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Maoism: A Global History by Julia Lovell
Wide-ranging account of the movement which changed the course of China's history
Widespread: A Maoist settlement in Nepal [Pavel Novak/Creative Commons]

MAOISM is broadly defined as a variant of Marxism that places greater emphasis on the peasantry and, while “orthodox” Marxist-Leninists see this group as equal to the industrial working class, with its specific emphasis on anti-imperialism, Maoism can be dismissive of workers’ movements in the developed world.

It contains a cult-like veneration of the leader which puts the Soviet Union under Stalin to shame, although that’s possibly been recently exceeded in North Korea.

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