Leading leftist academic mocked over 'Maoist' op-ed
Professor Hu Angang ridiculed after article arguing government by the Communist Party is "superior" to Western-style democratic civil society
A prominent Tsinghua University economics professor has come under fire for describing Western-style governments as inferior to the "people's society" run by the Communist Party.
In an op-ed published in the People's Daily overseas edition yesterday, Hu Angang, a leading member of the 'New Left', argued that the party's style of government was better because it was homegrown and "fits China's basic national conditions better".
Compared with the civil society in the West, the people's society is superior ... it is a great made-in-China innovation in theory and practice
"Compared with the civil society in the West, the people's society is superior ... it is a great made-in-China innovation in theory and practice," Hu wrote. "The people's society is a socialist society under the leadership of the Communist Party."
Hu linked his ideas to two campaigns launched by President Xi Jinping - the promotion of a "Chinese dream" and his demand that party members toe a "mass line" against extravagance.
"It is a Chinese dream, which is different from the American dream and European dream," Hu said. The people's society should have no confrontation between the government and the people, he wrote, an idea consistent with Xi's mass line.
The op-ed drew strong reactions online. Some academics argued Hu was advocating a return to the principles of Mao Zedong and dismissing the individual's role in society.
Hu's notion of the people's society draws on the Maoist principle that the party governs in accordance with the interests of the majority of the people.