CHINA REPORT RED FLAG

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP04-01460R000100500001-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 85
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 19, 2008
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 6, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

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JPRS '83613
6 June 1983
China Report
RED FLAG
No. .6, 16 March 1983
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-JPRS 83613
6 June 1983
CHINA REPORT
RED FLAG
NO.' 6,' 16 -March '1983
Translation of the semimonthly theoretical journal of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China published in Beijing.
CONTENTS
The Radiance of the Great Truth of Marxism Lights Our Way
Forward (pp 2-13) 1
(Hu Yaobang) ......................,.................................
Marxism and China's Realities (pp 14-22)
(Hu Sheng) ......................................................... 19
Marxism and China's Socialist Economic Construction (pp 23-29)
(You Lin) .......................................................... 32
A Great Change in Marx' Conception of History (pp 30-36)
(Cheng Hui) ........................................................ 43
Improve Our Method of Leadership (pp 37-39)
(Gao Yang) ......................................................... 54
Models of Hard-Working and Diligent Study (p 40)
(Wu Fanwu) ......................................................... 59
Outline for the Study of Important Documents Drawn up Since the
Third Plenary Session (pp 41-48)
(RED FLAG Editorial Office of Theory and Education) ................ 61
V. Strengthen Political Development, Promote Socialist
Democracy, Improve the Socialist Legal System .................... 61
VI. Strengthen the Development of Socialist Spiritual
Civilization ..................................................... 70
Profound Knowledge and Genuine Knowledge (inside back cover)
(Song Changrui) .................................................... 79
- a - [III - CC - 75]
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THE RADIANCE OF THE GREAT TRUTH OF MARXISM LIGHTS OUR WAY FORWARD
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 6, 16 Mar 83 pp?2-13
[Speech by Hu Yaobang, general secretary of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China, at the meeting in commemoration of the centenary
of the death of Karl Marx held in Beijing on 13 March 1983; passages within
slantlines published in boldface]
[Text] Comrades and friends:
We are gathered here today at this grand meeting to commemorate the cen-
tenary of the death of Karl Marx, founder of scientific communism, great
teacher of the proletariat and of the exploited and oppressed masses
throughout the world, and the most outstanding revolutionary and scientist
in human history.
Marx was a German of the 19th century, but his influence far exceeds the
limitations of time and place. He belongs to the whole of progressive man-
kind as well as to the proletariat of the world and all oppressed peoples
and nations. As Frederich Engels said following Marx' death, Marx had
fertilized with his powerful thought the proletarian movement of both the
Western and Eastern hemispheres.1 It was under the guidance of.Marx'
theory that the communists, the proletariat and the people of all nationali-
ties in China embarked on the correct path of revolution and liberation in
this enormous yet backward country of the East. The Chinese people have now
accomplished the new-democratic and the socialist revolution and become
masters of this great socialist country. We are creating a new situation
in all fields of socialist modernization, striving to build a socialist
material and spiritual civilization and to fulfill the splendid program
set forth at the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
All of us feel more deeply now that, without Marx' theory, China could not
possibly have become what it is today. We have learned from Marx, con-
scientiously studied and drawn wisdom and strength from his works, and
shall continue to do so. Therefore, as we honor the memory of Karl Marx,
.who rests in eternal peace in London, let us today, at this commemorative
meeting held in the East, express our deepest gratitude to him.
Marx' greatest contribution to mankind is his theory of scientific com-
munism, which, formulated by Marx together with his closest comrade-in-arms
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Frederich Engels, equipped the proletariat and progressive people of the
world with the most powerful ideological weapon for criticizing the old
world, creating a new world and struggling for their own emancipation.
Marx was the first to combine materialism with dialectics and to apply
dialectical materialism to the observation and examination of the history
of human society, bringing to light the truths that, in the final analysis,
material production constitutes the basis of man's social, political and
ideological life taken as a whole and that the contradiction between the
productive forces and the relations of production constitutes the real
motive force of historical development. He scientifically explained the
role of class struggle in human history and the conditions under which
classes come into being, develop and die out.
Marx was the first to discover the secret of the exploitation of labor by
capital, namely, the law of surplus value, and to bring to light the cir-
cumstances of the birth and development of capitalism and its final
historically inevitable replacement by communism.
He was thus the first to transform utopian socialism into scientific social-
ism, proving that the modern proletariat represents the new social force
for the overthrow of the old system and the establishment of the new, and
that it is the most promising and thoroughly revolutionary class.
Thereby, he brought about the most radical change in history, economics
and philosophy and established a truly scientific world outlook and the
most thorough theory of social revolution.
From its very birth, Marxism has demonstrated its mighty power with which
no other ideological system can compare. Marx joined the revolution in his
youth, and after he became a communist, he directly led the workers move-
ment, identified himself with it and dedicated his whole life to the
emancipation of the proletariat. His revolutionary activity was carried
on in the 19th century, when European society was in the throes of violent
upheavals and revolutionary storms. Under the test of these storms, par-
ticularly the severe test of the great struggle for the Paris Commune in
1871, a motley variety of previously vociferous schools of socialism,
gradually died out. Marx' theory alone rapidly spread far and wide,
because it truly represented the interests of the proletariat and the
people at large and brilliantly summarized the experience of both the old
and the new revolutionary movements. The proletarian party personally
created by Marx developed from a small group of exiled revolutionaries into
a "powerful party that made the whole official world tremble."2
Marx and Engels have passed away, but Marxism has developed with increasing
vigor. The past century has demonstrated, again and again, that the his-
tory of Marxism is one of triumph over successive onslaughts by various
antagonistic ideological trends and over "encirclement and suppression" by
reactionary forces. However serious the setbacks and violent the storms,
its revolutionary drive has remained invincible. The past century has also
repeatedly shown that the history of Marxism is one in which it has overcome
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erroneous tendencies within the Marxist movement, thus continuing its for-
ward march. Revisionism is erroneous because it discards the universal
truth of Marxism; dogmatism, too, is erroneous because it regards Marxism
as a set of rigid tenets. Both revisionism and dogmatism run counter to
Marxism in that they separate the subjective from the objective world and
divorce theory from practice. Marxism is a developing science; it is the
guide to revolution. Its vitality lies in its constant analysis and study
of new situations and problems that arise in the course of practice and in
its integration with concrete revolutionary practice at different times and
in different countries. This is the well-spring of the unceasing enrichment
and development of Marxism and the basic guarantee for its ever-growing
revolutionary vigor.
The victory of the October Revolution led by V. I. Lenin and the Bolshevik
Party of Russia represented the first momentous development of Marxism after
the death of Marx and Engels. Lenin and his party formulated their own line
and policies by integrating the universal truth of Marxism with the then
latest developments of the world situation in the era of imperialism and
with the concrete realities of Russia. From this arose the new development
of Marxism, the birth of Leninism, the victory of the October Revolution and
the realization of socialist revolution first in one country. If Lenin and
the Russian Bolshevik Party had failed to act in the light of the actual
conditions in Russia but had held rigidly to Marx' specific conclusion that
the proletarian revolution must win victory simultaneously in the major
capitalist countries, what would have been the result? There would have
been no victory of the October Revolution.
The triumph of the Chinese revolution is the most significant event in the
history of Marxism's development after the October Revolution. Under the
conditions then prevailing in the world's East, Comrade Mao Zedong and our
party integrated the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete
realities in China, relied closely on the peasants--the powerful ally of the
working class in the rural areas and the main revolutionary force against
feudalism--and found the correct path of encircling the cities from the
countryside. From this flowed the birth of Mao Zedong Thought and the
triumph of the Chinese revolution. If we had not taken this path, but had
held rigidly to the traditional mode of revolution in modern Europe, that
is, the seizure of state power through urban armed uprisings, what would
have been the result? There would have been no triumph of the Chinese
revolution.
It follows that a basic lesson to draw from the history of the development
of Marxism is that the Marxist party of'each country cannot succeed in
revolution and construction unless it~formulates its own line and policies
in accordance with its own concrete conditions and with the international
and domestic circumstances in which it finds itself.
For more than three decades since World War II, the world communist move-
ment has followed a tortuous course of development. It has scored magnifi-
cent successes and victories, but has also experienced severe setbacks and
failures, undergoing a bewildering process of turbulence and division. This
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complex historical phenomenon has given rise to a wide variety of reactions
throughout the world. Some people have gloated over the setbacks, whereas
others have lost their confidence, describing Marxism as being in a state of
"crisis." However, amidst such shouts of "crisis," the Marxist parties and
organizations of many countries, braving all kinds of attacks, have
heroically and calmly, carried on the fight. In the tortuous course of
development all true Marxists and far-sighted people are discerning a most
essential positive factor, i.e., politically and ideologically more and more
Marxist parties and organizations have dared to break with blind faith, to
emancipate their minds and to think for themselves, thus becoming able
independently to integrate the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete
practice of the revolution in their own countries. Facts have proved that
on the question of how to handle correctly the relations between the parties
of various countries and of what specific road of revolution to take, the
Marxist parties in different countries have a much deeper understanding and
are richer in experience and their level is clearly higher than before.
Fundamentally, this has created the most important condition for the
greater development of Marxism.
In our own Communist Party of China, a change of historic significance has
taken place since the 3d Plenary Session of its 11th Central Committee in
late 1978. Our party fell into dire straits in the 10 years (1966-76) of
the "Cultural Revolution." However, in spite of all the difficulties the
Chinese people did not lose faith in Marxism; on the contrary, they were
able to acquire a better understanding of its truth. In the short span of
4 years or so from the 3d Plenary Session to the 12th CPC National Congress
in September 1982, we fulfilled the arduous task of setting things to rights
in our guiding ideology. In essence, this means that we hare reembarked on
the road of integrating the universal truth of Marxism with the actual
realities in China under the new historical conditions. This is the only
correct road opened up for us by Comrade,Mao Zedong. Our personal experi-
ence has made us appreciate keenly the brilliance of his thinking and prac-
tice and the tremendous wisdom and strength he brought to the party and
people when he adhered to this correct road through decades of activity.
It has also made us realize that, deviating or departing from this correct
road in the evening of his life, even such a great Marxist as Comrade Mao
Zedong could not avoid going astray and making distressing mistakes. There-
fore, by setting things to rights we mean restoring Mao Zedong Thought to
its true essence and upholding and developing it. Some people are prattling
right up to now that we have abandoned Mao Zedong Thought. This only shows
that they have no idea of what Mao Zedong Thought means, that is, no idea
of what Marxism means.
In setting things to rights in ideology, we have resolutely shaken off the
"left" tendency and the personality cult that long fettered us, reestab-
lished the principle of seeking truth from facts, scientifically appraised
the historical role of Mao Zedong Thought and Comrade Mao Zedong, and
restored and developed the Marxist principles guiding our party life. In
setting things to rights politically, we have courageously-discarded the
erroneous theory of "continued revolution under the dictatorship of the
proletariat" that did us so much harm, correctly reanalyzed the
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contradictions in China's socialist society, achieved political stability
and unity and shifted the focus of work of the whole party. In setting
things to rights in the agricultural system, we have resolutely corrected
certain grave and prolonged misunderstandings regarding such questions as
the socialist public economy and mass production, overcome the serious
egalitarian error of "everyone eating from the same big pot" and created
the system of responsibility for agricultural production characterized by
contracting for specialized work and by payment being linked to output.
In such ways the Marxist principle of "to each according to his work" and
the principle of integrating the interests of the state, the collective and
the individual are being genuinely implemented in the vast rural areas in
the light of China's concrete conditions. The bold reform in agriculture
has pioneered a correct road and given our 800 million peasants a free hand
to fully tap their tremendous labor potential, develop a diversified economy
and expand production in breadth and depth. It has led to a steady rise in
purchasing power for means of production as well as for consumer goods and
thus to the building up of an extensive socialist market. This has. lent
tremendous impetus to our socialist modernization drive as a whole, and will
continue to do so. Far from losing its foothold or slipping back as some
half-baked critics have claimed, socialism has become greatly consolidated
and is taking big strides forward in our rural areas. This is because we
have given up old forms that were divorced from realities--forms that were
either uncritically copied from other countries or arbitrarily devised by
ourselves--and have found new forms that are truly Chinese and suited to
China's current rural conditions.
We have now entered the stage of creation of a new situation in all fields
of socialist modernization. But in our economic, social and other activ-
ities, there still exist many erroneous ideas and models that do not suit
China's actual conditions and that have long fettered people's minds and
seriously hampered the development of the productive forces. Only by pro-
ceeding from realities, breaking away from such ideas and models and
instituting properly guided reforms step by step and in an all-round,
systematic, resolute and orderly way can we create a new situation in all
fields, better integrate the fundamental principles of Marxism with the
concrete reality of our modernization drive and develop scientific socialism
even further. In order to achieve the four modernizations (modernization of
China's industry, agriculture, national defense and science and technology),
and to vigorously develop the productive forces, it is imperative to carry
out reforms in both the relations of production and the superstructure. We
are convinced that, by readjusting those links in the relations of produc-
tion that are not in correspondence with the growth of the productive
forces and those links in the superstructure that are not in correspondence
with the requirements of the economic base, always provided that we adhere
to the four cardinal principles (these principles refer to adherence to the
socialist road, the people's democratic dictatorship--i.e., the dictatorship
of the proletariat--the leadership of the Communist Party, and Marxism-
Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought), and the basic system of socialism, we
will surely succeed in building socialism with distinctive Chinese charac-
teristics and bring out to the full the immense creativeness latent in our
hundreds of millions of people, so that the superiority of the socialist
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system will display itself still better. This, of course, cannot be
accomplished in a short time, for it involves a process of constant improve-
ment and progress. But it can be predicted that through one or two decades
of hard struggle China, as an economically and culturally backward develop-
ing country with a population of 1 billion, will make historic progress in
its modernization program under the socialist system and that this will
bring a new major victory for Marxism in the East at the turn of the
century.
Marx was not only a great revolutionary, but also a great scientist. One
extremely important factor which enabled him to found scientific communism
was that he mastered all that was best in the culture and knowledge of man-
kind and integrated it firmly with the workers' movement. As Lenin said,
the ideological sources of Marxism lay in its critical assimilation of
three main trends of thought prevailing in the three most advanced coun-
tries of the time, that is, German classical philosophy, English classical
political economy and French utopian socialism.3 And Marx' theory was
able to "win the hearts and minds of millions and tens of millions of the
most revolutionary class" because he based himself "on the firm foundation
of the human knowledge acquired under capitalism," knowledge which enriched
his conclusions.4 Marx' knowledge was extensive and expert.. Rarely in the
history of the world has any person achieved such breadth of scope and
accomplished so much. Marx won the admiration of many honest scientists,
thinkers and historians. The apologists of the old world tried to write him
off or branded his theory as being thoroughly "outdated," but facts proved
that this was mere wishful thinking. Generation after generation of
scholars, young people, activists in the workers' movement, national revolu-
tionaries and other people seeking change have continued to draw inexhausti-
ble strength and confidence from Marxism. This would be inconceivable in
regard to any flash-in-the-pan "new trend of thought." Marx' diligence and
tenacity were amazing, and particularly in his rigorous approach to
scholarly research, he set a worthy example for all scientific workers.
Often persecuted by reactionary governments, he had to live abroad in exile,
drifting from place to place. But his fighting will became even firmer and
he never ceased to strive on along the road of revolution and science. All
his life he was plagued by poverty, somewhat alleviated only with help from
Engels. Four of his children died either in infancy or childhood and he
could not even afford a small coffin for one daughter.5 He dedicated all
his energies and wisdom and the choicest fruits of his scientific research
to the working class and to all mankind. This spirit of utter devotion can
move one to song and tears. Marx was indeed a working-class intellectual
par excellence, and the most outstanding intellectual representing the
wisdom and conscience of mankind.
In speaking here of the importance of the mastery of humanity's cultural
heritage to the success of Marx' great cause and of Marx as the most out-
standing intellectual, I would like to take the opportunity to discuss at
some length the correct attitude our party, the Chinese working class and
other working people should take toward-knowledge and intellectuals.
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Since our party's founding more than 60 years ago, its main efforts have
gone into leading the people of all our nationalities in the performance
of two major tasks. One is the overthrow of the old world, the three big
mountains (imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism), and the other
is the building of a new world, or the building of a powerful, modern
socialist China. Knowledge and intellectuals were necessary for overthrow-
ing the old world, and they are even more necessary for building the new.
Furthermore, in a country like China with its low economic and cultural
level, whether or not we are able to master modern science and culture is
a pivotal factor determining success or failure in our construction. But
it is precisely with regard to this key question that our understanding
has been inadequate for so long and that we have for years been obsessed
with erroneous ideas that depart from Marxism. Today, the correct attitude
toward knowledge and intellectuals has therefore become a vital and urgent
question, in the integration of the universal truth of Marxism with the
concrete practice of China's socialist modernization.
It must be affirmed that our party has, had marked successes in handling the
question of intellectuals. The founding and development of our party can-
not be separated from the efforts of revolutionary intellectuals. In 1939,
when the war of resistance against Japan (1937-45) entered a more arduous
stage, a decision was taken, drafted by Comrade Mao Zedong, on "recruiting
large numbers of intellectuals," and in this well-known document he made an
incisive Marxist analysis of the characteristics of the intellectuals in
semicolonial and semifeudal China and laid down the policy of recruiting
them boldly. History has already proved the importance of this strategic
decision to the winning of victories in the anti-Japanese war, in the war
of liberation (1946-49) and in our cause after the founding of the People's
Republic. In the early years after the birth of new China, our party was,
for some time, rather prudent and basically correct in its attitude toward
intellectuals. In 1956, that is, after the basic completion of the social-
ist transformation of the private ownership of the means of production,
Comrade Zhou Enlai, in his report at a meeting on the question of intellec-
tuals convened on the proposal of Comrade Mao Zedong, systematically
expounded the relationship between this question and the acceleration of
socialist construction. For the first time, he pointed out in explicit
terms that the overwhelming majority of China's intellectuals had already
become a part of the working class, and issued the great call to "scale the
heights of science." Under the party's leadership, progress without parallel
in Chinese history has been made in science, education and culture. There
have been major achievements in science and technology, including such
sophisticated items as the atomic bomb, the hydrogen bomb, rocket carriers
and man-made satellites. Not only have we recruited large numbers of intel-
lectuals who were. educated before liberation, but we have trained an even
larger number of new intellectuals, among whom more than 4 million have
received higher education. They constitute the backbone of our intellectual
force today, and this contingent is growing steadily. They, along with the
workers and peasants'with whom they have identified themselves, are people
we should rely on, for in their joint efforts lies our hope of attaining,
by the end of this century, the advanced world levels of the 1970's and
1980's in science and technology.
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But it should be noted that, from the late 1950's'onward, we gradually
swerved away from the correct orientation and committed serious "left"
errors in our attitude toward knowledge and intellectuals. The principal
manifestations were contempt for knowledge and specialized studies, the
stigmatizing as "bourgeois" of large numbers of intellectuals who loved
their socialist motherland and had made important contributions to social-
ist construction, and discrimination and attacks against them. The result
was that many intellectuals felt depressed and not a few were wronged. At
the same time, efforts to carry out the strategic task of making our cadres
at large better educated and professionally more competent were slackened
or abandoned altogether. During the "Cultural Revolution" these tendencies
reached heights of absurdity and whoever attached importance to knowledge
and intellectuals was described as going "revisionist" and creating the
danger of "subjugating the party and nation." Thus, the effects of the
"left" mistakes concerning knowledge and intellectuals became an important
component of the catastrophic upheaval of that distressing decade.
