China · 1949–1976
Mao Zedong
Peasant revolution, the Great Leap, and the Cultural Revolution. Catastrophic famine and mass persecution.
Mao Zedong is on the world-leaders chart for China, 1949–1976. The placement note, from the public governing record, is: Peasant revolution, the Great Leap, and the Cultural Revolution. Catastrophic famine and mass persecution.
The dot is economics -90 and authority +92, on a scale from −100 to +100. That is left of center on economics. The other axis sits toward authority. Left means a larger public role. Up means more authority. Neither direction is treated as the correct one.
A second note separates what was said in public from what the government then did. Said: A peasant revolution and continuous class struggle against the old society. Done: Land reform, then the Great Leap and the Cultural Revolution. The death toll is the record. The gap, when there is one, is part of the placement. A promise that was kept and a promise that was dropped are not given the same weight.
The nearest other figures on these two numbers are Vladimir Lenin (Soviet Russia, -84 / +80) and Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union, -76 / +96). Nearest means nearest on the chart, not alike in character.
Mao Zedong is marked as a historical extreme so the corner of the scale is not empty. The dot is not a recommendation, and it stays off the default nearest list unless it is closer than every ordinary figure.