Final answer:
Mao Zedong countered the trend against Marxism by adapting its principles to fit China's predominantly peasant society, creating Maoism. This approach emphasized the peasantry as the revolutionary class and contributed to the international spread of Marxist and socialist movements.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mao Zedong sought to counter the perception that Marxism was unfavorable by altering traditional Marxist ideology to suit China's conditions. Unlike the prediction of Marxism, which foresaw the proletariat or industrial workers leading the revolution, Mao refocused this idea onto the peasantry. Maoism argued that the peasantry, being in majority and suffering from oppressive landownership structures, could be the driving force behind establishing a communist state.
This adaptation allowed Chinese communists to target landlords instead of capitalists, aligning with the larger population's desire for land reform and making the revolutionary ideals relevant to China's predominantly agricultural society.
Mao's reinterpretation of Marxism also gave rise to Maoism, a strand of Marxist-Leninist ideology that emphasized the potential of the poor and malleable peasantry to enact revolutionary change under a strong political party. By harnessing their combativeness and leading them, Mao believed this could eventually create a communist condition within China.