Since the smashing of the Jiang Qing counterrevolutionary clique in 1976,
and especially since the 3d Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Com-
mittee, there has been a marked turn for the better. In 1978, Comrade Deng
Xiaoping further expounded the thesis that the overwhelming majority of the
intellectuals have become a part of the working class, thus bringing the
party's policy toward intellectuals back onto the right track of Marxism,
as is now generally known. At the same time, however, it must be noted
that the grave consequences of the prolonged "left" mistakes are far from
being liquidated either in our ideology and public opinion or in various
political, economic and organizational measures adopted. The working class
and other working people throughout the country, all party comrades and
primarily the leading cadres at different levels must gain a profound
understanding of the Marxist concept on this major issue, so as to meet
the urgent needs of vigorous expansion in our cause of socialist moderniza-
tion. Time is as precious as gold to us. It is high time we solved this
question thoroughly and without any hesitation.
What lessons should we draw from the past twists and turns on the question
of knowledge and intellectuals? And what truly revolutionary and scien-
tific Marxist concepts should we establish in the light of them?
/First, it is imperative that we fight against the incorrect tendency of
isolating Marxism from the cultural achievements of mankind and setting it
against the latter, that we establish the correct concept of valuing scien-
tific and general knowledge and that we mobilize the whole party and the
whole people to strive to acquire knowledge of modern science and culture./
Where does Marxism come from? Fundamentally, it is no doubt the product of
contradictions and of the workers' movements in capitalist society; at the
same time it is the result of absorbing human knowledge accumulated over
several thousand years. If the cultural achievements of mankind had not
been applied to the scientific discovery of the laws governing historical
{
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development and to the definition of the fundamental and long-term interests
of, the working class, the movement of the workers could only have given rise
to various kinds of theories such as 'syndicalism,, economism, reformism and
anarchism, but not'to-Marxism. Moreover, our comrades have all learned
through personal experience that to study Marxism one has to have a certain
amount of knowledge. Simple class feeling can make one receptive to some
isolated Marxist concepts, but is inadequate for a systematic understanding
and good command of Marxism. In order to build a new world under the guid-
ance of Marxism, apply and develop it in'the great cause of China's mod-
ernization and use it to educate all the builders of socialism, it is all
the more necessary that we make sustained efforts to critically assimilate
new knowledge and the new achievements of modern science and culture.
"Knowledge is power."6 It should be part of the fine qualities of us com-
munists and all builders of the future,to value knowledge, embrace it,
thirst after it and turn it into immense power for building a new world.\
A fallacy that prevailed during the "Cultural Revolution" was that "the more
learned one becomes, the more reactionary he will be." It must be pointed
out explicitly that human knowledge, that is, the knowledge of natural
sciences, of production and technology, of history and geography, of differ-
ent branches of modern social sciences studied under the guidance of Marxism
and of operation and management as a reflection of the laws governing mass
social production, as well as various other kinds of knowledge embodying the
progress of mankind and the demands of progressive classes in history--all
such knowledge contains truths accumulated by mankind in the long process of
understanding and changing the world, is the product of its hard labor and
can be a weapon to its fight for freedom. The more knowledge people acquire,
the better able they will be to know the world and to change it. This is a
sign of social progress. Even certain things which played an important role
in history but are imbued with prejudices of the reactionary classes, should
be critically analyzed by Marxists and whatever is useful in them can be
assimilated. What really matters is the standpoint, views and methods
people apply in regard to knowledge. In general, it is always better to
have more knowledge than less, and it definitely must not be said that "the
more learned one becomes, the more reactionary he will be."
When we state that Marxism is based on the fine cultural achievements of
mankind, we naturally include natural sciences in that basis. It is par-
ticularly important to make this point clear today when we are concen-
trating on socialist modernization. Here I would like to stress the impor-
tance Marx and Engels attached to natural sciences, by delving deeply into
the theories of mathematics and natural sciences and into a wealth of tech-
nical material and by applying the results of natural sciences, especially
of the three great discoveries.? In the 19th century, they substantiated
the theory that things in nature develop through interconnection and mutual
transformation, thereby laying a solid foundation in natural sciences for
the Marxist world outlook. Two works by Engels, "Dialectics of Nature" and
"Anti-Duehring," give concentrated expression to the results of their
studies in this area. Particularly noteworthy is Marx' famous thesis that
science constitutes a productive force and has always played the role of a
revolutionary motive force of history. Taking his stand with the proletariat
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which represents the advanced productive forces, Marx highly valued the role
of science and technology in propelling social development and vividly
referred to certain epoch-making achievements in these fields as "revolu-
tionists of a rather more dangerous character"8 than some famous revolu-
tionary persons of his time. When the techniques for generating electricity
were still in an embryonic stage, he perceived discerningly that mankind
would soon see the dawn of the epoch of electricity. When the world's first
experimental electric transmission line was set up, Marx and Engels gave it
the closest attention, foreseeing that in the future electricity would
reach remote corners of the world and "become the most powerful lever in
eliminating antithesis between town and country."9 So Marx, while fighting
for the overthrow of the old world, already paid great heed to developments
in science and technology. Should not we, who today shoulder the great
historical responsibility of building a new China, give science and tech-
nology still greater attention and all the more conscientiously study and
master modern science and culture? There can be no doubt that once our
hundreds of millions of working people, who have become masters of their
country, are armed with Marxism and modern science and culture, they will
become more powerful and dynamic productive forces and be able to perform
world-shaking deeds.
/Second, it is imperative that we oppose the erroneous tendency of sepa-
rating intellectuals from the working class, counterposing them to the
workers and regarding them as an "alien force," that we confirm the correct
concept of intellectuals as a part of the working class and that we
strengthen a hundredfold the unity between workers and peasants on the one
hand and intellectuals on the other./
We must respect and rely on the intellectuals as much as we respect and
rely on the workers and peasants in the great cause of socialist construc-
tion. In the Marxist view, intellectuals do not constitute an independent
class. Before the founding of new China, ours was a semicolonial and semi-
feudal society. Although intellectuals were for the most part linked to
the bourgeoisie or the petty bourgeoisie in their social status, the over-
whelming majority of them were at the same time oppressed by imperialism and
the Kuomintang reactionaries. Therefore a number joined the revolution
directly, others sympathized with it and a great many cherished anti-
imperialist and patriotic aspirations. Those reactionary intellectuals
who did obdurately range themselves against the revolutionary people and
served the ruling classes were of course a force alien to the proletariat.
But they were very few in number. When our socialist society was built,
the conditions of China's intellectuals underwent a fundamental change.
The overwhelming majority of them coming over from the old society have
been working energetically for socialism and have been educated in Marxism
and tempered and tested over a long period since the founding of new China.
Moreover, over 90 percent of our intellectuals today have been trained in
the new society and, in their overwhelming majority, come from worker,
peasant or intellectual families. Although major differences in their form
of labor still exist between intellectuals on the one hand and workers and
peasants on the other, this does not keep us from stating that in terms of
their means of living and whom they serve, on the whole the intellectuals
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in our country have definitely become a part of the working class. This
change is a great achievement in the history of the Chinese revolution and
in our socialist development.
In the new period of socialist modernization, intellectuals have a particu-
larly important role to play. In the Marxist view and judging from the
latest trend in the development of science and industry, essential differ-
ences between manual and mental labor will gradually diminish and even-
tually disappear, and there will be successive generations of new people in
whom manual labor is integrated with mental labor on an ever higher level.
But this is a long-range perspective and will not happen right away. In
other words, for a fairly long time to come scientific and cultural
knowledge and mental work will continue to be relatively concentrated among
one section of the population--the intellectuals. Therefore, the intellec-
tuals, who constitute the trained mental power indispensable to socialist
modernization, are a valuable asset to our country. In our society we must
create an atmosphere in which knowledge and intellectuals are valued, and
we must take effective steps to improve their working and living conditions.
This should be taken as "capital construction," and of the most essential
kind at that. We should make it clear to our people at large that, gen-
erally speaking, in socialist society it is an essential condition for
mental labor that people who engage in it, or who have attained a rela-
tively high scientific and educational level, should receive more material
remuneration than those who do manual labor or whose scientific and educa-
tional level is relatively low and, more 'importantly, that this will greatly
contribute to the expansion of production and to the improvement of the
material and cultural life of the people as a whole. At the same time, this
will serve to encourage the working class and all other working people to
become more educated and the children of workers and peasants to seek educa-
tion and study science, thus swelling the ranks of the intellectuals. It is
obvious that this policy conforms to the law of the development of socialism
and to the immediate and long-term interests of the working class and the
whole people and that it is a Marxist policy. Conversely, the previous
erroneous "left" policy ran counter to, the principles of Marxism and
socialism.
When we speak of respect for knowledge and intellectuals, in no sense do we
mean that manual labor and manual workers may be disdained or belittled.
This is absolutely impermissible in our socialist society. Any type of
labor, manual or mental, is great and glorious in itself so long as it bene-
fits society. In China, more than 90 percent of our working people are
engaged in different kinds of manual labor. In the final analysis, all
our wealth is jointly produced by both manual and mental labor. Naturally,
with progress in modernization, the fruits of mental labor will take on
ever increasing prominence and the proportion of mental workers in the
working population will gradually grow. However, this.process will itself
involve a steady improvement in the. educational and scientific level of
manual workers, a steady increase of the elements of mental labor in manual
labor and a switch from manual to mental work by group after group of
people according to society's needs. At the same time, the productive
activities pursued with creativeness by the masses of workers and peasants,
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particularly skilled veteran workers as well as dexterous artisans in the
rural areas, constitute an inexhaustible source of scientific and techno-
logical progress. Any idea or practice that isolates mental from manual
labor and pits one against the other is utterly wrong. In socialist
society, intellectuals who hold workers and peasants in contempt and are
divorced from them will find it hard to play their due role and will be
corrected by society. It should furthermore be borne in mind that however
high the technological level in production that may be reached in the
future, the elements of manual labor can never be completely eliminated
from man's labor, much less can technical and artistic handwork or heavy
manual labor under special circumstances and in emergencies ever disappear.
In this sense there will still be manual labor even ten thousand years from
now. All in all, the distinction between manual and mental labor in social-
ist society is nothing more than a division of work and a difference in
degree of complexity. In no way is one superior and noble and the other
inferior and ignoble. I am making this point because now, as we lay empha-
sis on valuing knowledge and intellectuals, we must guard against the wrong
tendency of disdaining and belittling manual labor and also because in
China, with its thousands of years of feudal history, the outworn concept
of social hierarchy expressed in the saying "those who do mental labor rule
and those who do manual labor are ruled" is deeply entrenched. Engels
referred to the pernicious habit of disdaining labor as a poisoned sting
left behind by the slave system.10 We must at all times keep a watchful
eye on this poisoned sting and see to its removal.
In saying that knowledge and intellectuals should be valued, we certainly
do not imply that intellectuals are perfect in every way, or that they have
no weaknesses to overcome. Our workers, peasants and intellectuals have
each come, under specific historical circumstances, to possess certain
strengths and weaknesses. Whether ideologically, professionally or in work
performance, our intelligentsia taken as a whole cannot as yet fully meet
the new and higher demands set by our socialist modernization drive. In
the new period, we hope that while taking Marx and Engels, the most out-
standing intellectuals, as shining models, inheriting and carrying forward
the glorious traditions of revolutionary Chinese intellectuals since the
May 4th Movement of 1919 and the December 9th Movement of 1935, and learning
from the spirit of dedication of comrades like Peng Jiamu, Luan Fu, Jiang
Zhuying, Luo Jianfu, Lei Yushun and Sun Yefang, our intellectuals will study
Marxism more diligently, apply themselves more assiduously to the pursuit of
new knowledge, go among the masses and dig into practical work, consciously
strengthen their sense of organization and discipline and strive to trans-
form their own subjective world and become both Red and expert in the
course of the great struggle to transform the objective world. The experi-
ence of all advanced intellectuals has testified to the fact that none of
them, not even highly prestigious specialists and scholars, can rest on
their laurels in face of the rapid scientific and social progress, but
have constantly to raise their ideological and professional levels. It has
also proved that only when intellectuals identify themselves more closely
with the workers and peasants and wholeheartedly serve the:.people can they
put their talents to the best use, bring their initiative into full play and
truly turn their knowledge into a mighty force for enhancing the people's
well-being.
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Ninety years ago, Engels wrote a letter to the International Congress of
Socialist Students, expressing the ardent hope that from among them "the
intellectual proletariat" would emerge. Taking their place in the same
ranks as the manual workers, he added, such intellectuals could play a great
role in revolution alongside their brothers, the manual workers. l Today,
under the new historical conditions in China, Engels' hope is being
realized on a countrywide scale. However, some people now say that "while
number one has been shunted aside, number nine is soaring to the skies."
[Here "number one" refers to the workers whereas "number nine" refers to
the intellectuals because, during the "Cultural Revolution," they were
placed ninth, after the landlords, the rich peasants, the counterrevolu-
tionaries, the bad elements, the rightists, the renegates, the special
agents, and the inveterate capitalist roaders.] It is not right to
describe workers as "number one" and intellectuals as "number nine." As
for the assertion that "number nine" is soaring to the skies, this is not
true. We maintain that under the leadership of the party, workers, peasants
and intellectuals join hand's and work shoulder to shoulder so that they can
all soar to the skies, the new skies of socialist modernization.
/Third, it is imperative that we oppose the erroneous tendency of divorcing
party leadership from expert leadership or setting the former against the
latter, that we implant the correct concept that all leading personnel must
strive to be experts and that we ensure that our cadres become better
educated and more professionally competent on the basis of becoming more
revolutionary-minded./
That our socialist modernization needs knowledge and needs intellectuals
is a guiding idea which must be embodied, first and foremost, in the
reform of the leading organs at all levels and of all. departments, so that
our cadres will be younger, better educated and more professionally compe-
tent on the basis of becoming more revolutionary-minded. People may ask:
Didn't we win our revolutionary wars even though the educational level of
our cadres wasn't very high? True, due to the protracted rural guerrilla
fighting, our party cadres lacked knowledge of modern science and culture
during the war years. Even in those circumstances, however, our party
laid great stress on the planned training of large numbers of cadres and
troops. We ran many kinds of cadre schools in Yanan and other base areas
and in the liberated areas. We studied diligently and conscientiously and
acquired much knowledge about military, social, economic and cultural
affairs urgently needed in the revolutionary wars, the building of revolu-
tionary. base areas and work in the Kuomintang areas. Thousands upon
thousands of fine leaders were brought up at different levels from among
the cadres of both worker-peasant and intellectual origin, and many of them
became specialists in military affairs, agrarian reform, united front work,
financial and economic affairs, propaganda, cultural and educational work,
and so on. And the comrades forming the leading core of the Central Com-
mittee of the party that directed our entire struggle and the large numbers
of outstanding party leaders all attained a high educational and theoretical
level. They studied questions concerning the Chinese revolution comprehen-
sively and profoundly and summed up the laws of development of Chinese
society, thus evolving the set of systematic and scientific theories on the
13
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Chinese revolution known as Mao Zedong Thought. History shows that, far
from being uneducated and ignorant, the cadres of our party were intelli-
gent and capable people who had a good command of the knowledge urgently
needed in the revolutionary struggles of the time and were, therefore,
able to vanquish the enemy. The situation today is radically different
from that in the past. Socialist modernization, being an entirely new
task, is much broader in scale and far more complex in nature, involving
many more branches of learning than the tasks we faced before. Military
work, too, has become more specialized. Under these circumstances, to rely
merely on past knowledge and experience is far from adequate. It is a
pressing necessity of the current struggle to master modern science, tech-
nology and culture. Is it not, then, entirely correct, necessary and in
conformity with the requirements of historical development for us now to
set the higher demands of training better educated and more professionally
competent cadres?
Party leadership involves political, ideological and organizational leader-
ship, leadership in matters of principle and policy, and inspection and
supervision of work in various fields. It cannot--and should not--monopo-
lize specific professional, technical and administrative work. This being
so, what need is there for the party's leading cadres at all levels to
become more professionally competent and turn into experts? In our social-
ist modernization drive today, correct political leadership means adhering
to the four cardinal principles in all fields, integrating the party's
principles and policies with the concrete practice and professional work
of the given locality or department and mobilizing and organizing the
positive factors in various quarters so as to effectively fulfill the tasks
advanced by the party. To achieve this, it is imperative not only that the
leading party cadres at all levels master the basics of general and scien-
tific knowledge, but also that they acquire the professional knowledge
needed by the particular work they lead, understand the actual conditions
in the relevant professions and grasp their specific laws. Otherwise,
their leadership will be nothing more than armchair politics, pointless
.and fruitless effort, or arbitrary direction. Our modernization program
would get nowhere if we were to rely on such leadership. To lead, there-
fore, one must strive to be expert.
From the viewpoint of the theory of knowledge, we must correctly understand
and handle the relationship between the general and the particular if we are
properly to integrate the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete prac-
tice of our socialist modernization and properly integrate the party's
principles and policies with concrete professional work in various fields.
Marxism holds that'the general and the particular are interrelated and that
the former resides ip the latter. Only with a deep understanding of the
particular will it be possible to have a better grasp of the general; and
an understanding of the general shopld.,be followed up with a continuous
deepening of knowledge of the particular. Comrade Mao Zedong regarded this
dialectical relationship between the general and the particular as part of
the quintessence of the dialectical materialist theory of knowledge and as
an important principle of method of thinking and of leadership which we
must always bear in mind. It will be very dangerous if our leading comrades
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rest content with generalized "political leadership" without trying to gain
a deep understanding of the particular and to acquire the professional
knowledge necessary for effective leadership, or if they simply refuse to
do so, thinking that it is perfectly normal for laymen to lead experts.
For to act thus will be to negate outright the necessity for greater pro-
fessional competence and to obstruct both the steady deepening of knowledge
and the continuous improvement of leadership.
In fact, the question of making our party and government functionaries
better educated and more professionally competent was raised as early as in
the 1950's. At the first session of the party's Eighth National Congress
held in September 1956, Comrade Mao Zedong stressed that, reflecting the
course of development of the Chinese revolution, the composition of the
Central Committee would change later to include many engineers and scien-
tists. However, this question, along with that of lowering the average age
of leading cadres at various levels, was, not solved in good time. With the
present organizational reform as a good start, the Central Committee of the
party is determined to solve all these questions gradually in conjunction
with one another and through the succession of new cadres to the old. They
will be solved by the following methods: Large numbers of old cadres. are
mobilized to leave their posts and help and guide young and middle-aged
cadres and pass on experience to them; many intellectuals who possess both
political integrity and professional competence and are in the prime of
life, are recruited into the leading bodies at all levels; and middle-aged
cadres fairly experienced in leadership and having a fairly high level of
political understanding but little schooling are warmly encouraged and
helped to improve their level of education. These are strategic measures
of far-reaching import for ensuring the incessant vigorous development of
our party's cause.
