In this session from the “With Liberty and Justice for All” conference, host Michael O’Fallon, alongside a panel featuring James Lindsay, Xi Van Fleet, Lily Tang Williams, Cathy Kiang, Sau O’Fallon, and Mike Zho, engages in a stimulating discourse focused on the contemporary American cultural revolution. The discussion unearths thought-provoking parallels between the present landscape of division, strife, disinformation, collectivization, and provocations experienced by Americans and the strategies employed by Mao Zedong over six decades ago in China. Mao’s historical initiatives, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, are scrutinized for their role as platforms for propagating propaganda and categorizing the Chinese populace. These endeavors, characterized by fervent ideological indoctrination, aimed to forge a united “red” class adhering to Mao’s revolutionary principles, while branding non-conformists as “black” enemies of the revolution. Mao’s use of pervasive political slogans, plastered throughout China and disseminated through various mediums, are highlighted for their divisive role. The panel ultimately underscores the striking parallels between Mao’s strategies in Communist China and their current replication in the United States, emphasizing how these tactics, which once dismantled centuries of familial and cultural traditions in China, are now being wielded to sow discord, advocate collectivism, and cultivate tribalism within American society.
