Word: lifton
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...Briefly, Lifton argues that individuals relate to history and to other men by means of symbols. The symbols themselves vary in response to the historical context--different events make different symbols relevant. But their ultimate purpose is to give men a sense of connection with their past and future: to provide a sense of unity with other men and with history--a sense of immortality...
...LIFTON'S concepts become intelligible only when he relates them to the specific case of China. "The essence of the 'power struggle' taking place in China," he argues, "as of all such 'power struggles' is power over death." The symbol of immortality linking Mao with the mass agents of upheaval is the Revolution. As an old man facing death, he has seized on his political work and vision as his connection with Chinese history. The knowledge that they will outlive him allows him to face death, and the threat of their corruption stimulates an almost paranoid response--a need...
...LIFTON'S approach, then, has a certain intuitive and empirical weight. But in seeking to pinpoint one key symbol and stretch it into a foundation for China's chaos, he strains his hypothesis. Lifton has an exceptional command of the data on the Cultural Revolution, and his scheme explains most of its history. But few of his observations (as he readily admits in the introduction) cannot be explained by political, sociological and economic theses. This would not argue against his approach if it were not for one thing: the tremendous difficulty of verifying generalizations about the psychological make...
...Lifton has a particularly hard time convincing us that the Red Guards who have spearheaded Mao's movement actually share his concern for the revolution--or at least that they are concerned for the same reasons that Mao is. The youthfulness of the Red Guards (most were between 10 and 18 years of age) is logical from Mao's viewpoint, since they symbolize for him a vital new order. But it seems hard to understand why youths should be so violently afraid of death and fearful for their immortality. Lifton quotes extensively from Red Guard statements, most of which...
...LIFTON'S account of Mao's peculiar obsession and its role in explaining the cultural revolution is far more satisfying than his account of mass response to that obsession. This side of the collective-individual relationship is much easier to document and far better researched than the motivations of China's millions. The image of Mao which emerges has all the features of high tragedy. Mao will undoubtedly be recalled as one of the great political geniuses of all time. Over a span of thirty years he personally molded a classic revolution and within three years of his victory...