As we commemorate the centenary of the death of Karl Marx, we are happy to
see that, in China today, the central task of the communist movement
initiated by Marx and Engels has become the struggle to bring about a new
situation in all fields of socialist modernization and to turn the country
into a modern, powerful socialist state with a high level of democracy and
civilization. This grand and arduous task is one of the greatest creative
undertakings in the history not only og the east but also of all mankind.
Some of the major problems involved in accomplishing this task have never
before been encountered by the world's Marxists and hence there is no
precedent for solving them. This demands that we Chinese communists and
cadres in all fields learn anew in the unfolding great struggle.
On the eve of the founding of our People's Republic, our party put forward
the slogan of learning anew. In his article, "On the People's Democratic
Dictatorship," Comrade Mao Zedong said emphatically: "The serious task of
economic construction lies before us. We shall soon put aside some of the
things we know well and be compelled to do things we don't know well. This
means difficulties." He added: "We must overcome difficulties, we must
learn what we do not know. We must learn to do economic work from all who
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know how, no matter who they are." Facts have proved that our learning anew
in that period ensured the success of our party's shift from fighting a
revolutionary war to seizing state power and ensured the establishment and
consolidation of our People's Republic. It is regrettable that we did not
persevere in such study and, particularly, that we did not put before our
leading cadres at all levels the specific task of systematically learning
modern science and culture, and especially of acquiring varied professional
knowledge--even less did we adopt any long-term and effective measures for
that purpose. Faced with the task of socialist modernization in this new
historical period, our party has now once again put forward the slogan of
learning anew. This effort to learn anew--the second following the founding
of our People's Republic--has two equally important aspects: One is to
acquire a better grasp of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong"Thought on which
the theory guiding our thinking and all our actions is based, and the other
is to acquire a better grasp of various branches of social and natural
sciences, modern technology and scientific operation and management. This
effort, which will run through the whole process of China's four moderniza-
tions, must be organized in a planned and systematic way and persisted in
for a long time. Together with the planned vigorous expansion of all our
educational and cultural undertakings, it will mean a great, nationwide
march toward the heights of science, involving hundreds of millions of
workers, peasants and intellectuals in all fields of endeavor.
At this commemorative meeting, as we put,forward the task of learning anew
we think naturally of the brilliant example Marx and Engels set for us in
this respect. For more effective research in political economy, Marx, in
his forties, reviewed his knowledge of algebra and learned calculus, an
advanced branch of mathematics in his time; in addition, he made a point
of attending lectures on technology. In the course of establishing the
dialectical materialist outlook on nature, Engels determinedly embarked on
a systematic study of mathematics and natural sciences when already past 50.
Recalling this experience, Engels said: "I went through as complete as
possible a 'moulting,' as Liebig calls it, in mathematics and natural
sciences."12 What was meant by this "moulting"? The famous 19th century
German chemist Justus Liebig had said: "Chemistry is moving forward at an
incredible speed, and chemists, wishing to keep up with it, are in a state
of constant moulting. The first feathers, unsuitable for flight, fall out
of the wings, but new ones grow in their stead and flight becomes more
powerful and easier."13 This refers to the precious enterprising spirit of
scientists who strive constantly to update their knowledge, never cease in
their research effort and dare to destroy the old and establish the new.
Why can't the effort being made by us Chinese communists and people to
learn anew be compared to moulting? China, with its 1 billion people, is
like a giant roc whose "wings obscure the sky like clouds."14 Once the old
feathers unsuitable for flight fall out of the wings and new ones grow in
their stead in the process of learning anew, our country is bound to soar
to the skies more powerfully and with greater ease, flying over one peak
after another toward its goal.
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A full century has elapsed since the death of Marx. For more than a hundred
years, Marx' theory, at first a "specter" haunting Europe, has grown into a
mighty force that has profoundly changed world history and will continue to
do so. Since its birth, Marxism has been a compass guiding the world pro-
letarians in their united struggle and guiding the oppressed nations of the
world in their struggle for political and economic independence. At
present, although there are many obstacles on their road of advance, both
these forces are a thousand times more powerful than in Marx' time. Marxism
also enables us scientifically to pinpoint the source of war and find the
only way to eliminate it. Although today mankind is still faced with the
menace of a massive war of aggression, we,are convinced that through the
common struggle of the working class, the oppressed nations and the whole
progressive mankind,, light will eventually triumph over darkness.
The great ideal of communism advanced by Marx and Engels inspires the world
proletariat and all oppressed peoples and nations in their struggle for
emancipation and inspires all progressive mankind in its struggle for a
bright future. These struggles are converging into a worldwide, irresistible
historical tide propelling social progress.
Marxism is immortal. Let the radiance of the great truth of Marxism for-
ever light our way forward!
1. See F. Engels' letter to Wilhelm Liebknecht of 14 March 1883, in
Wilhelm Liebknecht, "Karl Marx--Biographical Memoirs," Eng. ed.,
Charles H. Kerr and Company Cooperative, Chicago, 1901, p 46.
2. See F. Engels, "Closing Speech Delivered at the International Congress
of Socialist Workers," in "Karl Marx and Frederich Engels, Collected
Works," German ed., Dietz Verlag, Berlin, 1963, Vol 22, p 408.
3. V. I. Lenin, "The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism,"
"Collected Works," Eng. ed., Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow,
1963, Vol 19, pp 23-24.
4. V. I. Lenin, "The Tasks of the Youth Leagues," "Collected Works," Eng.
ed., Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1966, Vol 31, p 286.
5. See Jenny Marx, "Short Sketch of an Eventful Life," "Reminiscences of
Marx and Engels," Eng. ed., FLPH, Moscow.
6. See Francis Bacon, "Advancement of Learning and Novum Organum," The
Colonial Press, 1900, p 315.
7. These refer to the discovery of the law of the conservation and conver-
sion of energy, the discovery of the cell and the discovery of the
evolution of living beings.
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8. See Marx, "Speech at the Anniversary of the People's Paper," in "Karl
Marx and Frederich Engels, Collected Works," Eng. ed., Progress Pub-
lishers, Moscow, 1980, Vol 14, p 655.
9. See "Engels to E. Bernstein, 27 February-1 March 1883," in "Karl Marx
and Frederich Engels, Collected Works," German ed., Dietz Verlag,
Berlin, 1967, Vol 35, p 445.
10. See F. Engels, "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the
State," Eng. ed., Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1978, p 181.
11. See Engels, "To the International Congress-of Socialist Students," in
"Karl Marx and Frederich Engels, Collected Works," German ed., Dietz
Verlag, Berlin, 1963, Vol 22, p 415.
12. F. Engels, "Prefaces to the Three Editions," "Anti-Duehring," Eng. ed.,
Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1969, pp 15-16.
13. Ibid., note 12, p 449.
14. See Chapter I, "Transcendental Bliss," "Chuang Tzu," edited by H. A.
Giles, Eng. ed., Kelly and Walsh Ltd., Shanghai, 1926, p 1.
CSO: 4004/28
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MARXISM AND CHINA'S REALITIES
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 6, 16 Mar 83 pp 14-22
[Article by Hu Sheng [5170 4939]]
[Text] Over 60 years ago, Marxism spread to China and rapidly integrated
itself.with the workers' movement and other revolutionary movements. Armed
with Marxism, the CPC appeared in its infancy with a new vitality unprece-
dented in China's ideological and political arenas.
At the time, the Chinese revolutionary movement for a bourgeois republic.
was at an impasse, with slim chances for success. Marxism and Russia's
October Revolution broadened the horizons of the Chinese people (particu-
larly the advanced elements among them), who gradually came to the conclu-
sion that the future of the Chinese nation, like that of the oppressed
people throughout the world, lay in socialism and communism.
The earliest Marxists in China believed that the country's problems could be
solved simply by copying the methods of socialist revolution adopted by the
Western proletariat. But before long, they came to see from their own
experience that this would get them nowhere. In the giant Asian country of
China, then already reduced to semicolonialism and semifeudalism, the
target of the revolution was not the ordinary bourgeoisie, but imperialism,
feudalism and the comprador-bureaucrat bourgeoisie which ganged up with
them. Moreover, the country's political and economic development was
uneven and its capitalism undeveloped. While the ranks of the proletariat
were not large, the peasantry had inexhaustible strength that could be
called into action.. Apart from the urban petty bourgeoisie which could be
its ally, the proletariat could also find allies in other classes and social
strata, particularly in its struggle against imperialism. Under these
social and historical conditions, China had to take a unique road. in
developing the revolutionary movement up until it entered the stage of
socialism.
In the past, China's Marxists had to oppose the view that there had been,
since ancient time, no class and class struggle in China, that the develop-
ment of modern Chinese society could not be explained from the viewpoint of
class, struggle and that the Marxist theories of historical materialism,
class struggle and socialism were inapplicable to China due to its "special"
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conditions. By making scientific analysis of China's realities, Marxists
have proven that this theory of China being a special case is untenable.
However, China had its own characteristics in his historical development,
which people must notice when reviewing Chinese history from the Marxist
viewpoint and with Marxist methods. In order to rid the Chinese nation
of the tragedy of semicolonialism and semifeudalism, China's Marxists have,
through their own experience, deeply understood China's national condi-
tions, independently applied the universal truth of Marxism and found a
revolutionary road suited to China's. conditions.
The national conditions of a country are not unchangeable. Revolution
means transforming the old world into a new one. But people can achieve
nothing by merely devising a plan for a new world in their minds. They
must proceed from the realities of the old world and carry out the trans-
formation according to the objective law of world development. This is the
difference between the scientific socialism of Marxism and various kinds of
utopian socialism. This also applies to national conditions. Only by
proceeding from national conditions can people transform such backward
conditions.
Generally speaking, Marxists of all countries must apply universal truth
proceeding from their own national conditions. Specifically speaking, this
is extremely important in China. The history of the development of Marxism
in China is the history of the integration of the universal truth of Marxism
and the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution. Only by properly
handling this integration can Marxism take root in China, guide China's
revolutionary cause correctly and thoroughly refute the fallacies that
Marxism is inapplicable to China. On the contrary, if Marxism cannot be
integrated with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, it will
become an empty talk, and make mistakes in guiding the Chinese revolution.
In 1930, Comrade Mao Zedong put forward the slogan of "oppose book worship."
This was the first time our party consciously called for opposing the ten-
dency of treating Marxism.as a dogma. "Book worship" meant deviation from
China's realities, and copying isolated conclusions of Marxism and certain
foreign patterns and formulae, that is, dogmatism. To oppose book worship,
Comrade Mao Zedong said: "The victory of the Chinese revolution depends on
the understanding of the Chinese situation by Chinese comrades." ("Collected
Writings of Mao Zedong on Rural Investigations")
The Marxist theory is neither a dogma, nor an immutable formula, but a guide
to action. This is a view which Marx and Engels emphasized again and again.
The young Marx once said: "A correct theory must be integrated with con-
crete conditions and be explained and elaborated according to current
conditions." ("Complete Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 27, p 433) Comrade
Mao Zedong's view on pppgsing book worship absolutely corresponded with the
basic spirit of Marxism.
Because China was a semicolonial, semifeudal country, its revolution had to
proceed in two steps: first achieving victory in the democratic revolution
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and then starting the socialist. revolution. China had special conditions,
among other things, that the proletariat should, and could, win leadership
over the democratic revolution; that the proletariat-led democratic revolu-
tion should take armed struggle as the major form supplemented with other
forms of struggle; that the proletariat must establish rural revolutionary
base areas, develop the peasant revolutionary war under its leadership and
encircle the cities from the rural areas; and that the proletariat could
form a united front with the bourgeoisie under certain conditions.
After experiencing many hardships and difficulties (including setbacks and
defeats), the Chinese communists have completely mastered the law of the
development of the Chinese revolution. The "left" adventurist mistake
which inflicted heavy losses to the Chinese revolution in the early 1930's
was due to the lack of understanding of the characteristics of China's
semifeudal, semicolonial society, the concrete situation of all classes in
China and particularly the fact that the Chinese bourgeoisie was divided
into national bourgeoisie and comprador-bureaucrat bourgeoisie, and the
characteristics of revolutionary wars led by the proletariat and with the
peasants as the main force. They failed to use Marxism to guide the
Chinese revolution proceeding from China's concrete conditions, but copied
patterns and formulae from "books," These "formulae" may be of universal
significance, but became useless due to their failure to integrate them-
selves with concrete conditions. Some formulae have been drawn from the
experience of other countries and are therefore inapplicable to China.
The Chinese communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their representative,
eliminated the "left" dogmatist mistakes of the 1930's both in practice and
theory. Comrade Mao Zedong raised the criticism of dogmatism to a high
plane of the theory of knowledge in the field of philosophy, saying: "Our
dogmatists are lazy-bones. They refuse to undertake any painstaking study
of concrete things, they regard general truths as emerging out of the'void,
they turn them into purely abstract unfathomable formulae...." and "The
dogmatists... do not understand that different methods should be used to
resolve different contradictions; on the contrary, they invariably adopt
what they imagine to be an unalterable formula and arbitrarily apply it
everywhere, which only causes setbacks to the revolution or makes a sorry
mess of what was originally well done." ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong,"
Vol 1, pp 285-286).
The victory of the new democratic revolution in 1949 fully indicated that
the road the Chinese people had taken under the leadership of the CPC was
correct, and it was a Marxist road suited to China's special conditions and
filled with Chinese characteristics.
Since the victory in 1949, China realized the transformation from new
democracy to socialism in a short time, which once again showed the great
strength of the integration of the universal truth of Marxism and the con-
crete practice of the Chinese revolution. China's semifeudal, semicolonial
era came to an end due to the victory of 1949, but we gave full considera-
tion to many characteristics left over by the semifeudal and semicolonial
society in taking,methods and steps to carry out socialist transformation
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of the private ownership of the means of production. Hence, the transforma-
tion was, on the whole, carried out smoothly.
Then, after the basic completion of socialist transformation of the private
ownership of means of production, that is, after the basic establishment of
the socialist system, did China still have its own characteristics in taking
the road of social development? Apart from other factors, do the charac-
teristics, if any, have anything to do with the fact that China was once a
semifeudal, semicolonial society? This is an important problem concerning
the success and failure of socialism in China.
Marx and Engels scientifically expounded that capitalist society will
collapse due to its insoluble contradictions, and be replaced by socialist
society. The historical mission of the proletariat is to gain ruling power
through revolution and replace capitalist private ownership with socialist
public ownership so as to realize the transition to the elimination of all
classes and a classless society. Marx and Engels once predicted that the
proletarian revolution would achieve victory in countries where capitalism
has been fully developed, and in several countries simultaneously. They
briefly pointed out the measures which the proletariat of the "most
advanced countries" may take after seizing political power, and held that
"these measures will vary from country to country." ("Selected Works of
Marx and Engels," Vol 1, p 272) They did not say much about the specific
structure of the future society and its process of development, merely
giving exposition of principle. For example, when commenting on a debate
in a German magazine on the distribution of products in future society in
1890, Engels said:
"It is strange that no one has thought that the form of distribution must,
after all, depend on the quantity of products which can be distributed. As
this quantity changes along with the progress of production and social
organizations, the form of distribution will change as well. But, to all
those who have taken part in the debate, 'socialist society' is not chang-
ing and progressing continuously, but'something stable and immutable. Hence,
it must have an immutable form of distribution. However, a reasonable
debate can only be: 1) Try to find future forms of distribution which have
been taken; and 2) try to find the general orientation for further develop-
ment." ("Selected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 37, p 432)
In 1875, Marx, in his "Critique of the Gotha Program," exhaustively elabo-
rated the principles of distribution in socialist society, but he pre-
sented his argument within the scope of the "reasonable debate" of which
Engels spoke. Moreover, he discussed this problem aimed at the Lassalle
faction's empty talk, such as "fairly distribute what has been gained
through labor" and "what is gained through labor should belong 100 percent
to all social members on the basis of equal rights." To refute this empty
talk, Marx, apart from raising some points, further pointed out that in a
socialist society, it was necessary to practice the principle of exchange
of equal labor in the distribution of means of consumption, that is, the
"same principle which was current in equal exchanges of commodities,"
therefore, "equal rights here are still bourgeois rights according to
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principles, which are unequal for different laborers." These may be con-
sidered "defects," but "they are unavoidable in the first stage of a com-
munist society." What we can learn from this exposition is that we abso-
lutely cannot consider problems from the abstract concept of equality and
impartiality. It was impossible for Marx to specifically answer the ques-
tion of the form of distribution in future society. As we have entered the
socialist. society, we, of course, cannot seek a proposal for resolving
practical problems directly from Marx' exposition regardless of specific
social and historical conditions, neither can we misunderstand Marx'
remarks as something to call on us to eliminate these "defects" immediately.
What Marx emphasized was that we cannot proceed from the abstract principle
of impartiality. If we think that as there is impartiality, we must impose
"restriction" to seek "impartiality"; this is not Marx' view, but
Lassalle's.
All in all, Marx and Engels could only envisage some principles of socialist
society and hold theoretical discussions on the starting point of future
society and the general direction of further development. This applied to
the problem of distribution as well as other ones. The specific law of
development of socialist society in different countries has had to be probed
since his death through practice.
After the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin attempted to
"carry out socialist principles in.production and distribution in a direct,
simple and rapid way." But his attempt suffered failure. Instead, they
tried other means suited to the characteristics of Russia's social and
historical conditions to achieve this purpose. Lenin also gave considera-
tion to the fact that all nations go toward socialism and take different
roads with their own characteristics. In addition, he gave consideration to
the fact that colonies and backward countries might skip the capitalist
stage and develop to socialism through a revolutionary stage. He believed
that even after the "establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat in
the whole world, the differences between all nations and countries will
remain for a quite long time," It is, therefore, necessary, "while applying
basic principles of communism the soviet political power and the dictator-
ship of the proletariat) to various nations and countries, to correctly
change these principles in specifics so as to adapt them to the situation."
("Complete Works of Lenin," Vol 31, pp 73-74)
All these expositions of Lenin merit our serious attention. It is true that
all nations and countries go toward socialism. But the "great harmony" is
in the remote future. Not only do various countries have their own charac-
teristics in taking socialist road, but also the process of development to
socialist society may be the same or different in various countries, or the
same on major issues but different on minor issues. For this reason, the
problem of the integration of the universal truth of Marxism and the con-
crete practice of each specific country still exists in socialist construc-
tion. In a socialist country like. China which has been developed from a
semicolonial, semifeudal society through a special process, people must pay
special attention to this.
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In human history, a socialist society does not come out of the void. It is
established on the basis of civilizations created by humanity down through
the ages, particularly the civilization created by capitalism which is at a
level far higher than any previous one. Capitalism created tremendous pro-
ductive forces and, in correspondence with these forces, developed full-
fledged education, culture, science and technology, economic management and
so on. All these furnish the "building blocks" needed for socialism once
the political power of a developed capitalist country falls into the hands
of the proletariat and the socialist public ownership of the means of pro-
duction is established. However, China was totally different. Its socialist
society grew out of a semicolonial, semifeudal one where elements of capi-
talism existed but were undeveloped. It has never experienced the stage of
developed capitalism, and the "legacy" it inherited from the old society
contained virtually nothing of what a capitalist society could have offered.
