u/JITTERdUdE - originally from r/GenZhou
As I’ve been more immersed in ML spaces, I’ve noticed a few people talk about their distrust or disliking towards “ultras”, referring to hardline Maoists, particularly in Western countries. I have read and seen some articles by them, such as this blog post by Black Like Mao which claims China is not a socialist power and is exploiting African countries. They similarly accuse the USSR, Vietnam, and Burkin Faso of the same thing.

Having gone from being an anarchist to a Marxist-Leninist, I try not to just jump on board with mass criticism of other communist ideologies, as many anarchists have with “tankies”, so I’ve been curious to understand the ultra ideology and mindset and critically analysis it.

I wanted to understand ML criticisms and opinions of ultras to understand their disagreements (or agreements) with their beliefs, given I’m not totally familiar with Maoist theory.