Democracy, Enlightenment, and Revolution: Cantonese Marxists and Chinese Social Democracy, 1920–1922

Xuduo Zhao

doi:10.1177/0097700420954771

Abstract

This article discusses two different attitudes toward elections and democracy among the early Chinese communists. It argues that apart from some communist leaders in Shanghai who saw nothing of value in participating in elections, there were members of the party who favored social democracy. Two Cantonese Marxists, Chen Gongbo and Tan Pingshan, heavily influenced by German social democrats, especially Karl Kautsky, attached great importance to elections and “the enlightenment of the masses” on the road to communism. This led them to oppose their comrades in Shanghai, and to support the federalist self-government movement advocated by Chen Jiongming. After 1922, this rift between communists in Guangzhou and Shanghai grew into a serious intra-party conflict. Eventually, the Cantonese social democratic approach was politically discredited and largely forgotten. Exploring this Cantonese approach will clarify the connection and tension between democracy, enlightenment, and socialism in May Fourth China.

Highlights

This article discusses two different attitudes toward elections and democracy among the early Chinese communists
Unlike the communists in Shanghai who favored direct action, Chen Gongbo and Tan Pingshan in Guangzhou underlined the significance of mass political participation in elections as a tool to educate and mobilize the proletariat and achieve socialism
Chen Duxiu warned in September 1920 that it was very likely that the followers of German social democracy in China would in the future become the most formidable enemy of Chinese communism, though he could not name anyone at the moment (Chen Duxiu, 1993: 162)

Summary

Introduction

This article discusses two different attitudes toward elections and democracy among the early Chinese communists. Chen Gongbo 陳公博 (1892–1946) and Tan Pingshan 譚平山 (1886–1956), who helped establish the communist organization in Guangzhou, insisted that communism could be achieved not through any form of dictatorship and suppression, but instead only through the enlightenment and participation of the masses.

Results

Conclusion