For that reason, in building socialism China will inevitably encounter many
special problems and difficulties in the economic, cultural and political
arenas. We should therefore conscientiously solve these problems within
the framework of the socialist system and learn everything necessary for
socialism, which other nations have learned under the capitalist system.
In taking our own socialist road, we should take this reality into consid-
eration, just as we proceeded from the reality of China as a semicolonial,
semifeudal society in carrying out the democratic revolution.
Some people may ask, since China has encountered special difficulties in
socialist construction, why did China not experience a capitalist society
before developing to socialist society? This question deserves to be
answered. After China became a semicolonial, semifeudal society from a
feudal society, if no victory of the new democratic revolution under the
leadership of the proletariat had been won, China would have remained a
semicolonial, semifeudal country or would have become a colony or
dependency of an imperialist country. ,China's social and historical con-
ditions (including international conditions) made it impossible for China
to become an independent capitalist country. From the viewpoint of histori-
cal materialism, it is necessary first of all to point out that even if it
were a "shortcut" to socialism through capitalism, China was in no position
to take this road, and anyway, it is by no means a shortcut! -To the broad
masses of laboring people, it is a long and painful road to experience
capitalism. Since the proletariat and laboring people can directly achieve
the victory of socialism through new democracy under special historical
conditions, how can they fear the difficulties :.,f socialist construction
so much that they choose the long and painful road?
As China did not develop into a capitalist. society from a feudal society,
in modern history, China not only became a backward country, but also was
oppressed and bullied by all imperialist countries in the world. This is a
historical tragedy. But after experiencing a semicolonial, semifeudal
society for more than 100 years, it was historical luck that the Chinese
people could, under the guidance of Marxism, take the socialist road despite
many special difficulties they met and will meet in this road.
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The absence of the stage of full-grown capitalism in our history has caused
some special difficulties but, on the other hand, it has also had some
advantages. Tempered in the long years of national suffering and revolu-
tionary struggle, the Chinese people have fostered the outstanding tradi-
tion of unity and hard struggle under the banner of patriotism.
The Chinese working class has rarely been influenced by social reformism
and "labor aristocracy," which appeared in capitalist countries but has
never appeared in our country. In the long years of revolutionary wars,
the land reform and the cooperative movement, our peasants established a
close alliance with the working class and had great confidence in the
leadership of the Communist Party. Our intellectuals from the old society
are, generally speaking, imbued with strong patriotism although they
received bourgeois education. Their experiences in the old and new
societies have convinced them that only the socialist system can make China
propserous and powerful. After the socialist transformation of private
ownership of the means of. production was undertaken by the peaceful "buying
out" policy, the majority of the Chinese bourgeoisie consciously remolded
themselves into laborers earning a living by their own sweat and were willing
to contribute their experiences and abilities to the socialist motherland.
Similar changes took place among other members of the upper strata of the
old society.
These and other phenomena provide favorable conditions for building social-
ism. Fully utilizing these conditions will, of course, help overcome our
weaknesses; but if we pay no attention to overcoming our weaknesses, we will
not be able to fully tap our strengths.
Generally speaking, building socialism is an arduous task. Since entering
socialism, China has had to face problems which will not happen to developed
capitalist countries when they change over to socialist society (these
countries, in turn, will have problems we do not have). What are our
.special problems? For example, the socialized production in our society as
a whole, especially the vast countryside, remains at a fairly low level and
the commodity economy is underdeveloped; there is still much illiteracy,
national education is not yet universal and our educational facilities are
scanty; our science and technology are backward and we have too few intel-
lectuals and even fewer highly qualified intellectuals; and we lack experi-
ence in running large-scale production and commerce, which sometimes results
in poor management.
Politically, the bourgeois democratic system has never appeared in China.
Based on the exploitation of labor by capital, bourgeois democracy and its
legal system are but a deception to the broad masses of laboring people.
While exposing the true nature of the bourgeois democratic system, Marxists
have all along pointed out that the replacement of the feudal system by the
capitalist system is a progress of important significance. in the history of
mankind. True, a socialist society cannot inherit all the "legacy" of the
political system of a capitalist society as it can the socialized mass
production and various cultural and educational institutions (the "legacies"
in these latter fields can be used almost instantly by a socialist society),
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but whether or not a nation has the experience of bourgeois democracy and
bourgeois legal system has a bearing on the building of socialist democracy.
We have no experience in this aspect. What we have is only a democratic
tradition established within a revolutionary army and revolutionary base
areas through protracted revolutionary struggle. This experience is, of
course, very valuable, but as far as the whole society is concerned, we must
proceed from clearing away the ruins of the superstructure of the feudal
system to build socialist democracy and the socialist legal system.
After the basic completion of the socialist transformation of the private
ownership of the means of production in China, the Eighth CPC Congress
pointed out in August 1956 that the main task of the Chinese people in the
future was to concentrate their efforts on developing social productive
forces, achieving national industrialization and gradually meeting the ever-
increasing material and cultural needs of the people. This policy was based
on the reality that a socialist system had already been established, but
social productive forces were still at a low level. When a country (except
for those most developed ones) changes from a capitalist society to a social-
ist society, its social productive forces may be backward as compared with
other countries. But it is not merely a comparison between China and
foreign countries that we say China's social productive forces are backward.
The existing social productive forces are inadequate to consolidate and
develop the socialist system which has already been established. This
situation is a result of China's special historical conditions. Generally
speaking, it is impossible for a socialist system to be sound and perfect
when it is newly established, and it is even less possible when social
productive forces are still at a low level. Therefore, while developing
social productive forces, we must continue to perfect socialist relations
of production and socialist superstructure in accordance with China's
national conditions. The Eighth CPC Congress did not comprehensively
elaborate on all problems, but it was correct in treating the development
of social productive forces as the central task.
The socialist system has indeed brought about an unprecedented growth in
China's social productive forces. In summing up the achievements of the 32
years since the establishment of the PRC, the "Resolution on Certain Questions.
in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the PRC," adopted by the
.CPC Central Committee in June 1981, pointed out: "We have scored signal
success in industrial construction and have gradually set up an independent
and fairly comprehensive industrial base and economic system." "The condi-
tions prevailing in agricultural production hav& undergone a remarkable
change, giving rise to big increases in production." "There has been a
substantial growth in urban and rural commerce and in foreign trade."
"Considerable progress has been made in education, science, culture, public
health and physical culture." All these things point to the fact that the
economic and cultural situation in China today has undergone tremendous
changes from what it was in the early postliberation days or when the
socialist transformation had just been completed. Although our socialist
construction has traversed a tortuous road and suffered many setbacks due
to "left" mistakes, our achievements are undeniable.
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The "left" mistakes committed by our party in socialist construction culmi-
nated in the launching of the "Cultural Revolution" which continued for a
long time and affected the overall situation. These, of course, were due
to complex social and historical factors which were profoundly analyzed and
expounded in the "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our
Party Since the Founding of the PRC." One of the major lessons that we must
draw from our "left" mistakes is that if one ignores China's actual condi-
tions and becomes dogmatic about certain "formulae" (which, more often than
not, are derived from one-sided interpretation of Marxism), then one cannot
correctly guide the revolution and socialist construction.
There are also many things we have to learn and a good deal of complicated
work we have to accomplish. All this will take a long time. We will commit
gross errors if we fail to take note of this and expect to quickly fulfill
the tasks of the socialist period and move on to communism, or even believe
that every problem can be solved by one or two mass movements.
The contradiction between the relations of production and the productive
forces and the contradiction between the superstructure and the economic
base still exist in a socialist society. This is unmistakably correct.
Bearing this factor in mind is of great significance to our investigation
into the laws of the development of socialist society. But this is, after
all, one of the general laws. If we fail to proceed from China's actual
conditions, we will never pinpoint what needs to be reformed in the super-
structure or the relations of production. If we undertake a "reform"
according.to such abstract concepts as "the bigger the size, the higher the
level of the public ownership,. the better," then inevitably we will see more
practices like everyone eating from the "same big pot" which hinders the
development of productive forces. The formula of "a revolution in which one
class overthrows the other" applies to a society in human history based on
class exploitation; using it in a socialist society which has abolished the
system of exploitation of man by man can only scuttle the socialist super-
structure and the relations of production.
"Socialism should fight the bourgeoisie" was regarded as the soul of the
so-called "continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the prole-
tariat." This formula neither distinguishes the period of transition to
socialism from the period in which the socialist system has been estab-
lished,. nor makes a specific analysis of things that could seemingly be
labelled bourgeois but even slaps this label on people indiscriminately--
we have all seen the disastrous results of abusing this label. It goes
without saying that during the socialist period it is necessary to combat
.decadent bourgeois forces which seek to undermine socialism. However, in
our socialist endeavors we should learn all useful things produced under
the capitalist system. Some of these (such as natural sciences and tech-
nology) have no class nature. Some (such as the management. system for
large-scale production) bear class hallmarks but should still be carefully
distinguished and analyzed so we can absorb and remold them; this is of
.special significance under China's historical conditions.
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In a capitalist society commodity production grows at a level higher than
any previous societies, but according to an assumption by Marx and Engels,
it will be liquidated in future societies. In China, however, commodity
production, rather than being fully developed, remains weak and small. If
we equate commodity production with capitalism regardless of China's
reality and if we regard the assumptions of the creators of Marxism as a
formula that can be applied arbitrarily, then the development of our social-
ist production will be impeded.
"Down with bourgeois reactionary academic authorities" is by no means a
Marxist slogan. Its mistake obviously lies in the fact that those who had
been overthrown and disgraced were not "bourgeois" authorities, just as
those who had been labelled as "capitalist roaders" were not capitalists.
But imagine, if there is an academic authority who adheres to the bourgeois
world outlook, how should the proletariat deal with him? It should, while
guarding against the adverse effects produced by his world outlook and
taking proper measures to help him remold his world outlook, seriously
learn from him his academic knowledge or critically absorb it. Since he is
an authority, why not learn from him? It is all right to launch revolu-
tionary mass movements to overthrow bourgeois reactionary rule, but under
no circumstances is it permissible or possible to use the same method to
overthrow "academic authorities." Giving consideration to the fact that
there are not too many intellectuals and academic authorities in China,
but too few of them, we think this slogan is absolutely preposterous.
The public ownership of the means of production, the principle of distribu-
tion "to each. according to his work" as well as the planned and proportionate
development of the national economy represent only the general laws of the
socialist system. If we rely solely on these general laws but fail to
integrate them with our concrete conditions, we will accomplish nothing.
If we design a "pure" and "perfect" socialism according to these laws and
become obsessed with such abstract concepts as "purity" and "perfectness,"
we can get nothing but guiding principles that are estranged from reality
and spoil things that could have been done well. During the "Cultural
Revolution," China's situation was wrongly assessed and it was believed that
bourgeois reactionary forces were ubiquitous and, worse still, the wrong
conclusion was made that the status quo could be changed and a "purest"
and "most perfect" socialist society established with one or two thrusts of
the mass struggle. All these, needless to say, are utopian ideas which
bring nothing good but only harm.
In 1877, Marx mentioned in a letter that the German party was influenced by
some people, saying:
"These people want to bring about a 'more complete and ideal' change to
socialism, that is, to replace its foundation of materialism with modern
myth of a goddess of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity."
Therefore, he sighed with regret:
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"For several decades, we have expended much labor and efforts to rid the
German working class of utopian socialism and an illusion about the struc-
ture of future societies so as to make them superior to French and British
working class in theory (also in practice). But now these things are once
again becoming prevalent." ("Complete Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 34,
p 281)
The "left" mistakes we are talking about here also worship some "goddesses."
"Bourgeois goddesses of liberty, equality and fraternity" are contrary to
"socialist goddesses" of "revolution," "purity" and ".impartiality" in form.
But they all make socialism lose its foundation of materialism in fact.
Comrade Mao Zedong made monumental achievements in his decade-long efforts
to base the Chinese revolution theoretically on materialism. Mao Zedong
Thought, which applies universal Marxist principles to the concrete histori-
cal conditions of China and which sums up the creative experiences of the
practice of the Chinese revolution, is the crystallization of the Chinese
communists' collective wisdom, but Comrade Mao played an exceptionally
important role in its formation. Long periods of practice showed that he
was a great Marxist ready at all times to break new ground. In his later
years, however, he depended too heavily on practical experiences gained in
the past protracted revolutionary struggle while paying inadequate atten-
tion to conscientiously studying the new situation and new problems arising
after China had entered the socialist period. As a result, he gradually
departed from the principle of combining theory with practice. Because he
had deviated from the principle that he had always advocated, when he was
blazing a new trail for socialism, he was actually bound hand and foot by a
number of abstract concepts and formulae which were divorced from reality.
This serves as a profound lesson for future generations.
To correct the "left" mistakes and lead China's socialist construction on
to a correct road, it is necessary to restore the tradition of Mao Zedong
Thought, that is, the tradition of combining universal Marxist principles
with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution. It is necessary to
resolutely safeguard the materialist foundation of socialism and at the
same time dare to creatively use Marxism to solve China's problems.
This was precisely what. the party did at the 3d Plenary Session of the 11th
CPC Central Committee held in December 1978. Since then, the party has in
its guidelines gradually fulfilled the arduous task of correcting past
wrongs in all fields of endeavor; party and state principles and policies
have scored remarkable achievements, bringing about an unprecedentedly
excellent situation in the economic, political and cultural fields.
The party and the state have resolutely shifted the emphasis of their work
to socialist economic construction, which is not merely a return to the
principles and policies laid down at the Eighth CPC Congress in 1956. Our
experiences over the past 30-odd years have brought home to us that in
socialist revolution and construction, we should, rather than being dogmatic
about what is called universal formulae, use the Marxist stand, viewpoint
and method to understand the reality of China and that we should formulate
our principles, policies and measures on this basis.
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It is necessary to refer to the experiences of other countries, but on no
account should we simply pattern ourselves after them. Both in understand-
ing and practice of socialist construction, our party has become far more
mature than at any time since the founding of the PRC.
China's current conditions are vastly different from what they were in 1956,
the year the socialist system was established. The socialist system has
endured severe tests in the last 30 years and has struck solid roots on
the vast territory of China. Our socialist construction has been crowned
with tremendous successes, and the mental outlook of the workers, peasants
and intellectuals has undergone enormous changes. These are China's basic
conditions, which we should bear in mind in all our endeavors.
Both the achievements we have made and the changes that have taken place in
the course of building socialism deserve our earnest analysis and study, but
due attention should also be paid to our difficulties and weaknesses result-
ing from the fact that our socialist society evolved from a semicolonial,
semifeudal society and that China has not undergone the period of full-
fledged capitalism. There are other factors that should not be neglected in
studying the concrete conditions of China: the huge population in sharp
contrast to the limited arable land, rich natural resources most of which
have still to be tapped, and so on.
In the rural areas, we have adopted various forms of the responsibility
system which bases remuneration on output and contract production tasks
along specialized lines. This has vigorously developed sideline occupations
and other diverse economic undertaking and has expanded commodity production
and exchange. In the economic fields, we have carried out structural reforms
centered on improving economic results, and in particular, we have restruc-
tured the management system. We have made education and science our major
strategic focuses in developing the economy and are striving to maximize the
role of intellectuals and to train as many new intellectuals as possible.
We have strengthened socialist democracy and improved the socialist legal
system. On the basis of self-reliance, we have developed economic coopera-
tion and technical exchanges with foreign countries. All these and other
efforts are conducive to developing the current socialist system and our
achievements in socialist construction; they also help us to overcome weak-
nesses that resulted from the absence of a capitalist period in China's
history..
We can certainly overcome the special difficulties caused by social and
historical conditions and build socialism in a distinctive Chinese way
provided that we can comprehensively study and understand our nation's
specific conditions and, in the light of these conditions, use the universal
Marxist principles to construct our socialist material and spiritual civili-
zation.
Some 30-odd years have passed since China broke away from a semifeudal,
semicolonial society. We have now considerably raised our economic and
cultural level, but are still backward as compared with those developed
capitalist countries. Should we feel discouraged and think that the
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socialist system and Marxism are ineffective? Of course not. Those who are
discouraged absolutely do not know that we are destined by historical con-
ditions to complete under the socialist system the process of economic and
cultural development which other countries completed under the capitalist
system. Thirty years are but a short time in history. Western capitalist
countries have reached the present level of modernization after making
efforts for 200-300 years. Relying on the integration of Marxism and China's
reality and socialist system, we are not only able to complete the process
without the cost of the vast number of laboring people being oppressed under
the system of exploitation, but also we are able, on the whole, to complete
it in a shorter time. This is what we are now endeavoring to complete, and
provided we make great efforts, we can complete it.
Since the Third Plenary Session we have scientifically summed up both posi-
tive and negative experiences over the past 30-odd years and have taken on
a road in socialist construction suited to China's conditions. We are now
fighting for the creation of a new situation in all fields of socialist
modernization in accordance with the program put forward by the 12th CPC
Congress. This road must, of course, be further enriched and perfected in
practice. In the democratic revolution, we took a Marxist road with our
own characteristics according to China's concrete historical conditions,
further developing Marxism. Likewise, we will also take a Marxist road
with our own characteristics in socialist construction, thus successfully
building socialism in a distinctive Chinese way.
CSO: 4004/28
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MARXISM AND CHINA'S SOCIALIST ECONOMIC CONSTRUCTION
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 6, 16 Mar 83 pp 23-29
[Article by You Lin [2589 2651]]
[Text] A full century has elapsed since the death of Marx. It has been a
century in which Marxist theory and the revolutionary cause, founded and
initiated by Marx, was constantly developing and achieving victories. The
wide dissemination of Marxism, which has reaped rich fruits in China, is a
major event of its development. Under the guidance of Marxism, the Chinese
people, led by the CPC, overthrew the three big mountains that had lain like
a dead weight on their backs. This was followed by the basic accomplishment
of socialist transformation of the private ownership of the means of produc-
tion, and economic construction carried out on a grand scale. All these are
victories of Marxism achieved in China.
Marxism provides us with the basic viewpoint and method in observing and
handling problems. In order to give full play to the role of Marxism in
revolution and construction, it is essential to combine it with the actual
condition of our country. As Comrade Deng Xiaoping said: "To integrate
the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete realities of China, blaze
a path of our own, and build socialism with Chinese characteristics--this
is the basic conclusion we have reached in summing up long, historical
experience." During the early period of socialist construction, it was
because we lacked experience that we mechanically copied and applied foreign
experience and models which did not suit the condition of China. In April
1956, Comrade Mao Zedong issued his speech entitled "On the 10 Great Rela-
tionships," in which he initially summed up the experience of building
socialism in China, and put forward the. task of seeking a way of building
socialism which suited the national condition of our country. However, this
task was not appropriately accomplished. The various important meetings
held since the 3d Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, par-
ticularly the 6th Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee and the
12th CPC Congress, made a basic conclusion. on this matter. In carrying,out
socialist economic construction in the days to come, this conclusion will
be greatly significant in enabling us to successfully surge ahead on the
path guided by Marxism.
