How should we compare Nelson Mandela and Mao Zedong?

Mao had a much better army than his rivals. He saw this well ahead of anyone else, with most people over-impressed by the size and equipment of the Kuomintang forces. Mandela hadn't got much of an army, low-level sabotage plus popular rioting. read more

Mao’s own record gets sneered at by Western writers, who however never dare give the bald facts for the entire period of Mao’s rule. The economy grew faster than the USA or UK and faster than most countries. read more

South Africa’s ambassador to China has according to state media compared Nelson Mandela to Mao Zedong, the Communist leader whose rule saw tens of millions killed by famine and the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. read more

“Mr. Mandela was sympathetic to communism for many years. He studied the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong – and agreed with many of their ideas. He counted two schoolmates, South African Communist Party leader Joe Slovo and his wife, Ruth First, among his friends and associates. read more