What is Communism? Communism - a government where people

shared work fairly and were paid equally. The word “Communism” comes from the Latin

word “Communis” which means common or belonging to all.

The Beliefs of Communism The rich get richer. The poor get

poorer. People wanted to

make everything equal.

The Goal of Communism Goal: to get rid of

social classes and make everything fair for everyone.

Do you agree? Or disagree?

Based off of what you know, do you think Communism is a good idea?

If yes: explain why

If no: what are potential dangers of Communism?

Capitalism

An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.

Basics of Capitalism: Capitalism is said to

promote economic growth and the overall standard of living.

In other words, capitalism creates CAPITAL (money) …and lots of it.

Basics of Capitalism: Buyers (people) influence the market

through their demand and ability to purchase goods and services. There is very little government intervention.

Producers (businesses) are motivated by profit (money) and therefore create whatever goods people will buy.

In other words, the businesses run the economy, the government stays out of it!

Do you agree? Or disagree?

Based off of what you know, do you think Capitalism is a good idea?

If yes: explain why

If no: what are potential dangers of Capitalism?

Problems with Communism:

Lack of individuality

Lack of choice Equal treatment

for all, even if you work harder than all the rest

Problems with Capitalism:

There is a growing gap between the rich and the poor. The rich get richer and the people who work for them remain poor.

So what is the best solution?

Do you believe that Communism or Capitalism is a better economic system?

“Yes” = Capitalism “No” = Communism Be sure to you

specific reasons to support your answer.

Chinese Economy from WWII - Present After WWII, the

Communist Party gained a lot of support.

Mao Zedong was the leader

Mao’s China

Mao Zedong used propaganda to spread the ideas of Communism and published “The Little Red Book” to teach people communist philosophies

The Great Leap Forward - 1958 In 1958 Zedong began a radical program called the

Great Leap Forward to increase production in farms and factories

The Communists rushed to increase production and made people with little to no experience try to farm or produce steel in their backyards.

The steel was of poor quality making it useless and the poor weather resulted in a widespread famine.

An estimated 30 million people died of starvation

The Cultural Revolution - 1966 Create a society with no ties to the past:

– Closed schools– Urged students to rebel against their students,

these people were called “Red Guards”– Many Ancient Chinese buildings were destroyed– Anyone opposing Zedong was attacked by the

young Red Guards– Finally, they began to turn against Zedong and

were eventually imprisoned– Hundreds of thousands of people were killed– China was in turmoil!

The Four Modernizations - 1981

Deng Xiaoping became the new leader of China in 1981. Over the past 20 years, China has seen slow changes in their economy, allowing some free enterprise (meaning that the government does control ALL aspects of the economy)

Xiaoping led The Four Modernizations: – Farming– Industry– Science– Defense

Modern China Today, China is a major economic power China still only has one political party, the Chinese

Communist Party, meaning there is no political freedom

In 1989, people gathered in Tiananmen Square in China’s capital to protest for democracy. The government sent in troops and tanks, 1000’s were killed or wounded.

Modern China There is still a need for human rights reforms… China today is one of the world’s greatest

manufacturing countries While the economy is slowly changing, there is not

much room for political change given the fact that there is only one political party allowed.

Inferring what you know… Based off of what you know about Mao Zedong, what

is the irony of this political cartoon, and what it is trying to communicate?