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Economic Construction Should Be Placed on the Chief Position
According to Marxist viewpoint, in the final analysis, the political revolu-
tion of transforming the superstructure and the social revolution of trans-
forming the relations of production carried out by the people are for the
emancipation of production forces. Therefore, after the proletariat has
gained political power and basically accomplished the task of suppressing
the resistance of exploiters, it should place the development of production
in an important position. In the "Communist Manifesto," Marx and Engels
clearly pointed out: After seizing political power, "the proletariat will
use its political supremacy to wrest, by degrees, all capital from the
bourgeoisie; to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the
state, that is, of the proletariat organized as the ruling class; and to
increase all productive forces as rapidly as possible." ("Collected Works
of Marx and Engels," Vol 4, p 489) Only in this way can the material basis
needed for consolidating the new system be more solid; can the goods and
materials needed for improving the standard of living of the broad masses of
laborers be more abundant; can the high labor productivity needed for tri-
umphing over the old system be raised to a higher level; and the strength of
national defense needed for resisting the aggression and subversion of
foreign enemies be more strong. Precisely for this reason, Lenin drew the
following thesis: "After its seizure of political power, the principal and
fundamental interest of the proletariat lies in securing an enormous increase
in the productive forces of society and in the output of manufactured goods."
("Collected Works of Lenin," Vol 33, p 159)
At first, after the founding of the PRC, our party appropriately handled the
relationship between economic construction and the work in other aspects.
Even under the condition of confronting the formidable task of resisting the
aggression of the U.S. imperialists and checking runaway inflation caused
by the KMT reactionaries, our party kept on practicing the policy of
resisting, stabilizing and reconstructing at the same time, and carrying out
necessary economic construction, which not only assured victory in the war
to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, and market stabilization, but also
resumed and developed industrial and agricultural production. After the
basic accomplishment of socialist transformation of the private ownership
of the means of production, our party convened its eighth congress. The
congress made a scientific analysis on the main contradiction of China's
society and pointed out that the chief contradiction within the country was
no longer the contradiction between the working class and the bourgeoisie,
but that between the. people's demand for a rapid development of economy and
culture, and the situation of the present economy and culture not being able
to satisfy the demands of the people. Therefore, the main task for the
people of the whole country was no longer to destroy the old economic
system, but to cencentrate their efforts on developing social productive
forces, realizing national industrialization and gradually satisfying the
daily increasing material and cultural needs of the people.
Although class struggle still existed at that time and it was necessary to
strengthen the people's democratic dictatorship, the fundamental task was
to protect and develop productive forces under the new relations. of
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production. After the congress, our party led the people of all nationali-
ties throughout the country in carrying out all-round economic construction
on a grand scale, and made great achievements. It was a pity that we did
not consistently carry it forward. Over a long period of time, class
struggle was stressed to an inappropriate extent and we launched too many
sometimes erroneous political movements. Up to the period of the "Great
Cultural Revolution," we completely deviated from the correct line of the
Eighth CPC Congress, "took class struggle as the key link" and instigated
the so-called "continued revolution under the dictatorship of the prole-
tariat" of one class overthrowing the other, which seriously undermined
production. The 3d Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, which
was of great historical significance, started to comprehensively and
earnestly correct the mistakes of the "left" deviation committed during and
before the "Great Cultural Revolution" and formulated the strategic policy
of shifting the focus of work on to building socialist modernization. The
"Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the
Founding of the PRC" adopted by the 6th Plenary Session of the 11th CPC
Central Committee further stipulated that this focus should never be
altered except when large-scale foreign intrusion takes place in the future
(even if at that time it would be necessary to carry out possible economic
construction needed for the wars). It was pointed out in the 12th CPC
Congress that, of the various tasks for bringing about an all-round new
situation, the most important one was to push forward the socialist mod-
ernization of China's economy. The 12th CPC Congress also formulated the
strategic objective, priorities and steps for the economic construction of
our country, as well as a series of correct principles in a spirit of
realism. This is a practical guarantee for all our work to be closely
centered on the focus of economic construction in the future.
Theoretically, one of the important reasons why we repeatedly committed
mistakes by deviating from this focus is that we neglected the decisive role
of the productive forces. We emphasized that relations of production could
energetically give impetus to the development of productive forces. This
is certainly correct. But we were not actually aware that only when rela-
tions of production suit the condition of productive forces can it play such
a role. If relations of production deviate from the condition of productive
forces, it will not be able to promote the development of productive forces.
On the contrary, it will hamper their development. We have emphasized that
socialist public ownership has opened up wide prospects for the development
of productive forces, and this is also undoubtedly correct. However, in
spite of reality, we regarded the greater range and extent of public owner-
ship as better, and spent great efforts in frequently changing the relations
of production that were just set up, which hindered them from giving full
play to the role of promoting productive forces in a relatively stable
situation. As a result, not only was the normal development of productive
forces affected, but also the relations of production and even certain
aspects and links of the superstructure which were not suited to the
developing demands of productive forces. Fundamentally speaking, the pur-
pose for carrying out various reforms, including the reform of leadership
bodies and the economic structure, is that relations of production and the
superstructure will further conform to the current situation of productive
forces and give full play to its role in promoting productive forces.
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Consideration Must Be Given to Both Economic Construction and People's
Livelihood
Under a socialist system, it is necessary and also possible to give consid-
eration to both economic construction and the people's livelihood, this is
determined by the nature of the socialist system. In explaining the situa-
tion when society has occupied the entire means of production, Engels said:
"Through social production, it is not only possible to assure an ample and
daily abundant material life for all social members, but also to ensure that
their physical power and intelligence be fully and freely applied and
developed." ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 20, p 307) At this
stage, the purpose of production and all other economic activities should be
to satisfy the material and cultural demands of social members, so that
production, construction and other economic activities are carried out for
this purpose. Provided economic construction develops, it will have further
favorable factors to satisfy the people's demands; in turn, the more people
are satisfied, the higher their labor enthusiasm will be and the more they
will offer to society for carrying out economic construction. It is certain
that there is also a contradiction between the two. This is mainly indi-
cated in the distribution of national income, which is used more for con-
struction but less for satisfying the people's demands and.-vice versa.
Therefore, we must seek a proportion which relatively confirms to objective
laws, and appropriately handle the relations between.the two.
For the past 30 years or so, we did not properly handle the relations
between economic construction and people's livelihood on many occasions.
We seldom laid particular stress on improving the people's livelihood, but
one-sidedly emphasized the development of economic construction. One of
the important reasons why we committed such mistakes is that we separated
economic construction from the people's livelihood and intended to do con-
struction well first, and then to improve the people's livelihood. Now, it
is quite obvious that such an idea was wrong. We forgot that constantly
improving the people's livelihood was the necessary condition for encourag-
ing their labor enthusiasm. If we let the people "tighten their belts"
and "struggle hard," how then can their enthusiasm be maintained? There-
fore, the correct way should be to gradually improve the people's livelihood
while we ensure the gradual expansion of the scale of state construction.
Long ago, our party defined this as an important principle. In 1956, Com-
rade Mao Zedong criticized the method of giving consideration only to
economic construction and not to the people's livelihood. However, due to
the increasing development of the "leftist" guiding ideology, which per-
sisted in seeking "large scale" and "high speed," we did not adhere to the
correct principle, but went astray. It was not until the 3d Plenary Session
of the 11th CPC Central Committee that the correct principle was restored.
While correcting the mistake of neglecting the improvement of people's
livelihood, we also paid attention to preventing another erroneous trend,
that is, the method of infringing upon necessary construction to seek
improvement of livelihood. By consuming all the national income without
retaining any accumulation and grudgingly maintaining production at its
former level, it may seem that the people's livelihood is markedly improved
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in a given year, but it would be difficult to maintain such a state in the
next or following few years.
What is the basic principle for handling the relationship between economic
construction and improving people's livelihood? It is as Comrade Chen Yun
pointed out: "First, feed the people and second, build the country," which
in concrete words would be: "Only when it is assured that we have enough to
eat can the state have the strength to carry out construction. Therefore,
we cannot be fed too badly or too well. If we are fed too much, we will
have no strength to carry out construction." In order to give considera-
tion to both economic construction and people's livelihood, we must follow
Comrade Zhou Enlai's instruction, made in his report "On the Proposals for
the Second Five-Year Plan for Development of the National Economy" at the
Eighth CPC Congress, that we must "appropriately arrange the relations
between accumulation and consumption in the national income and gradually
improve the people's livelihood while we ensure the gradual expansion of
the scale of state construction."
Give Priority to the Development of Heavy Industry and Coordinatedly Develop
Agriculture, Light and Heavy Industry
From the very beginning, heavy industry has been clearly affirmed as the
core of economic construction in China. This is not only the objective
demand of economic development, but also conforms to the Marxist principle
of reproduction. As everyone knows, China was a semicolonial and semi-
feudal country in the past. Its economy was rather backward due to the
destruction caused by long periods of war. The main indication of our
backward economy was the extreme weakness of heavy industry, the rather
low output of iron, steel, coal and generated energy, and the incapability
of manufacturing many important products, such as airplanes, trucks, trac-
tors and so on. This situation has been fundamentally changed after 30-odd
years of construction. We have set up an independent and rather integrated
industrial system, and the industrial fixed assets of 1980 have increased
by 2,600 percent over 1952.. Supported by heavy industry, there has been
a considerable development in light industry and the production condition
of rural areas has markedly changed and its production level has been highly
raised. If we had not regarded heavy industry as the core of economic
construction, we could not have equipped light industry and agriculture with
advanced technology and scored great achievements in such a short period of
time.
Does giving priority to the development of industry conform to the Marxist
principle of reproduction? When Lenin expounded Marx' theory on attaining
the conditions of expansion of reproduction, according to the relevant
expositions of Marx, he put technical progress into formulas and drew con-
clusions by analyzing the scheme in detail. He pointed out: "We thus see
that growth in the production of means of production as means of production
is the most rapid, then comes the production of means of production as means
of consumption, and the slowest rate of growth is in the production of means
of consumption." ("Collected Works of Lenin," Vol 1, p 71) Under the con-
dition of technical progress, it is an inexorable law of expansion of
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reproduction to give priority increase to the production of means of produc-
tion. It is precisely because we have conscientiously applied this law that
we gave priority to the development of heavy industry.
How then can we explain the phenomenon of serious imbalance in the rela-
tions of proportion between the two departments which occurred on several
occasions in the economy of China? We should say that the emergence of such
a phenomenon is not because we have persisted in the principle of giving
priority increase to the production of means of production as said by some
comrades, but because, under the guidance.of the "leftist" principle, we
isolated this principle, which separated it from another principle, that is,
the coordinated development of the two departments. According to the law of
simple reproduction revealed by Marx, the sum of the variable capital and
surplus value in department I must be equal to the constant capital in
department II, which is indicated as I (v + m) = IIc in formula. Under the
condition of expansion of reproduction, this can also not be ignored. Marx
pointed out that the condition for realizing the expansion of reproduction
is: The variable capital plus surplus value in department I should be
greater than the constant capital in department II, which is indicated as
I (v + m) > IIc in the formula. However, we cannot look on this issue from
a metaphysical point of view, as if v + m in department I can be willfully
enlarged over c in department II. Our party has a clear understanding
.toward this matter. Early in 1956, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "The
emphasis in our country's construction is on heavy industry. The production
of the means of production must be given priority, that's settled. But it
definitely does not follow that the production of the means of subsistence,
especially grain, can be neglected. Without enough food and other daily
necessities, it would be impossible to provide for the workers in the first
place, and then what sense would it make to talk about developing heavy
industry? Therefore, the relationship between heavy industry on the one
hand and light industry and agriculture on the other must be properly
handled." ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong," Vol 5, p 268) And in 1957 he
further said: "It must be affirmed that heavy industry is the core of
China's economic construction. At the same time, full attention must be
paid to the development of agriculture and light industry." (ibid., p 400)
Later on, he also pointed out that agriculture should be the basis of the
national economy and the national economic plan should be arranged in the
sequence agriculture, light industry and heavy industry. Our party also
clearly pointed out that agriculture has great binding force on the scale
of economic construction. Fundamentally speaking, the developing speed of
industry and the entire national economy depends on the developing speed of
agriculture. However, these viewpoints, which conformed to Marxist theory
of reproduction, were not implemented all along, because we one-sidedly
emphasized the development of heavy industry for a long time, which conse-
quently caused our agriculture and light industry to be relatively backward.
We should say that it is no easy thing to maintain the coordinated develop-
ment of two departments and also to maintain the priority increase of the
production of means of production. But historical facts have proved that,
provided we integrate the two and do not lay stress on either aspect, it
can be achieved. through making a well-conceived plan and conducting work with
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meticulous care. During the First Five-Year Plan, while persisting in
giving priority to the development of heavy industry, we also correspond-
ingly developed agriculture and light industry. Within the 5 years, the
annual increasing speed of the total output value of industry and agricul-
ture was at an average of 10.9 percent, of which the annual increasing
speed of the total output value of heavy industry was at an average of
25.4 percent, agriculture 4.5 percent and light industry 12.9 percent. The
development of agriculture, light industry and heavy industry was basically
well-coordinated. In the early 1960's and through readjustment after the
3d Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the fact that the
national economy of our country was again moving on the normal developing
track has also proved this point. All this shows that under the condition
of practicing planned economy on the basis of public ownership, it is pos-
sible to consciously follow the law of giving priority to the increase of
production of the means of production and to ensure that the means of pro-
duction demanded by the two departments can be obtained in due course, so,
as to'successfully carry out the expansion of reproduction; and at the same
time, consciously ensure that the production of means of consumption will be
suited to the development of the production of means of production according
to the law of coordinated development of the two departments, and that it
will play the role of giving impetus to the development of the production
of means of production.
Correctly Handle the Relationship Between Simple Reproduction and Expansion
of Reproduction
In order to build our country into a modernized and strong socialist country
and further satisfy the needs of the people, it is essential to constantly
expand the scale of production. For the sake of expanding the scale of
production, we must carry out capital construction. It is particularly true
in a country like ours, which had an extremely backward economy before lib-
eration and was rather weak in modern industry, that only by setting up more
modernized enterprises can we shift the entire national economy on to the
basis of advanced technology. However, we know from the reproduction
theory of Marx that simple reproduction must be the basis for the expansion
of reproduction. Marx pointed out: "The material basis of expansion of
reproduction is produced from within simple reproduction," therefore, "the
greater the total amount of capital, that has carried out its function
(surplus products are produced by carrying out its function), the greater
the amount of surplus: products transformed into latent money-capital."
("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 24, rp 560, 562) Only when
simple reproduction has normally developed can the scale of reproduction be
constantly expanded. If we tend to shrink simple reproduction for the pur-
pose of increasing new production capability, it would mean taking drastic
measures toward the next cycle of reproduction and destroying the basis for
its expansion. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the scale of pro-
duction is expanded on the basis of normal development of simple reproduc-
tion and not at the expense of simple reproduction. After summing up the
positive and negative experience of economic construction in China, Comrade
Chen Yun pointed out that we must adhere to making production first and
capital construction second. This is the basic principle for correctly
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handling the relationship between simple reproduction and expansion of repro-
duction.
Was this principle appropriately implemented in the 30-odd years of con-
struction and practice in China? No, it was not. We were frequently
impatient for success and in spite of the development of simple reproduc-
tion, we made great efforts in doing things on a large scale. We exces-
sively used fuel, power, raw material and so on in capital construction,
which not only squeezed out simple reproduction but also people's consump-
tion. Comrade Chen Yun pointed out: The scale of construction should be
suited to our national strength. It is obviously beyond our national
strength if we carry out capital construction by squeezing out the social
commodities which should be used in the compensation for the means of pro-
duction consumed and for maintaining the reproduction of manpower. As a
result, many enterprises could not start work due to the shortage of power
and raw materials and some enterprises were even in a state of stagnation or
half stagnation; on the other hand, the equipment of many enterprises was
not renewed for a long time because a large amount of the depreciation funds
were applied to capital construction, which seriously affected technical
progress. Due to the shortage of the necessary materials, the construction
period of those projects was prolonged and production capability was not
maintained, which caused great waste. In the imbalance of proportion which
occurred twice in the economy of China, there existed the problem of the
scale of capital construction being too large. Therefore, curtailing the
scale of capital construction should be the key for readjusting the economy.
Facts have evidently proved that whether we adhere to the principle of pro-
duction first and capital construction second, that is, ensure that the
scale of expansion of production is based on the normal development of
simple reproduction, has an important bearing on whether our socialist
economy can be successfully developed.
Take Achieving Better Economic Results as the Core
In order to attain the aim of socialist production and construction, it is
necessary for all our economic activities to be centered on achieving
better economic results. The planned development of the national economy
enables us to achieve this aim. As Comrade Zhao Zhiyang said: "We must
use the least possible labor and material consumption to produce more com-
modities that accord with social demands. This is precisely the demand of
the basic economic law of socialism and the demand of the planned and pro-
portional developmental law of the national economy. It is imperative for
a socialist country to appropriately study and constantly satisfy the needs
of society. This is also the purpose of our communists. We must firmly
establish this guiding ideology. In doing economic work, the whole party
should concentrate its efforts to economize labor and material consumption,
accord with social demands and strive to blaze a new trail in achieving
better economic results."
However, for a long time in both our production and construction, in spite
of economic results, there existed the phenomenon of seeking value and
output. Consequently, either the quality of the commodities produced was
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inferior or too many resources were consumed or the goods were unmarketable.
Whatever situation it may have been, it caused a great loss to the state and
people. It is now a common task for all departments, localities and enter-
prises to achieve better economic results and all their economic activities
should be centered on this common task. Because only when they have laid
stress on this aspect can the economic results of the whole country be
assured. However, better or worse economic results cannot be judged from a
certain department, locality or enterprise. For instance, if the situation
of the whole goes wrong, there will be losses and waste no matter how good
the economic result of the part is. In another example, the increase of
certain products may be beneficial to a part, but have contrary results to
the overall situation. Therefore, we must not only attach importance to the
economic results of the part, but also attach more importance to that of the
whole. In a capitalist society, it is inevitable for the enterprises of the
capitalists to concentrate on economic results. But, due to the production
of the entire society being in a state of anarchism, from the overall point
of view, the wastage is bound to be immense. Under the socialist system in
our country, through overall arrangements, we can fully arouse the initia-
tive of the state, departments, localities, enterprises and laborers, so
that the economic results of both the part and the whole are assured. It is
also necessary to correctly handle the relations between the results and
speed in achieving better economic results.
Under socialist economy, results and speed should be integrated, because the
speed we need is one that can bring about certain economic results. If the
commodity produced is of an inferior quality and a high price which does not
accord with social demands, high as the speed is, it is not only useless but
also harmful. We can only seek speed under the premise of achieving better
economic results, because this is the only practical speed. Certainly, this
does not mean that high speed is unnecessary. If, by working slowly, we can
only produce 100 products instead of 10,000, even if these are of high qual-
ity and low resource consumption and are marketable, we cannot achieve
better economic results.
