Today is the day after Christmas and the spirit still hangs in the air (especially if you’re like me and your Christmas is a five-day multi-state slog between family homesteads.) It is also the birthday of Mao Zedong (born 1893). With that in mind, who really rules the season?* I say we sort this out once and for all, so with apologies to both Dr. Jack Ramsay and Bill Simmons,** let’s break this down, Dr. Jack style:
RED OR EXPERT?
Santa Claus definitely brings the red. It’s a key part of his fashion palette, plus you have poinsettias, holly berries, candy canes, Reindeer noses, etc. That said, is there any doubt? Mao may have frequently dressed in a suit of “Christmas tree” green but he was all about the Red: Red Army. Red Book. Red Guard.
ADVANTAGE: Mao
IDEOLOGY?
One of the two is famous for seizing goods produced by an enslaved, isolated population and redistributing them to people deemed to be worthy of receiving said goods based on an arbitrary set of lists that his minions check every year judging people on their ability to adhere to previously announced ideological guidelines. The other is Mao.
ADVANTAGE: Draw
ORGANIZATIONAL ABILITY?
Mao compelled a billion people to abandon their fields and spend