<P> Though the effect of the Cultural Revolution was disastrous for millions of people in China, there were positive outcomes for some sections of the population, such as those in the rural areas . For example, the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution and the hostility to the intellectual elite is widely accepted to have damaged the quality of education in China, especially at the upper end of education system . However, the radical policies also provided many in the rural communities with middle school education for the first time, which is thought to have facilitated the rural economic development in the 70s and 80s . Similarly, a large number of health personnel were deployed to the countryside as barefoot doctors during the Cultural Revolution . Some farmers were given informal medical training, and health - care centers were established in rural communities . This process led to a marked improvement in the health and the life expectancy of the general population . </P> <P> After the most violent phase of the 1960s ended, the attack on traditional culture continued in 1973 with the Anti-Lin Biao, Anti-Confucius Campaign as part of the struggle against the moderate elements in the party . The Cultural Revolution brought to the forefront numerous internal power struggles within the Communist party, many of which had little to do with the larger battles between Party leaders, but resulted instead from local factionalism and petty rivalries that were usually unrelated to the "revolution" itself . Because of the chaotic political environment, local governments lacked organization and stability, if they existed at all . Members of different factions often fought on the streets, and political assassinations, particularly in predominantly rural provinces, were common . The masses spontaneously involved themselves in factions, and took part in open warfare against other factions . The ideology that drove these factions was vague and sometimes non-existent, with the struggle for local authority being the only motivation for mass involvement . </P> <P> The Cultural Revolution brought China's education system to a virtual halt for some time . In the early months of the Cultural Revolution, schools and universities were closed . Primary and middle schools later gradually reopened, but all colleges and universities were closed until 1970, and most universities did not reopen until 1972 . The university entrance exams were cancelled after 1966, to be replaced later by a system whereby students were recommended by factories, villages and military units, and entrance exams were not restored until 1977 under Deng Xiaoping . According to the documents for the prosecution of the Gang of Four, 142,000 cadres and teachers in the education circles were persecuted, and noted academics, scientists, and educators who died included Xiong Qinglai, Jian Bozan, Rao Yutai, Wu Dingliang and Zhao Jiuzhang . </P> <P> Many intellectuals were sent to rural labor camps, and many of those who survived left China shortly after the revolution ended . Many survivors and observers suggest that almost anyone with skills over that of the average person was made the target of political "struggle" in some way . The entire generation of tormented and inadequately educated individuals is often referred to in the West as well as in China as the' lost generation' . </P>

Who propagated the idea of cultural revolution under socialism