Capitalist roader

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In Maoist thought, a capitalist roader (simplified Chinese: 走资派; traditional Chinese: 走資派; pinyin: Zǒu zīpài) or (simplified Chinese: 走资本主义道路的当权派; traditional Chinese: 走資本主義道路的當權派; pinyin: Zǒu zīběn zhǔyì dàolù dídàng quánpài) is a person or group who demonstrates a marked tendency to bow to pressure from bourgeois forces and subsequently attempts to pull the Revolution in a capitalist direction.

If allowed to do so, these forces would eventually restore the political and economic rule of capitalism; in other words, these forces would lead a society down a "capitalist road". The term first appeared in Communist Party of China literature in 1965, but the idea was initially developed by Mao Zedong in 1956–1957, against what he saw as reactionary tendencies in the party.[1]

Capitalist roaders are described as representatives of the capitalist class within the Communist Party and those who attempt to restore capitalism while pretending to uphold socialism. Mao contended that Deng Xiaoping was a capitalist roader and that the Soviet Union fell to capitalist roaders from within the Communist Party after the death of Joseph Stalin.[citation needed]

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  1. ^ Chan, Sylvia (July 1979). "The Image of a "Capitalist Roader"--Some Dissident Short Stories in the Hundred Flowers Period". The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs. College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University (2): 77–102. doi:10.2307/2158732. JSTOR 2158732.