Final answer:
Mao Zedong's approach to communism, known as Maoism, differed from Lenin's in that it relied on the peasantry rather than the industrial proletariat for revolution and aimed at transforming China's agrarian society into an industrial superpower, a process epitomized by the disastrous Great Leap Forward.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong had a distinctive approach to Marxism and communism, which was different from the ideas of Lenin. Mao's version of communism, often referred to as Maoism, centered around the belief that the peasantry rather than the industrial proletariat could be the driving force behind the communist revolution in China. This was a major deviation from the classical Marxist understanding that relied on the urban industrial workers to initiate revolutionary change.
Mao's reframing of Marxism was in part a response to the unique socio-economic conditions in China, which was predominantly rural with a vast population of peasants. Mao foresaw that the land reform, where peasants would overthrow the landlords and seize control of the land, could be the catalyst for a communist revolution. This was in stark contrast to the Bolshevik revolution led by Lenin, which was based in an already industrialized Russia and relied on the urban workers to lead.
The efforts to implement Mao's vision led to various attempts to rapidly industrialize China, the most notable being the Great Leap Forward. This program aimed at transforming China from a predominantly agrarian society into an industrial superpower but resulted in a disastrous famine that caused the deaths of millions. Such drastic measures represented Mao's belief in the necessity of overcoming China's semi-feudal past and leaping forward towards socialism and, eventually, communism.
While Lenin suggested that communist revolutions would take place in nations under the thumb of imperialism, Mao's vision was also about national rejuvenation in the context of the humiliations suffered by China due to imperialist incursions.