The Contradictory Locations of the Intellectuals in State Socialism: A Case of the Cultural Revolution in China

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of inequality under state socialism through a careful examination of the nature of the Cultural Revolution. First, I review the New Class Theory on state socialism to understand the positions of intellectuals under state socialism. I argue that state socialism is not a classless society nor a workers state, but a new class society in which the power of capital is replaced by the power of knowledge. If the intellectuals are really the ruling class in state socialism, can the Cultural Revolution be understood as an effort to eliminate the privileges of the intellectuals? In other words, was the Cultural Revolution a Revolution against cultural capital? Or was it merely an example of conflict between two groups of the ruling class, namely bureaucracy and intellectuals in state socialism? My discussion centers on how to understand the characteristics of the Cultural Revolution with the positions of intellectuals under state socialism in this contradictory sense.