Decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, the legacy of the Sino-Soviet split stands out sharply in the history of socialism and the Cold War as a major turning point, impacting conflicts all over the world and within the movement, the collapses of 89-91, and China's relationship with the West and embrace of foreign investment.
How do Marxists in China (inside and outside of the CPC) think of it? As justified, as a mistake, as well-intentioned but with bad consequences? What works of theory analyzes its causes, effects? And in light of China's reform and opening up, how is "revisionism", in general and as an ideological rebuke of liberalization in the post-Stalin era in particular, understood?
Any and all answers appreciated, let me know if another comm is better suited for this post.
AFAIK the split happened primarily over Destalinization. Looking back we can see that China was right and the CPSU was setting the USSR up for failure, but at the time the Soviets were still riding a wave of massive postwar growth and were the second most powerful country in the world - but with the Cold War getting more intense it may have also seemed like a prudent move to disassociate themselves from either the western or eastern blocs, in the same way that many countries joined the non-aligned movement.
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I think the Soviets were wrong in the initial split in the 50s, certainly, they could have handled it better. That doesn't excuse China's disastrous foreign policy decisions later on.
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I don't think either side comes out looking particularly good. Mao was rash and took his personal dislike of corn dude too far despite some valid concerns over the Soviet geopolitical direction (a direction that China ironically took even further in the 1970s. I mean, breaking relations with the USSR over not starting nuclear war with the USA over Cuba was shockingly dumb.
Conversely, the Soviets sometimes did treat China as a de facto Eastern Bloc member rather than an independent Socialist state with its own line.
I think we agree that aside from outright Nazbols and Capitalist Restorationists, the motto for Communists is the same as the motto for D&D, "Never split the party." This split should have never left the realms of internal practice.
I meant that they were right to decouple themselves from the Soviet Union. Imagine if Gorbachev had wrecked China's economy on the way out along with everybody else's.
You're right that their foreign policy after the split was like two decades of trying to play both sides by making the worst calls possible.