Mass persuasion and the ideological origins of the Chinese Cultural Revolution

We study the role of media in the transmission of ideology during the Cultural Revolution. We find that counties with a stronger radio signal experienced higher revolutionary intensity as shown by the number of killings. We also find that the effects of radio were concentrated in areas where Mandari...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of development economics 2021-11, Vol.153, p.102732, Article 102732
Main Authors: Ou, Susan, Xiong, Heyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chinese Cultural Revolution
Economics of conflict
Propaganda
State media
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We study the role of media in the transmission of ideology during the Cultural Revolution. We find that counties with a stronger radio signal experienced higher revolutionary intensity as shown by the number of killings. We also find that the effects of radio were concentrated in areas where Mandarin, the language of state-sponsored broadcasts, was better understood. This suggests that the extent of state persuasion was constrained by the linguistic heterogeneity of the population. Through investigation of later-in-life outcomes such as participation in the Communist Party and attitudes on wealth and inequality, we provide evidence of persistence in beliefs among the group most differentially exposed to media — native Mandarin speakers of an impressionable age at the start of the Cultural Revolution. •State-sponsored media led to greater violence during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.•The effect was concentrated in areas where the language of the state-sponsored broadcasts, Mandarin, was better understood.•The effect of media is persistent, as evidenced by later-in-life outcomes as well as individual beliefs.
ISSN:0304-3878
1872-6089
DOI:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102732