But many social and political factors, such as the Japanese invasion, the worldwide depression, the slow pace of industrialization, etc. were beyond its control. Furthermore, could the KMT really have reformed itself? The CCP would later fall into the trap of corruption, mainly in the guise of huge, unprofitable state owned industries that went to the sons of generals and politburo members. Perhaps any party that runs China will inevitably lapse into corruption. .
This is exactly why the research question for the paper emerged the way it did. Rather than wonder if the KMT changed itself around "and wonder how amazing that would be "perhaps we should wonder how the KMT, rather unrepentant, was successful in Taiwan? Too much time can spent wading through the failures of Nationalist rule in China. Much of it was probably inevitable, given the size and primitive nature of the mainland. One might do better to wonder how Taiwan was so successful.
With that in mind, the second major fallacy of the "traditional- arguments may be to downplay the talent within the CCP. "Alternative- theories, to be discussed in the next section, delve into this more. But even before reading them, this author believed that too many analysts were so quick to blame the KMT that they overlooked some strengths of the CCP. For starters, Mao and his followers were tenacious and patient. They also significantly "Sinified- Marxist theory, suiting it to the needs and nature of the Chinese people, history, and culture. By 1935, if not earlier, the CCP was totally independent of Moscow's decision making. The two parties would enjoy a close relationship for another 25 years or so, with Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and the Communist International (Comintern) still providing guidance. But by the time Mao was needed to provide decisive leadership, such as the time of the Long March, he had founded an independent movement and ideology.
