ABSTRACT
There is general consensus in the literature that ideology can play a critical role in economic development. The utopian character of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought implies that the ideology has an 'unconstrained vision' of human nature and human potential. Men and women are believed to be perfectible, particularly in regards to their moral perfectibility. Pure ideology is a set of ideas designed to give the individual a unified and conscious world view; practical ideology is a set of ideas designed to give the individual rational instruments for action. As expressed by the 1945 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Constitution, 'Mao Zedong Thought is the thought that unifies the theory of Marxism-Leninism with the realities of the Chinese revolution'. Quite independent of its role in shaping the economic trajectory of the People's Republic, Mao Zedong Thought was the inspiration, the guide, and the legitimating rationale for the system that dominated the lives of a fifth of humankind for half a century.