Consciously Arrange the Various Relations of Proportion
No matter under whatever kind of social system, there exist certain rela-
tions of proportion between different production departments and various
links of reproduction. Only when such relation of proportion is maintained
can social production be normally carried out. Marx said: "In order to
obtain the amount of products which is suited t.; different amounts of
demands, it is necessary to put in various different kinds and certain
numbers of total amounts of social labor. This necessity of distributing
social labor according to certain proportions will not be abolished by a
certain form of social production. What will be changed is only the form
of its manifestation." ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 32,
p 541) Under the condition of capitalism, social production is dominated
by the state of anarchism. The relation of proportion demanded by social
production is realized through spontaneous adjustment of the law of value,
and at the expense of the proportion being constantly undermined, and
sometimes it is even forcibly restored by means of an economic crisis. The
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establishment of the public ownership of socialism eliminates the separation
of socialized productive forces in ownership, so that the people can con-
sciously arrange the various relations of proportion and ensure that the
national economy is developed in a planned and proportional way. Only by
developing the national economy in this way can the manpower and material
force of the entire society be effectively utilized, and achieve the best
economic results with the least consumption to satisfy the increasing needs
of material and cultural life of the people. As Marx said: Under the con-
dition of public production, "only when the society has rationally dis-
tributed its time can the production that accords with the total demand of
society be realized." ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," (Part One),
Vol 46, p 120)
The fundamental reason for committing mistakes on several occasions in our
economic construction in the past is that we were impatient for success and
blindly sought high speed. In order to further satisfy the needs of the
people and attain the objective of modernization, our economy could and
should develop at a relatively fast speed. However, such speed can be
achieved only from the even development of the national economy and not
from the imbalance of proportion. From the long-term point of view, the
fastest speed can only be achieved from proportional development. There is
a law in the development speed of economy, of which the most important point
is that development speed can be fast if the proportion is coordinated;. if
the proportion dislocates, it will be like running with one long leg and
one short leg--speed can never be achieved.
At the present stage of China, how can we consciously arrange the rela-
tions of proportion, so that the national economy will develop in a coordi-
nated way? Due to the uneven development of the productive forces and the
simultaneous existence of the various kinds of economic forms arising
therefrom, it is essential to practice the principle of the leading role of
the planned economy and the supplementary role of market regulation. Plan-
ned economy emerges on the basis of the public ownership of socialism and
from another important aspect it indicates the essence of socialism. It is
one of the basic systems in the socialist economy of our country that must
be unswervingly carried forward. However, we must not attempt to monopolize
everything according to state plan, as happened in the past, by neglecting
the actual condition. In his report to the 12th CPC Congress, Comrade Hu
Yaobang pointed out: "Planned production and circulation cover the main
body of our national economy. At the same time, the production and circu-
lation of some products are allowed to be regulated through the market with-
out being planned, that is, by letting the law of value spontaneously play
a regulatory role, within the limits circumscribed by the state's unified
plan, and in light of the specific conditions at different periods." Plans
of a mandatory and guidance nature must be enforced in regard to the planned
production and circulation in the national economy. But whether in manda-
tory planning or in guidance planning, we must constantly study changes in
market supply and demand and consciously make use of the law of value.
Such a system of planned management is a summary of years of construction
experience achieved in China and the conscious application and development
.of the law of social labor distributed according to certain proportions as
revealed by Marx.
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In the course of socialist economic construction, we have taken a tortuous
road, scored tremendous achievements and also suffered several setbacks.
Through practice and profound summarization of historical experience, the
Marxist level of our party has been highly raised and our understanding
toward the law of socialist construction in China has been further deepened.
This is one of the most basic conditions for the inevitable victory of the
cause of socialist modernization. This is a process of Marxism being fur-
ther integrated with the practice of our socialist economic construction
and Marxism being further developed in China.
CSO: 4004/28
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A GREAT CHANGE IN MARX' CONCEPTION OF HISTORY
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 6, 16 Mar 83 pp 30-36
[Article by Cheng Hui [4453 2547]; passages within slantlines published in
boldface]
[Text] The historical influence of an ideological system is determined by
the truth of this system. With the passage of time, some theories and con-
cepts, which though popular for a period of time, have lost their previous
radiance. However, Marxism has been developing with the passing time and
has been displaying increasingly the strength of its truth. Over the past
century since Marx fell into eternal sleep, Marxism, which has gone through
the boundaries of Europe and America, has been sweeping the world with the
force of a thunderbolt.
Marx'. contributions to humanity were immeasurable. He scored great achieve-
ments in many fields, especially in the establishment of the materialist
conception of history, which revealed the secrets of history and brought
about a fundamental change in the conception of human history.
Just as nature has its own secrets, so social history also has its own
secrets. All conceptions of history are answers to the secrets of history
provided by thinkers under certain historical conditions and proceeding from
their own stands. Marx drew back the heavy curtain covering the organism
of human society and provided mankind with a scientific answer which was
entirely different from all the previous conceptions of history.
Man understood the science of nature earlier than he understood the science
of society. When mankind.began to reveal the laws of certain natural
phenomena in order to satisfy the needs of production, it was still in the
dense fog of theology in understanding its own activities. The theological
conception of history, which explained the development of history and social
life by means of supernatural will and power, was in a. dominant position for
a relatively long time, and "deity" was the final answer to the secrets of
history. For example, Aurelius Augustinus advocated that God was not only
the creator of natural order but also of social order. Thomas Aquinas
declared that "without the help and enlightenment of higher divinities, man
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can never understand anything about him in an all-round way." ("Summa
Contra Gentiles") People did not realize the change in their recognition
of society from deity to man until the trend of humanitarianism appeared
during the "renaissance" period.
Although the trend of humanitarianism covered a vast range of fields includ-
ing philosophy, morality, literature and art and aesthetics, the core of it
was a kind of political ideal. The essence of humanitarian theories on
man's dignity, rights and value as well as on man's nature was to demand the
establishment of a society in conformity with the human nature of which they
conceived. It seemed to them that a good society, a good country and a good
system should conform with human nature. Both freedom and dignity advocated
by early humanitarians, such as Picot and Montaigne, and the theory of the
French Enlightenment School, which was based on natural rights and which
advocated that freedom, equality and universal love were man's nature, were
all opinions prepared for the birth of capitalist system, which has been
shaped and matured in feudal society. They believed that they were trying
to establish a new system in accordance. with human nature, but actually,
they conceived of a human nature in accordance with the system they were
pursuing. And both of these--the system they were pursuing and the human
nature as they understood--were all products of history.
Without doubt, bourgeois humanitarianism was a progressive ideological trend
in history. Over several hundred years, quite a number of erudite great
masters appeared in many fields of learning, who left us a lot of touching
and excellent works. By setting man against deities and advocating man as
.the center as well as the point of departure and the end-result, the humani-
tarian tried hard to break the fetters of theology and to change the history
of the kingdom of heaven into the history of human world. Rousseau said:
"Of all kinds of human knowledge, I feel that the most useful and also the
most incomplete knowledge is that about 'man."' ("A Discourse Upon the
Origin and Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind") He also devoted
himself to the study in this field. To put man, rather than deity, in the
prominent position and to study human history and social systems on the
basis of man was a great change in the conception of history. Just as
Engels said: "This was the greatest and most progressive change which
mankind had ever experienced." ("Selected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 3,
p 445)
However, the humanitarian had only made the first step in the change from
deity to man. They did not provide people with a truly scientific answer
to history. Just as the ancient alchemists who tried to find a "philoso-
pher's stone," they regarded human nature as a "philosopher's stone" which
could explain all phenomena in human society. Despite the fact that there
were various factions of humanitarians, who vested human nature with
different meanings, and that there were various kinds of humanitarianism,
their common characteristic was to measure history with human nature.
Human nature was regarded as the criterion to judge whether something was
reasonable or unreasonable. It was the supreme judge. To realize the
turn from deity to man, which was started by humanitarianism, was enough
for the bourgeoisie in the period of ascent, for it was only faced with
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the problem of its own political emancipation. Feudal privileges and inter-
dependent personal relations fettered the free movement of labor forces and
obstructed the equal exchange of commodities. Although capitalists had
capital, they were regarded as upstarts and were squeezed out of the upper-
class society. They were looked down upon by the feudal nobles, who often
showed off the "symbols of their families" and their "genealogies." In
other words, the capitalists had "property rights" but no "human rights."
They felt bitterly that they lacked the value and dignity of "man"--the
rights in various aspects which suited their economic position. Therefore,
in their struggles for self-emancipation, they naturally placed the value
and dignity as well as freedom and equal rights of man before everything
else, and in order to prove that they were reasonable, they finally summed
up all this as man's nature.
Every period of time has its special problems. When the rule of the-capi-
talist mode of production was finally established, the capitalist system,
which was said to be in conformity with human nature, became merely a
desperate parody. Despite all this, the three great utopian socialists in
the 19th century still regarded human nature as the final answer to his-
torical phenomena. They held that mankind had not yet completely realized
its natural instincts. In a political sense, they had surpassed the French
Enlightenment School, but on the question of the conception of history, they
had not yet freed themselves from the fetters of conventions. They were
still at the stage of changing the nature of deity into the nature of man.
Historical experiences show that if one looks upon man merely from the angle
of antagonism between deity and man, one still cannot extricate oneself from
the circle of the abstract theory of human nature. Feuerbach was a typical
example of this. His philosophy of humanism symbolized the peak of the
development of mankind's recognition in several hundred years, which had
experienced the change from deity to man. Feuerbach's humanism was a
special form of humanitarianism. Its fighting character was obvious when it
set man against God and summed up the nature of the deity as the nature of
man. However, since it did not go beyond the antagonism between man and God
and did not make a further study of the relationship between man and man,
it could not break away from the fetters of the abstract theory of human
nature. Engels said: "The meaning of Feuerbach's 'man' was extended from
God. Feuerbach had made a progress from God to 'man.' Thus, his 'man' still
wears a halo of the abstract concepts of theology." ("Collected Works of
Marx and Engels," Vol 27, pp 12-13)
When human nature was used as a yardstick of history, many contradictions
became insoluble: How could unchangeable human nature become the reason
for the development of changeable history? If human nature was also change-
able, then what was the reason for the change? The humanitarian conception
of history was unable to come out of this difficult maze, and the humani-
tarians, who emphasized man and emphasized taking man as the point of
departure and the end-result, found it more difficult to understand man.
For example, Rousseau once said: "In a sense, we can say that we have
found it more difficult to understand mankind just because we have worked
hard to study it." ("A Discourse Upon the Origin and Foundation of the
Inequality Among Mankind")
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Hegel, the idealist dialectician, also saw this contradiction and tried
hard to solve it. He regarded history as a process of development governed
by a specific law and thus pointed out an escape from the maze. However,
he did not try to find this law in reality, but in the absolute concepts
which he had fabricated. Therefore, he did not, and could not, really
solve this contradiction.
It was Marx who really unravelled this chain of rings and found a clue to
the mystery of history. This was certainly not an accidental phenomenon.
The clue to the mystery of history existed in history itself. Just as
Engels said: "In all previous periods, it was almost impossible for people
to explore and study the causes of the development of history, for the links
between these causes and their effects were confused and concealed. In the
present period, however, since such links have become very simple, it is
possible for people to open the mystery." ("Selected Works of Marx and
Engels," Vol 4, p 245)
Marx began his theoretical activity in Germany in the 1840's. Therefore, one
of the important characteristics of the development of his thinking at a
certain stage was the intermixture of the sprout of materialist conception
of history and Feuerbach's humanistic viewpoint. However, through his own
exploration, he finally found the way to extricate himself from this diffi-
cult theoretical position. He based his research on the exploration of the
/"human world"/ and the exposure of the secrets of the "civilian society."
Through the study of man's labor and material life, his materialist concep-
tion of history gradually took shape, the key of which was the thinking
about production relations. The thinking of social production relations
marked the watershed between Marx and all previous philosophers in under-
standing man and society.
The process of the development of materialist conception of history involved
three stages of budding, approaching and formulating, which were distin-
guished from and interrelated with one another. The division of these
stages was based on the degree of maturity of the thinking about production
relations.
At the earlier stage, when Marx worked in the "Rheinische Zeitung," he
regarded rational freedom as man's nature and the state as an expression of
the rationality of mankind and a representative of the universal interests.
However, as a result of the motivation of social life and the initial
exploration of material interests, he began to realize that in studying
state life, it was not correct to "explain everything in accordance with
the will of a person concerned" but must attach importance to the /objective
nature of various relations./ ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 1,
p 216) Later, when Marx criticized the Hegelian legal philosophy, he
clearly pointed out that it was not the state which determined the civilian
society, but on the contrary, it was the civilian society which formed a real
basis for the emergence and the nature of state. The "civilian society"
Marx mentioned here was the "summation of material life relations" he
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mentioned in some other places. ("Selected Works of Marx and Engels,"
Vol 2, p 82) Undoubtedly, to regard material relations as the real founda-
tion for the political system and laws of the state was of great signifi-
cance in giving shape to a new world outlook. However, at that time, Marx
had not yet separated production relations from the summation of material
relations and regarded these relations as the most fundamental relations
which determined the relations in all other fields.
In his "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844," Marx analyzed man's
labor activities under capitalist conditions. He recognized that the
alienation of workers and their own labor products existed in man's produc-
tive activities. As a result of the "self-alienation" of labor and the
alienation of labor products, man was alienated from man. Obviously, if the
labor products and the activities of the laborers no longer belonged to the
laborers themselves, they would certainly belong to "another being." This
could not be nature, or God, but could only be the "men" who possessed these
parts of labor and products. Under capitalist conditions, these "men" were
none other than the capitalists. In fact, Marx was explaining here in
embryonic form an extremely important tenet of the materialist conception
of history: A certain mode of production inevitably brings about certain
social relationship.
In "The Holy Family," Marx went on to. make an initial theoretical summary
of the above expositions. Property relations and ownership relations were
materialized forms of man's social relations based on the material interests.
They were forms of the /"substantial existence of man"/ and, simultaneously,
of the /"fixed existence of man for others [ren wei to ren de ding zai 0086
3634 0100 0086 4104 1353 0961]."/ They were /"social relations between man
and man."/ ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 2, p 52) Despite the
obscurities of these expositions, they showed that Marx had already
"approached" the fundamental ideas of the materialist conception of history,
that is, the ideas of social production relations.
From 1845-46, in "The German Ideology," Marx formulated in an all-round way
the fundamental tenet of the materialist conception of history. He brought
to light the structure and formation of society, and the law governing their
development. He regarded society as a structured organism which was
restricted by productive forces and was based on production relations. He
thus made an essential progress and reached the scientific concept of pro-
duction relations on the basis of his previous understandings. He no longer
took the "nature of man" as the point of departure, but instead, directly
investigated the basic content of the material productive activities and
expounded the objective inevitability qf the existence and replacement of
production relations. Through analyzing contacts, contact relations, con-
tact forms and the forms of ownership, he revealed the interrelations
between them and clearly recognized that the people's mental contacts were
but "direct products of their material' relations" and that of various
material relations, production relations were the most fundamental rela-
tions. They were not only the "real basis of the state" and political
systems but were also the "real basis of all property relations." (ibid.,
Vol 3, pp 29, 377, 421) Thus, from various social relations of the people
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Marx had separated the most fundamental and most primitive relations which
determined all other relations, namely, social production relations.
Although the terms used by Marx at this time were not definite, for exam-
ple, he used contact forms on some occasions and forms of ownership on the
other, and sometimes he used production relations, he had already mastered
the essence and basic content of the concept of production relations.
Several months later, when he criticized Proudhon, he condensed all the
above-mentioned ideas into the concept of production relations and thus
reached complete unanimity between the terms and the content they expressed.
The formation of the concept of production relations enabled people to gain
a more scientific understanding of the form and nature of the combination
of various factors of productive forces. Moreover, it also enabled people
to reveal the internal structure of the course of production, that is, the
unity of the productive forces and production relations. As we all know,
the concept of productive forces was already put forward and studied by the
classical economists before Marx. The reason they had paid attention to the
study of productive forces was the need of the capitalist industrial develop-
ment. However, the question of production relations was an unpassable
boundary for them. Therefore, the classical economists could not really
understand the course of production which consisted of the unity of produc-
tive forces and production relations. They could not understand the deci-
sive role played by?material production in the development of the entire
social history.
Marx broke through the historical and class limitations of the classical
economists and saw the duality of production. He pointed out that when
production was conducted, a dual relationship was shown immediately, the
relationship between man and nature and the relationship between man and
man. They were two aspects of things which related with each other in an
organic manner in the same production course. At any time, production
relations could not be separately studied without taking productive forces
into account, or vice versa. In other words, the two must be regarded as
a unity of contradictions. Of course, in the relations between these two,
which conditioned each other, in the final analysis, productive forces
played a decisive role. Marx made a profound exposition on the most common
law of social history, that is, production relations must suit the develop-
ment of productive forces, and pointed out that the course of history was
the course of the development of production relations on the basis of pro-
ductive forces. In this way, he gave a scientific solution to the mystery
of history. This was the most valuable ideological achievement of Marx
during 1845 to 1846.
The materialist conception of history was formed step by step in the course
of discarding the concept of "abstract man" so as to study the real man,
that is, to study his activities and material living conditions. The
emergence of this conception of history was consistent with the scientific
solution of the question of man. Therefore, we cannot say that materialist
conception of history does not include man, does not care about man and
does not study the question of man. Quite on the contrary, it was the
establishment of this conception of history which placed the study of man
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on a scientific basis, and pointed out?a real way out for the emancipation
of mankind. What is man? We cannot get the answer from "man's self" or
"man's specific characteristics." We can only study his productive activ-
ities and social relations. Each man as well as the summation of productive
forces and production relations of each generation, which are inherited as
something ready-made, provide a real foundation of "man's nature" which has
been imagined by the philosophers. Without this foundation, "man" can only
be another name for the concept. It is entirely groundless to sum up the
materialist conception of history as humanism or to consider that this con-
ception of history "excludes man," "overlooks man," and "opposes humanity."
The materialist conception of history provides a philosophical basis for
political economy and scientific socialism. When Marx was still under the
influence of Feuerbach's idea of humanism, his doctrines on political
economy and socialist theory bore the mark of ideological debate. Only
with the establishment of the materialist conception of history was there
finally a fundamental change in these two areas.
In early 1844 when Marx had just started studying political economy, he
still praised Feuerbach, holding the view that "Only Feuerbach's discovery
has laid a real foundation for the criticism of all that positivism stands
for and thus the German people's criticism of positivism about the national
economy." ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 42, p 46) True, "men"
represented a basic area of Marx' then criticism of bourgeois political
economy. He charged that bourgeois economists neglected men and failed to
regard workers as men. "The national economy treats /proletarians/, i.e.,
people who have neither capital nor leased land and who work for a living
by relying only on labor, which is also one-sided and abstract labor, as
simply /works/ to be studied. Therefore, the point is raised that a worker
is exactly like a horse and should get only what he needs to keep working."
He criticized Ricardo, saying: "In Ricardo's opinion, men are insignificant
and products are everything." ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 56,
p 72) "Human nature is /beyond/ the scope of political economy, and non-
human nature is /part of political economy/." ("Reading Notes on 'Economic
Studies"') This represents the summation of Marx' then criticism of bour-
geois political economy.
It is without a shadow of doubt that Marx' criticism of bourgeois political
economy in the name of "men" expressed infinite sympathy for the plight of
the proletariat and realistic opposition to capitalism. Meanwhile, he
expressed many profound views about private ownership, capital, wages,
profits, production, division of labor, needs, currency and other problems.
