Make China Marxist Again

The renewed embrace of Marxism has been a key element in "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," added to China's constitution last year. But the Marxism that Xi and his propagandists are pushing is not what one would expect from a serious reading of the Manifesto. Nor is it the lumbering apparatus of the Stalinist state. The lessons of Marx, Xi declares, are that Marxism changes with the times, that it must be integrated with local culture in order to be effective, and that it needs a strong party and a great leader in order to succeed. This state Marxism is an attempt to unify the population behind a national ideology and shore up state authority, not to inspire class struggle.