Two Passages

The boxes on page 766 and 769 talk about the same thing. They both tell us stories about how the new communist party ruled. First they got a group of people that they wanted to influence and then they pushed their ideas through until they were converted. The farmers and the Red Guards were both taught different ideals by the government. They were taught that everything that happened before is false and that everyone should start from scratch. The government picked the group of people that they could influence better. Teenage boys and the lower class are easily influenced because they always feel left out. When you let them feel powerful, they immediately want to keep that feeling and therefore want to follow you.