But we must note that in the study of political economy, proceeding from
"men" and proceeding from the mode of production represent two different
theories and two different approaches. Proceeding from the mode of produc-
tion, we can provide a scientific explanation for the necessity and the
historical nature of various economic relations that exist. Proceeding
from "men," we naturally take various economic relations and their laws
under the capitalist system (including various forms of exploitation) as
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"nonhuman" and as something opposed to "men's nature," and cannot provide
a scientific explanation. For example, one of the very important reasons
for Marx' then negation of the idea of the value of labor was his view that
taking labor as a measure of value means lowering men's role as the mainstay
to that of a tool of creating wealth and thoroughly negating men under the
false appearance of recognizing man. Thus, the problem of economic laws is
lumped with the assessment of ethics, with the latter negating the former.
Political economy cannot be turned into the doctrine of ethics. Nor can
"men" or the so-called nature of men be taken as a basis for judging the
rationality and necessity of various economic forms. In sum, influenced by
Feuerbach's humanism, Marx still failed to really define the object of
study and the scientific methods, as far as political economy was concerned.
To achieve this called for the overall establishment of a materialist con-
ception of history.
Exactly because of his discovery of the laws governing the dialectic opera-
tion of productivity and the relations of production and his treatment of
the development of the whole society as a natural historical process, Marx
developed the materialist conception of history, thus laying a theoretical
basis for the proletarian political economy. Marx no longer took various
economic relations as manifestations of "men's nature," and no longer took
the degree of realization of "men's nature" as a basis for judging economic
forms. Instead, he concentrated on the analysis of the economic process
itself and studied various relations of production in their links with the
level of development of productivity. He pointed out: "The economic form
on which people rely for production, subsistence and exchange is a
/transient and historical/ form. With the achievement of new productivity,
people will change their own mode of production. With the change in the
mode of production, they will change all the economic relations that are
nothing but the natural relations marking this given mode of production."
("Selected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 4, p 322)
After developing the sphere of the relations of production, Marx took the
realistic relations of production as an object of study in political
economy. In the well-known "Introduction to 'Critique of Political
Economy,"' he put things this way. In the "Manuscripts on Economics" from
1857 to 1858, he no longer simply took various economic relations of a
capitalist society as actual satires on "social life." Instead, based on
the materialist conception of history, he made a serious analysis. In "Das
Kapital," Marx especially put things this way. He did not fall back on
men's nature. Instead, like a physiologist mak4.ng a dissection, he started
with the most simple, most ordinary, most often seen and most common com-
modity in a bourgeois society in exposing the contradictions of the capi-
talist society and providing convincing proof of its inevitable collapse.
Of course, Marx was filled with profound feelings for the proletariat and
hatred for the capitalist system of exploitation. But he did not replace
science with feelings. His attack on the capitalist system was based on an
economic analysis and not on abstract moral principles. In "Das Kapital,"
he also talked about men, but not ordinary "men" besides capitalists and
proletarians and not "men" set up to judge whether the capitalist system is
rational, but the personification of the economic sphere, committed to a
given class and its interests.
50
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Similarly, the establishment of the materialist conception of history is a
prerequisite for turning the theory of socialism from a vision into a
science. Ultimately, on what basis should the socialist doctrine be built?
This is a fundamental question. If socialism is equated with the realiza-
tion of "men's nature," the emphasis should of course be on the study of
"men themselves" and the study of "men's nature" and on the development of
socialism out of "men's nature." If the socialist system is regarded as an
objective historical necessity, then we should study society and study the
laws governing the social history. Just as Lenin said: "The socialist
doctrine prevails exactly when it has given up the argument about social
conditions compatible with the innate nature of men and proceeds with a
materialist analysis of modern social relations and defines the necessity
of the present system of exploitation." ("Selected Works of Lenin," Vol 1,
p 51)
In the "Manuscripts on Economic Philosophy in 1844," Marx held the view that
the communist movement "will naturally, in the /private ownership/ movement
or in the economy, find an experiential basis and also a theoretical basis
for itself." Marx analyzed the contradictions among land owners, owners of
farms on leased land and agricultural workers in agriculture and pointed out
that the intensification of these contradictions would "naturally lead to
revolution." He analyzed the contradictions between labor and capital in
industry and the contradictions between big and small capitalists. He
revealed "the trend toward inevitable collapse" in the capitalist mode of
production. But here Marx regarded communism as a solution of the contra-
dictions between individuals and society and as men's "possession of their
own nature." This way of expression obviously still carried the remnants
of Feuerbach's humanism.
The degree of maturity of the socialist doctrine is closely related to the
level of development of the materialist conception of history. Just because
Marx established the materialist conception of history in all fields and
exposed the mystery of history, we were enabled to see the internal contra-
diction of the necessity of communism being rooted in the capitalist mode of
production. He said: "What sets apart communism from all previous movements
is that it overthrows the basis of all old relations of production and
exchange and for the first time consciously interprets all spontaneous
prerequisites as the creations of previous generations and eliminates the
spontaneous nature of these prerequisites, so that they are dominated by
individuals that have become allied. Therefore, the establishment of
communism is in essence of an economic,.nature. This creates various mate-
rial conditions for this kind of alliance on and turns the existing condi-
tions into conditions for alliance." ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels,"
Vol 3, p 79) Moreover, he clearly pointed out: "To us, communism is not a
/state/ that should be established nor an /ideal/ with which reality should
be compatible. What we mean by communism is that kind of /realistic/ move-
ment that eliminates the existing state." ("Collected Works of Marx and
Engels," Vol 3, p. 40)' Marx separated the communist system from the com-
munist movement and interpreted the communist movement as the revolutionary
practice of changing the reality of capitalism, and the communist system as
the end-result of this movement. This rules out the humanist conclusion
about the development of communism out of men's nature.
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Since Marx' death, especially since Engels' death, the materialist concep-
tion of history has been continuously attacked and distorted. However,
"serious attention" was not paid to it until some 50 years ago.
Since the 1930's, some Western scholars have created the so-called antagonism
between "two Marxes," that is, the "humanitarian Marx" at the earlier stage
and the "materialist Marx" later. They hold that Marx was concerned with
man when he was young and "tried very hard to solve the problem of man's
existence." However, he did not consistently adhere to his principle. "The
scientific communist philosophy--'the foundation of humanism'--ceased
development after the publication of the 'Manifesto of the Communist Party."'.
They have denounced Marx' change.from his study of "man's nature" to the
study of social and economic relationship as "betrayal" of his original
ideals, "deposal" of man and "transmutation" to the other side. However,
they cannot reach their goal through negating Marxism by means of creating
antagonism between two Marxes, for it was not until Marx became mature that
he exerted a profound influence on all spheres of the contemporary social
life both in theory and in practice. For this reason, some other Western
scholars have advocated the "unity" between the two Marxes, holding that
"there was only one Marx" and that the main theme about man expounded by'
young Marx in his "Manuscripts" of 1844 runs through all his works. In
their view, the weapon Marx used in conducting criticism was always "man's
nature" and the theory of alienation, and the "objective facts" on which
Marx based his criticism were man's sufferings and the loss of human nature
in capitalist society. Thus, the theories of Marx are regarded by them
entirely as "theories of humanism" which were aimed at proving the elimina-
tion of the alienation of human nature and realizing "man's nature." As a
matter of fact, the purpose of all these scholars, whether by setting the
young Marx against the mature Marx or by "unifying" the two, is to take
"man" as the "central theme" and "foundation" of Marx' theories so that
Marxism can be summed up as humanism, that historical materialism, which
originated from the movement of the contradiction between productivity and
production relations, can be replaced by the so-called "anthropo-
materialism," [ren xue bian zheng fa 0086 1331 6589 6214 3127] and that the
materialist conception of history can be replaced by the "humanist concep-
tion of history."
The reason some Western scholars have created "two Marxes" and are fond of
propagating "young Marx" is that there is really something in Marx' early
works that can be made use of by them. Marx also predicted at that time
that "since all this was expressed by the words and sentences of philosophy
at that time, the customary philosophic terms used there, such as 'man's
nature,' 'category' and so forth, could have provided the German theorists
with an opportunity to comprehend the true ideological process in an incor-
rect way and to think that all this was but their reconditioned theoretical
overcoats." ("Collected Works of Marx and Engels," Vol 3, pp 261-262)
Facts in the past century and more have proved that Marx' worries were
not uncalled-for. There is no need for reticence; in the period of taking
shape, there were obvious vestiges of Feuerbach's humanism in Marx'
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ideology, not only in terms but also in views. The question is not that we
should evade this fact but that we should study, as Lenin said, "what Marx
had already mastered and how he had developed to the new ideological
sphere." ("Collected Works of Lenin," Vol 38, p 7) That is to say, in
the study, we must not divorce ourselves from the real process in which
Marx' ideas were formed and separate the theoretical phenomena emerging
in a certain period from the specific period in which these phenomena
emerged. Instead, we must firmly grasp all the substantial problems
concerning the fundamental changes of Marx' ideological system. The history
of the past century or so has proved that the materialist conception of
history is an irrefutable truth. Only when we adhere to the materialist
conception of history can we continuously push forward the communist cause
pioneered by Marx.
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IMPROVE OUR METHOD OF LEADERSHIP
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 6, 16 Mar 83 pp 37-39
[Article by Gao Yang [7559 2254]]
[Text] I would like to say something about the improvement of the party's
work method and style in light of the concrete situation in Hebei Province.
Why should I speak on this problem? Because, at present, since the tasks
for 1983 have already been clearly and concretely put forward by the
central authorities, the problem that the work method and style of the
leading cadres at various levels. do not suit the demands of the new tasks
has become prominent. Therefore, it is quite necessary to discuss how to
solve this contradiction.
I. It Is Necessary To Attach Importance to Investigation and Study and to
the Training of Professional Cadres Specializing in Investigation and Study
Chairman Mao always attached great importance to investigation and study.
Under his leadership, a good tradition of attaching importance to investi-
gation and study was shaped within the..party long ago. However, like other
good traditions of the party, it has been seriously damaged for many years.
Now quite a few leading cadres do not pay attention to investigation and
study, and some young cadres do not know how to investigate and study.
Over the past few years, such work styles as superficiality, blindly
following the instructions from above and mechanically copying from books
regardless of realities, indulging in exaggerations and stereotyped writ-
ings and speeches, have widely existed among the cadres. Even when some
leading cadres went to the grassroots, they only made cursory observations
and gained a superficial understanding of thing', not knowing the origins
and results of their development. Sometimes they also went to stay at
certain selected grassroots units, but usually brought back with them some
figures and reports on certain concrete happenings without making regular
and comprehensive analysis. In other words, they only investigated and
did not study what they had learned. This does not only show that their
methods were wrong but also that their ideological level was low. There-
fore, it is necessary to improve the work method, to gain a new under-
standing of the importance of making investigation and study, and to raise
the ideological level.
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It is necessary to conscientiously study the "Collected Works of Mao
Zedong on Rural Investigation." We should study the method of rural inves-
tigation advocated and personally adopted by Chairman Mao. Leading cadres
at all levels must set an example in the study of this collected works as
soon as they get the book, and then organize cadres to study it carefully
so that all of them can master the method of investigation and study.
It is necessary to make it a system for leading cadres to maintain close
links with the grassroots units, so that at least, one or several grassroots
scientific research units in the agricultural, industrial, commercial and
educational fields can be placed under the care of the responsible leading
cadres at a certain level. In this way, the leading cadres will be able to
often contact the grassroots units or stay at a selected unit to find out
about the whole situation and study it in line with the relevant policies
and principles of the central authorities. Only thus can they form a sound
judgment on the work there and give correct guidance to the overall work in
their areas. The leading cadres must not only act in this way themselves,
but also must ask other cadres to do the same. Why do some cadres often
indulge in empty talk when they report on their work? Because, besides the
reason of their habitual practices, they only have in their brains the con-
cepts about the policies and principles prescribed in the documents, and
some old and new statistical figures. They. can do nothing but say empty
things. Such a malady cannot be overcome unless we make investigation and
study and master the skill of investigation and study.
It is necessary to select some young and middle-aged cadres who have the
level of senior middle school or university education and who like to study
problems to form investigation and study groups or offices for party and
government leading organs at various levels. Better conditions must be
created for the members of these groups or offices in their study and work,
and guidance must be given to them in reading books, newspapers and maga-
zines, so that they can concentrate their strength on investigation and
study. Through training and staying at selected points to make investiga-
tion, they will gradually become "brain trusts" of the party and government
leading organs at various levels. It is necessary to let them take part
in the discussion and the decision of policies. This will help leading
organs form correct judgment on the situation and realize correct leader-
ship.
We are now undertaking new and arduous tasks and are faced with a very
complicated situation in the political, economic, cultural and other fields.
It will not do if we do not change the old leading methods. One of the
effective ways to realize modernization of leadership is training and rely-
ing on the "brain trusters." This should be adopted step by step.
If the cadres who are assigned the specific task of investigation and study
are found to be really capable, they can be promoted to the leading bodies
at various levels. This is also a way of training successors.
55
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II. It Is Necessary To Require Cadres To Study Conscientiously so That They
Can Become Both "Red and Expert" and Become People Capable of Shouldering
the Heavy Tasks of the Four Socialist Modernizations
Quite a number of comrades whom I have come into contact with do not like
reading books. Their knowledge cannot satisfy the needs of their work. So,
they have to study, and have to study very hard. "The more they study, the
more they will find their knowledge insufficient." When they find "their
knowledge insufficient," they will be "thirsty for knowledge."
It is necessary to establish the system of personal responsibility after
streamlining organizations. All cadres are busy at their posts at all
levels. They have to find time to study and learn to use their time in a
scientific way. Sometimes, they have to use their time of entertainment and
meeting friends to study. This is really a hard job to do. However, once
they have cultivated the habit of reading, they will find it interesting
and will no longer feel bored.
All leading cadres are required to find out which of the following is the
case in their specific localities: Whether they have not bought or sub-
scribed to the books, newspapers and journals, which, as required by the
central authorities, the county-level cadres should read, or they already
have the books, newspapers and journals but have not yet organized the study
of them. If the former is the case, it is necessary to spend some money.
If it is the latter, then the principal leading cadres must set an example
in the study and must encourage and organize the broad masses of cadres to
study hard.
I hope that the work of the libraries in counties and county key middle
schools as well as the cultural centers and stations in towns will be
strengthened. I plan to go deep into one or two counties to make investi-
gation in this respect during the first quarter of this year. In the
future, the propaganda department of the provincial CPC committee will
study and offer a list of books for leading cadres at and above the county
level. The relevant units of various prefectures, cities and counties must
check their libraries according to the book list to see whether they have
the books. If they do not have the books, they must try to get them.
Examinations will also be given to leading cadres at various levels at
appropriate time to see whether they possess the necessary knowledge.
It is necessary to reorganize and strengthcn thr-, party schools and cadre
schools (party-building institutes) at. the provincial and prefectural (city)
levels and expand the scope of the smaller ones. It is necessary to pro-
vide full-scale regular training or rotational training to cadres at the
prefectural (city) and county levels in accordance with the requirements set
by the Central Party School in its report to the CPC Central Committee. As
was required, the principal leading cadres must take part in the study in
the party schools in a planned way. The phenomenon of merely attaching
importance to the present work and neglecting study, for fear that it might
affect the work, must be changed, and must be changed right away from this
year.
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The CPC committees at the prefectural (city) and county levels must hold
one or two meetings every month to study and discuss problems. They must
attach importance to investigation and study and to reading books and news-
papers and must arrange time to discuss one or two urgent problems in light
of the progress of the work for the whole year of the CPC Central Committee
and the provincial CPC committee. In order to achieve the purpose of rais-
ing consciousness, there can be no time limits for the discussions. If a
problem cannot be solved in one discussion, it can be discussed again after
restudying it.
In order to encourage thinking and promote study, the provincial CPC com-
mittee requires that every secretary of the prefectural (city) and county
CPC committees should write an article and hand it in by the end of March.
There is no restriction on what they will write about, but it is better to
write about the experiences and lessons of the work in 1982 or their criti-
cisms and suggestions for the provincial CPC committee. They can write on
their work experiences in a certain. aspect or of a typical case. They can
think independently and write all by themselves or write collectively
through discussion. In short, I hope that every secretary of the prefec-
tural (city) and county CPC committees will be able to write an article
which has both ideological and literary levels. By saying ideological
level, I mean that they must sum up their own experiences and lessons or
offer criticisms and suggestions for the provincial CPC committee on the
high plane of theory, policy and principle rather than just giving some
ordinary comments which are already known by all. In the style of writing,
their articles must, be concise, substantial, logical and precise and appro-
priate. When they are handed in, we shall make a public appraisal of them.
I hope that some good articles will be written, which can be recommended to
central papers and journals.
III. It Is Necessary To Overcome Laxity in Discipline, Strengthen the
Fighting Power of the Party and Raise Work Efficiency
After the 10 years of turmoil, most of the party and government organs at
various provincial levels became lax in discipline. This has been greatly
changed since the reorganization. However, at present, such a phenomenon
as violating party and administrative discipline still often occurs, and,
on the other hand, many responsible people have turned a blind eye to it.
Some of them dare not criticize it when their relatives or friends have
violated discipline. It is an ardent hope of the broad masses of cadres
and people to change the backward situation in Hebei's work. They have
also agreed with the provincial CPC committee's proposal on mutual trust
and mutual support between leading organs at various provincial, prefec-
tural (city) and county levels. We have to reiterate in light of the
present conditions the necessity of strictly observing discipline and
checking, criticizing and seriously dealing with and punishing the acts of
violating discipline. If we still cannot strictly enforce orders and
prohibitions, we are already bordering on dereliction of duty. Even the
"low-level feudal officials" in the past could say that "if an official
cannot do anything for the people's interests, it would be better for him
to go home and grow potatoes." What are the reasons that we, the "sound"
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revolutionaries in power, should be afraid of being framed or "losing the
vote"?
Our party always advocates strict observation of discipline. It has
strictly dealt with the typical cases of violating discipline, affecting
work efficiency and damaging the party's prestige and educated cadres
through newspapers and inner-party circulars, so as to check these
unhealthy tendencies. It will continue to do so in the future. I hope
that various prefectural (city) and county CPC committees will also do the
same.
Now the party's fighting power is really too weak, and above all, the fight-
ing spirit of the party committees at various levels is lower than ever
before. While studying the documents of the 12th CPC National Congress,
some prefectural (city) and county CPC committees have carried out criti-
cism and self-criticism and have found out the fundamental reasons and
expressions of the weak and lax leadership of the party committees. They
have also discussed the measures for enhancing the party's fighting power.
I suggest that all other areas also do the same.
