The Struggles for Equality and Democracy in Modern China: Which Was More Influential?

This paper analyzes the struggles for democracy and equality in modern China, from the fall of the Qing Dynasty to the Tiananmen Square movement. It considers which struggle was more influential, evaluating the recurring theme of a fight for democracy in China since the New Culture Movement, and a quest for social and economic equality that Mao and the Chinese Communist Party committed themselves to. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the struggle for democratic norms and institutions was always present among the Chinese people, but it did not succeed in pushing the government or the Party to adopt political reforms. Social and economic equality, however, was a more pressing goal for the Party, but the poverty that state policy sometimes caused made it only slightly more successful than campaigns for democracy. Ultimately, Deng Xiaoping's turn towards economic liberalization would propel China's economic growth and output, and improve the economic status of the people.