men and women benefited from the rule in the sense that they were now allowed to get divorced, if they felt the necessity. All groups benefited from the stability of the economy which was brought with haste and efficiency. On the other hand there were also those who suffered. The businessmen and landlords in China would be an example of this. The communist party wanted to have control over all private businesses. As a result of this many businessmen lost their companies to the government. Landlords who had treated their peasants with violent disdain were sent to speak bitterness meetings where they were often executed in the end. There were also the groups that both gained and lost in different ways. The peasants fit this category most appropriately. From the Communist reform the peasants gained much more social equality. They were thus given much land for farming use. However, most of them had no tools or money to buy them making the decision somewhat futile. Some peasants, during the Great Leap Forward, were overworked and this often led to death. Farmers also were made to use improper farming techniques which were though to increase production, but did nothing of the sort. From the gathered analysis I can therefore conclude that the Chinese people benefited from Communist rule to an extent. Though there were many successes reaped from their reform there were also many failures that followed them.

By Zachary Iqbal, 11H

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