on 1956 61 Zhou argued that as most intellectuals had in
Last updated: 10/29/2023
on 1956 61 Zhou argued that as most intellectuals had in practice become government workers they should be given the tools necessary to help China modernise and become a fully socialist society To that end they should be given more resources better housing and pay and not be unduly over burdened with political study sessions He also wanted restrictions on intellectuals joining the CCP removed By the end of 1957 there were was a 50 per cent increase in the number of intellectuals in the Party this resulted in there being more intellectuals in the Party than industrial workers While Mao had serious misgivings about some of these proposals especially those that would transform intellectuals into a new privileged professional and technical lite within China he certainly agreed that a great improvement was needed in science and technology As well as speeding up the transition to socialism he was beginning to see this as a way of reducing China s dependence on the Soviet Union For a time the issue of the role and position of intellectuals in socialist China overshadowed emerging differences within the CCP leadership over the economic policies to be pursued after 1955 forward put The new approach to intellectuals was based on an idea first by the Central Committee s Propaganda Department This was a call to scientists and to writers and artists respectively to let a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend The slogan was linked to classical Chinese philosophy and suggested to intellectuals that the Party would allow a plurality of views to exist The new constitution of the PRC which had been published in September 1954 among other things had promised freedom of speech association and the press Yet by 1956 because of the earlier rectification campaigns against intellectuals and critics during 1954 45 it was clear to many intellectuals that in practice such rights were often restricted In addition many loyal CCP members were reluctant to criticise policies and actions especially those associated with Mao