ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an account for the rise of anomie in Communist China in terms of the history of the Communist Party, the leadership of Mao Tse-tung, social background of Communist leaders and cadres, and the social impact of Chinese Communist rule on mainland China. It deals with the Communist Party’s measures to cope with venality in government. The history of the Communist rule of mainland China is marked by continuous and inconsistent elite manipulation of key symbols such as “socialism,” “class,” or “mass line.” Anomie in the Chinese Communist context throws into relief its political and elite origins that neither Parsons nor Merton stress. Perhaps one of the most important causes of anomie in any political system is an overwhelming emphasis on personality instead of on procedural authority. Anomie or deviant behavior on mainland China originated during Mao’s leadership.
