For his role in history, putting him with Stalin sounds good. Putting him with Hitler and Pol Pot is just wrong.
All were brutal dictators, but Pol Pot and Hitler left their countries in complete and utter ruin.
Under Mao, China was unified, ending the civil war, and reigning in the various warlords that were only nominally under the rule of Kia-Shek. Got the PRC the China seat in the UN, established it as a nuclear power.
I would unquestionably say that, like the Soviet Union under Stalin, the Chinese state was far better off when Mao died than when he came to power, or for a long time before that.
Maybe the average person was worse off, and yes there were many problems, but 1976 China was sure better than 1949 China.
In contrast, upon Hitler's death, Germany was destroyed, occupied, and divided for 40 years. Far worse off than it had ever been since the end of WWI, even int eh darkest days of hyper inflation and the Great Depression.
The condition of the people and human rights are one thing to consider, but you must also consider the condition of the state as a whole.
All were brutal dictators, but Pol Pot and Hitler left their countries in complete and utter ruin.
Under Mao, China was unified, ending the civil war, and reigning in the various warlords that were only nominally under the rule of Kia-Shek. Got the PRC the China seat in the UN, established it as a nuclear power.
I would unquestionably say that, like the Soviet Union under Stalin, the Chinese state was far better off when Mao died than when he came to power, or for a long time before that.
Maybe the average person was worse off, and yes there were many problems, but 1976 China was sure better than 1949 China.
In contrast, upon Hitler's death, Germany was destroyed, occupied, and divided for 40 years. Far worse off than it had ever been since the end of WWI, even int eh darkest days of hyper inflation and the Great Depression.
The condition of the people and human rights are one thing to consider, but you must also consider the condition of the state as a whole.