# Nepal: What exactly does "Maoist" mean, nowadays, outside China?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nepal-what-exactly-does-maoist-mean-nowadays-outside-china/357528>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [May 20, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nepal-what-exactly-does-maoist-mean-nowadays-outside-china/357528 "2006-05-20T13:35:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nepal-what-exactly-does-maoist-mean-nowadays-outside-china/357528/21 "2006-05-22T13:21:09Z")

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[QUOTE=cuauhtemoc]  
How about that Shining Path anyway? Speaking of Maoism outside China?  
[/QUOTE]

Prettty much gone, but an extra-militant faction called _Proseguir_ is still hanging on. [Shining Path - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_path#21st_Century)

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**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nepal-what-exactly-does-maoist-mean-nowadays-outside-china/357528/22 "2006-05-22T14:31:46Z")

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[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi]  
In addition, ‘Maoist’ means a ‘Party of the Masses,’ while ‘Marxism-Leninism’ means a ‘Vanguard Party.’ Meaningless? Certainly, Tens of thousands have been killed over this sort of obscure difference.  
[/QUOTE]

It’s interesting that West Bengal has a “Communist Party of India (Marxist)” (the party in power), a “Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist),” a “Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists,” a “Communist Revolutionary League of India,” a “Communist Workers Party (India),” and a “Marxist Forward Bloc.”

I suppose the pure Marxists are economic theorists, but the Marxist-Leninists believe in active political goals. Which makes it odd that the CPIM is the party in power.

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