The Left in China - A Political Cartography

'Does a great service by shifting our attention to the oppositional movements of Chinese workers, peasants, students, and women who have contested inequality and exploitation' - Manfred Elfstrom

Tracing the history of left-wing, subversive and oppositional forces in the People's Republic of China over the last seventy years, Ralf Ruckus pulls back the curtain on Chinese politics.

He looks at the labour strikes in the 1950s, the rebel uprising during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, the democracy movements in the 1970s and 1980s, the struggles of urban and migrant workers since the 1990s and 2000s, and women's forms of resistance until today. Each of these struggles inspired left-wing groups and movements that criticised or challenged the regime of the Chinese Communist Party, from Mao Zedong's rule to the regime under Xi Jinping.

Is the country still socialist today, the Chinese Communist Party a left-wing organisation, and the leadership indeed Marxist? The book sorts out the confusion by presenting the fascinating history of social movements and left politics in the People's Republic up to the present day.

1. Introduction: Understanding the Left in the People's Republic  

2. Against Broken Promises: Workers Claim Equality and Participation in the Socialist 1950s and 1960s

3. For a Better Future: Worker Movements Demand Democratic Reforms in the 1970s and 1980s  

4. Defense and Nostalgia: Social Struggles Drive Leftist Resistance in the 1990s and 2000s

5. Social Unrest and Organizing: Challenges for the CCP in the Capitalist 2000s and 2010s

6. Conclusions: Social Discontent and Left Opposition in Socialism and Capitalism

Epilogue