Two cultural revolutions: globalisation and Mao

Abstract

This paper considers the durability of Chinese culture given the introduction of foreign business and consumption patterns into China. It does this by contrasting Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution, an internally driven attempt to change China's culture, with the cultural effects of globalisation. Although the Cultural Revolution promoted culture based on proletarian values, the technologies lacked the diffusion and production qualities found in the West. This meant the nation was vulnerable to cultural homogenisation when the economy was opened to Western products. With increased wealth, markets for artists and advanced technologies, we can expect a greater indigenous cultural contribution from and a reassertion of China's cultural influence in the future.