The Left in China: A Political Cartography

A timely, ambitious, and unique book that traces the history and present state of leftist politics in China

'Does a great service by shifting our attention to the oppositional movements of Chinese workers, peasants, students, and women who have contested inequality and exploitation' - Manfred Elfstrom

Tracing the history of left-wing, subversive, and oppositional forces in the People's Republic of China over the last seventy years, Ralf Ruckus pulls back the curtain on Chinese politics.

He looks at the labor strikes in the 1950s, the rebel uprising during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, the democracy movements in the 1970s and 1980s, the struggles of urban and migrant workers since the 1990s and 2000s, and women's forms of resistance until today. Each of these struggles inspired left-wing groups and movements that criticized or challenged the regime of the Chinese Communist Party, from Mao Zedong's rule to the regime under Xi Jinping.

Is the country still socialist today, the Chinese Communist Party a left-wing organization, and the leadership indeed Marxist? The book sorts out the confusion by presenting the fascinating history of social movements and left politics in the People's Republic up to the present day.

Ralf Ruckus has been studying the social, economic, and political situ­ation in the People’s Republic of China for almost twenty years. He co-founded the collective gongchao.org that investigates and documents social unrest and movements in China with a focus on the struggles of workers, migrants, and women.