Chairman Mao Zedong was the center of a personality cult that was almost a religion. What were the results of this situation?

The main result of this veneration of Chairman Mao was the
devastation and oppression of China's populace.  It has also, one can argue, resulted in
a Chinese government that continues to brook no criticism of its
actions.

Because Mao was the center of this cult, his
actions were never questioned.  This helped to allow him to take rash actions that had
terrible results for the Chinese people.  Among these were the Great Leap Forward and
the Cultural Revolution.  Both of these led to widespread death and/or oppression of the
people.

Nowadays, the Chinese government continues to do a
very bad job of responding to the needs of its people.  It has improved their standards
of living, but it lacks the ability to hear and learn from criticism.  One can argue
that this is the legacy of having been run by an "infallible" ruler for so
long.