Introduction: Socialist industrialization, deskilling, and reducing the gap between mental and manual labor in China

After the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949 it embarked on an ambitious program to industrialize the country and modernize agriculture, processes that have caused the deskilling of artisans and peasants in China and in countries across the globe. At the same time, it began implementing far-reaching policies—inspired by Marxist class-leveling goals—intended to narrow the differences between mental and manual labor. Over the course of the Mao era (1949–76), these policies became increasingly radical, culminating in sweeping social experiments during the Cultural Revolution decade (1966–76). Thus, on the one hand, the CCP was building structures that exacerbated the separation of mental and manual labor, while on the other hand, it was determined to diminish this separation through ever more radical policies and mass political campaigns. This special issue of World Development will explore the profound tension between these endeavors and evaluate the results.