Work efficiency has been raised since a clear division was made between
party and government work about half a year ago at the provincial, prefec-
tural (city) and county levels. When the work of structural streamlining
and reorganization of leading bodies is finished, the quality and mental
attitude of the cadres at post will surely be improved. Thus, the question
of raising work efficiency of the party and government organs should be
placed on the agenda. Now, it is necessary to set about the experiment of
the responsibility system for organ staff members in accordance with the
principle of unifying power, responsibility and interests. After experi-
ences are gained, this system can be gradually popularized among the organs
at various levels in the second half of the year. Due to the longstanding
phenomenon of "everybody eating from the same big pot," such bad habits as
being dilatory in doing things, red tape, shirking responsibility and pass-
ing on difficulties to the leadership are deeply rooted in quite a number of
organs. We must strive for an improvement in this respect this year. The
provincial CPC commiteee has decided to mainly grasp the raising of work
efficiency in a certain department in order to promote the work of the whole.
On 11 December 1982, Comrade Hu Yaobang said at the forum for secretaries of
the provincial, municipal and regional CPC committees: "All fronts, all
regions, all units and all cadres must set for. Themselves the following
task: In the new year, a new atmosphere must be realized, a new achieve-
ment must be scored, a new contribution must be made and a new progress
must be achieved in our great cause." The leading cadres at all levels in
our province must answer the call of Comrade Hu Yaobang and, with a new
work spirit, throw themselves into the new battles, so that their regions
and departments can make new contributions to the cause of the four moderni-
zations.
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MODELS OF HARD-WORKING AND DILIGENT STUDY
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 6, 16 Mar 83 p 40
[Article by Wu Fanwu [0702 0416 0710]]
[Text] Recently I have read several biographies about Marx, Engels and
Lenin. Their hard-working and diligent spirits have filled me with strong
veneration.
Marx was a learned man. He and Engels founded the communist theory which
has made a great contribution to the proletariat of the whole world and to
the liberation cause of mankind. Marx made remarkable achievements in the
study of history and laws, and his accomplishment in literature and language
is also very outstanding. He made use of his spare time, time for rest and
his recuperation period to painstakingly study mathematics. Marx could read
all the European languages, and could write very well in German, French and
English. He cultivated a study habit of underlining sentences in books and
making notes. And then, at regular intervals, he would review his notes and
places in books where he had made marks so as to reinforce his.good and
accurate memory. He spent a solid 40 years writing "Das Kapital." He fre-
quently visited the reading rooms of the great British Museum, consulting
a large number of reference books and,a great deal of material. In the
end, the earth-shaking historic masterpiece was brought into being.
Marx' comrade-in-arms Engels was also very well-learned. He not only had
a good command of political economics, philosophy and other social sciences,
he was also proficient in chemistry, botany, physics, linguistics and the
science of military affairs. Moreover, he could speak more than 20 foreign
languages. Some of them he learned at an old age, when he was more than 70
years old. Though he suffered a serious eye disease in his later years and
his eyesight deteriorated, he carried on his work and studied unyieldingly
and with amazing willpower. He deciphered and worked out the abbreviation
and handwriting of Marx' script of "Das Kapital." He sorted it out and made
a fair copy of it. The second and the third volumes of "Das Kapital" were
finally published in 1855 and 1894, respectively.
Lenin was fond of study even since he was young. At the time of his middle-
school graduation, he had a good mastery of Latin, Greek, French and German.
In 1888 he began his study of Marx' "Das.Kapital," Volume 1, at the Kazhan.
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After May 1889, he once again made a serious study of many important works
of Marx and Engels and he translated the "Communist Manifesto" into Russian.
At 20, Lenin began a thorough study of the developing conditions of the
Soviet economy and politics while studying and publicizing the theory of
Marx and Engels. At the same time, he began to conscientiously study law
and seriously make preparations for the university entrance exam. In a
short period of 1 year, he managed to finish all 4 years of university
courses. In 1891, Lenin took the graduation exam of the law department of
Petersburg University, a famous university in Russia, as an outside school
student and received a certificate with distinction. Even a year before
Lenin passed away, he constantly bore in mind the importance of study. He
wrote in his article, "Less But Better": "For the sake of reforming our
country's state agencies, we must propose such tasks for ourselves, and the
first is study, the second is study and the third is more study."
Marx, Engels and Lenin are models of hard-working and diligent study. It
was for the revolutionary cause that they worked hard and studied indus-
triously. If one does not learn, one cannot do a good job in doing revolu-
tionary work. At present our country is undertaking a great revolutionary
cause which is to build our country into a socialist, modernized and power-
ful country. We will not be able to bear the heavy responsibility of con-
structing the four modernizations if we do not study. Of course we advocate
learning from the revolutionary teachers' spirits of hard-working and dili-
gent study but we do not in the least encourage delving into books without
digestion. We believe in learning for the sake of application and solving
the many new questions that are facing us.
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OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS DRAWN UP SINCE THE THIRD
PLENARY SESSION
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 6, 16 Mar 83 pp 41-48
[Article by the RED FLAG Editorial Office of Theory and Education; passages
within slantlines published in boldface]
[Text] V. Strengthen Political Development, Promote Socialist Democracy,
Improve the Socialist Legal System
To achieve a high degree of socialist democracy is one of our party's basic
goals and tasks in the current historical period. To this end, we must
strengthen political construction, develop a political situation of
stability and unity, incorporate socialist democracy in systems and laws,
and guarantee the democratization of the political life of our party and
state and also the social life of the whole nation. When we study this
special topic, we can pay special attention to Comrade Deng Xiaoping's
articles: "Free Ourselves From Old Ideas, Seek Truth From Facts, Get
United and Look Forward," "Uphold the Four Basic Principles," "The Tasks of
the United Front and the CPPCC in the Current Period," "The Current Situa-
tion and Our Current Tasks," "Reform of the Leadership System of Our Party
and State," "Implement the Principle of Readjustment, Ensure Stability and
Unity," and "Streamlining Our Administrative Structure Is a Revolution";
Comrade Zhao Ziyang's article: "Report on Reforming State Council Organs";
Comrade Hu Qiaomu's article: "On Some Ways of Raising the Problem of Class
Struggle During the Period of Socialism"; Comrade Peng Zhen's article:
"Explanations on the Revised Draft of the Constitution of the PRC"; and the
document: "Resolutions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council
on Curbing Serious Criminal Activities in the Economic Realm"; and so on.
When we study this special topic, we can pay special attention to mastering
the following four main points:
1. Political construction being an important. guarantee of the success of
economic construction;
2. The relationship between developing socialist democracy and class
struggle;
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3. The great significance of perfecting the socialist legal system and
incorporating socialist democracy in systems and laws;
4. Reforming and perfecting the state political and leadership systems.
/When we study the first main point, we must pay attention to understanding:
First, the correct relationship between political construction and economic
construction; and second, stability and unity being an important prerequi-
site for our modernization construction./
A basic question of socialist construction is the correct handling of the
relationship between economic construction and political construction and
that between economic work and ideological-political work. For a consid-
erable number of years in the past, we did not take economic construction
as the focus but took "class struggle as the key link," successively and
incessantly launching political movements. In particular, during the
decade of internal disorder, the counterrevolutionary clique headed by Lin
Biao and Jiang Qing put forth the slogan of letting politics prevail over,
and pound at, everything else, thus sabotaging our economic construction and
also undermining our political construction and ideological-political work.
Since the 3d Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, our party
has brought order out of chaos with regard to this'basic question and has
put economic construction in a correct relationship to political construc-
tion. That is, economic construction is the focus of our work, the success
of which is to be ensured by political construction. Over the past several
years, while stressing the shift of the focus of our work, our party has
repeatedly explained the importance of.strengthening political construction
and ideological-political work. The following several points sum up what
our party stresses. First, the achievement of the four modernizations
require us to improve and perfect the political and leadership systems of
our state and to reform various aspects of our superstructure which are not
compatible with the requirements of modernization, so that the smooth
development of economic construction can be ensured. Second, our socialist
modernization construction is to be undertaken by the masses of people. It
depends on the joint effort of the whole nation from the leadership to the
masses. Only by strengthening political construction and developing social-
ist democracy can we fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the vast numbers of
workers and promote an overall upsurge in socialist economic construction.
Third, within certain limits, class struggle will continue to exist for
a long time. In particular, criminal activities in the economic realm
gravely undermine socialist construction. Only by resolutely curbing them
can we ensure that our modernization construction advances along the social-
ist path. Fourth, our modernizations call for a good style of work in our
party and a good general mood of society. A smooth development of our
modernizations can be promoted only if we strengthen ideological and
political work, vigorously promote communist morals and habits, and provide
revolutionary education to encourage adherence to the socialist road and
opposition to the corrosive influences of capitalist ideology. For a time
after the smashing'of the "gang of four," some comrades did not adequately
recognize the importance of political construction and ideological and
political work, because they did not comprehensively sum up lessons from
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both positive and negative past expo\,rience. In their view, because econo-
mic construction was the focus, it would be all right to do a good job of
economic work. Therefore, they did not care about the tendency of the
cadres and the masses to neglect politics, or even turned a blind eye to
those erroneous trends of thought embodying skepticism about, or negation
of, the four basic principles. In view of this tendency to neglect politics
and ideological-political work, Comrade Deng Xiaoping has repeatedly
stressed: "We must certainly place ideological-political work in a very
important position. We must conscientiously do a good job of this work
and must not slacken." He said: "We often talk about improving party
leadership. The most important thing is to strengthen ideological-
political work." Of course, strengthening political construction and
ideological-political work definitely does not imply reverting to the old
beaten track of "continuing to wage revolution under the dictatorship of
the proletariat" and "taking class struggle as the key link." Those
erroneous guiding principles could only adversely affect or even ruin
economic construction and economic work. In the realm of political life
and ideological work among the people, we can only use democratic methods
to convince and educate, and we must never take suppression and attack as
our means. We must inherit and develop our party's fine traditions, con-
scientiously study the characteristics of, and laws governing, political
construction and ideological-political work in the current historical
period, and continue to sum up new experience, so that success in economic
work can be fully ensured.
Strengthening political construction and ideological-political work as well
as consolidating and developing a political situation of stability and unity
constitute a prerequisite for socialist modernization, a guarantee of its
success, and also a common aspiration of the whole nation. Without a polit-
ical situation of stability and unity, the people would not be at ease in
carrying out construction, and nothing would come of the guiding principles
and policies laid down at the third plenary session, the shift in the focus
of our work, and the four modernizations. Therefore, since the third
plenary session, our party has persistently strived to promote stability
and unity and to eliminate factors causing instability. For example, it has
continued to stamp out the remaining forces of the Lin Biao and "gang of
four" factions; it has reversed the verdicts on a large number of unjust,
fabricated or erroneous cases; it has satisfactorily solved many major
social and political problems; it has suppressed the activities of a very
small minority of counterrevolutionaries and bad elements; it has criticized
the ideological trend of striving for bourgeois freedom and opposed various
other unhealthy tendencies; it has rectified public order and curbed serious
criminal activities in the economic realm, and so on. Our party has paid
special attention to the role of means of propaganda, such as newspapers
and magazines, broadcasting, television and so on; it has required them to
become centers of ideological work for furthering national stability and
unity, and for this purpose it has drawn up some relevant important docu-
ments. All these things done by our party have greatly contributed to the
consolidation and development of a political situation of stability and
unity.
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/When we study the second main point, we must pay special attention to
understanding the following things: First, the reasons why we stress the
necessity to develop socialist democracy and to extend democracy to various
aspects of social life; second, the necessity to further eliminate the
influences of the "leftist" ideology of "taking class struggle as the key
link" and to correctly handle contradictions among the people; third, the
necessity to persist in waging class struggle within certain limits and to
resolutely impose dictatorship on hostile elements; and fourth, the harm-
fulness of advocating bourgeois democracy and freedom./
Since the third plenary session, our party has repeatedly stressed the
development of socialist democracy. For a considerable number of years in
the past, our democratic centralism was seriously undermined. Actually,
the very nature of our socialist political system prescribes the extension
of the most extensive democracy, namely, socialist democracy, to the
people. After the founding of the PRC, our party did a great deal of work
to develop socialist democracy. However, we did not regard the achievement
of a high degree of democracy as a basic task of socialist revolution. Our
system was imperfect in many aspects. The problem of inadequate democracy
occurred in the political, economic and cultural realms and in various
aspects of social life. The lack of democracy inevitably affected people's
incentive to free themselves from old ideas, to use their brains and to
fully develop their socialist enthusiasm, and inevitably favored the
development of bureaucracy and the occurrence of various kinds of undesir-
able phenomena. This was an important reason why the "Great Cultural Revo-
lution" broke out and could not be avoided. Precisely because of this,
since the third plenary session, our party has taken a series of measures
to develop socialist democracy and has effectively worked to extend
democracy to various realms and aspects. Facts have proved that our party's
guiding principle of developing socialist democracy is absolutely correct.
After several years' efforts to bring order out of chaos, democratic life
has greatly developed in our country. On various fronts, the apathetic
atmosphere of the past, in which "10,000 horses were all muted," has been
put to an end, and a vigorous political situation has again prevailed.
To develop socialist democracy, we must' further eliminate the influences of
the "leftist" ideology of "taking class struggle as the key link." Since
the third plenary session, the CPC Central Committee has repeatedly pointed
out that after 30 years' revolution and construction, the situation of
social classes in our country has basically changed. The position of our
country's working class has been greatly strengtaened. The peasants in our
country have experienced collectivism for over 20 years. Vast numbers of
intellectuals, including the overwhelming majority of intellectuals who
came from the old society, have become part of the working class. The
means of production originally owned by the capitalist class of our country
have been turned over to the state. The overwhelming majority of those
capitalists who can work have been transformed into workers who earn their
own living. Various democratic parties and groups in our country have
become political allies of those socialist workers who are related to them
and of a number of patriots who support socialism. The "people" comprise
over 99.9 percent of our country's population and include a much wider
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collection of social sectors than at any time in our country's past history.
Although there are various kinds of contradictions among the people, there
are no conflicts of basic interests. The cause of building and developing
socialism represents the common interests of all the people. This basic
condition shows that class struggle is no longer the principal contradiction
in our country's society. The majority of contradictions in our society
essentially do not belong to the category of class struggle. We must reso-
lutely correct the "leftist" mistake of "taking class struggle as the key
link," strictly distinguish between two essentially different categories
of contradictions, and apply democratic methods to handle the vast numbers
of contradictions among the people. The principal correct method of handling
contradictions among the people is "unity-criticism-unity." When we use
this method to resolve contradictions among the people, we must pay atten-
tion to two possible mistakes. One is to refrain from educating, criti-
cizing or interfering with people, and the other is to criticize or educate
people inappropriately. Both of them can intensify contradictions. There-
fore, the key to the correct handling of contradictions among the people is
to correctly use the weapon of criticism and self-criticism. Comrade Hu
Yaobang said: "Both criticism and self-criticism must proceed from reality.
Whatever the mistakes are they must be corrected as such. Contradictions
must neither be covered up nor exaggerated." "In the past, our principal
mistake was to carry class struggle too far. The result was opposite to
what was desired. People became reluctant to criticize themselves and
afraid to criticize others. We must correct this unhealthy tendency."
Since the third plenary session, while declaring that class struggle is no
longer the principal contradiction in our country, the CPC Central Committee
has also repeatedly and clearly pointed out that because of domestic factors
and foreign influences, in our country, class struggle in society will con-
tinue for a long time to exist within certain limits, and may even intensify
under certain conditions. At the present stage, class struggle in our
country is mainly reflected in the people's struggle against a very small
minority of hostile elements who deliberately want to undermine or over-
throw the socialist system by their activities in the economic, political,
ideological or cultural arena or in social life. If we overlook the fact
that class struggle still exists, we really commit the mistake of believing
in the theory of the dying out of class struggle, and this would be dis-
advantageous to the development of socialist democracy. In his article
entitled "Uphold the Four Basic Principles," Comrade Deng Xiaoping said:
"The development of socialist democracy definitely does not imply that we
may refrain from enforcing dictatorship of the proletariat on those forces
which are hostile to socialism." Although "the struggle against them
differs from the direct struggle of one class against another in past
history (because they cannot openly form a fully fledged class), however,
it is a specific form of class struggle or we can say that it is a remnant
of the class struggle of the past, existing in a specific form under social-
ist conditions. We must continue to exercise dictatorship over all those
who oppose socialism. Otherwise, socialist democracy would be impossible."
Over the past several years, while safeguarding the people's democratic
rights, we have'also effectively exercised dictatorship over an extremely
small minority of hostile elements. In this connection, we have strengthened
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political and legal work, thus bringing about a marked improvement in social
order. From January to September 1982, the number of criminal offenses in
our country showed a 15.7 percent decrease compared with the same period in
1981. By the end of 1982, over 164,000 cases of economic crimes of various
categories had been revealed and placed on file for investigation in our
country. Over 86,000 of these cases had been wound up, with nearly 30,000
persons being punished by law. Over 46,700 persons surrendered themselves
to the authorities and confessed their crimes. After a year's struggle,
the evil trend of openly smuggling goods and selling smuggled goods, which
was rampant for a period of time, was basically checked, and hostile forces
which sabotaged our socialist economy through corruption, bribery, stealing,
speculation, fraud and so on were powerfully crushed. Facts have demon-
strated that our party's analysis of the situation of class struggle is
scientific and hostile elements really form a very small minority. Facts
have also demonstrated that upholding the state's function of exercising
dictatorship is absolutely necessary to safeguarding democracy for the
people and achieving socialist modernization.
While our party was bringing order out,of chaos, summing up the bitter
experience of the decade of internal disorder and emphasizing the develop-
ment of socialist democracy, an extremely small minority of people in
society distorted our party's guiding principles and policies, stirred up
the "Xidan Wall incident" and set up "human rights groups" and so on, and
advocated bourgeois democracy and freedom. These so-called "democrats"
spread opinions expressing skepticism about and opposition to the four
basic principles, misled some members of the masses, particularly some
young people, and incited them to make trouble. This was completely con-
trary to the people's demand for developing socialist democracy in our
country. In his article entitled "Uphold the Four Basic Principles,"
Comrade Deng Xiaoping says: "What kind of democracy is presently needed by
the Chinese people? They need socialist democracy alone, which is also
called the people's democracy, and not bourgeois democracy which is marked
by individualism. The people's democracy cannot be divorced from dictator-
ship over the enemy or from centralism that is based on democracy." If we
prattle about democracy in abstract terms without adhering to the people's
basic interests or the four basic principles, then we would only arrive at
bourgeois democracy marked by individualism, and consequently extreme
democratization and anarchism would inevitably run rampant among the people.
In effect, these undesirable viewpoints and opinions would protect the enemy.
The ideological trend of bourgeois freedom would gravely undermine the
political situation of stability and unity and also gravely disrupt our
socialist modernization. We must clearly know its nature and harmful
effects and resolutely struggle against it.
/When we study the third main point, we must pay attention to understanding
the following: First, why socialist democracy must be incorporated in
systems and laws; and second, how the socialist legal system can be per-
fected./
The building of socialist democracy must be closely integrated with the
establishment of our socialist legal system, so that socialist democracy
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can be incorporated in systems and laws. This is one of the important
lessons we have learned from the decade of internal disorder. After the
founding of the PRC, we did enact many laws. However, little importance
was attached to our legal system, which was also far from perfect.
Because democracy was not incorporated in systems and laws, a grave mis-
take such as the "Great Cultural Revolution" could not be prevented or
halted, resulting in a distressing situation in which "both the law and
heaven were defied" and "the whole country was thrown into a great up-
heaval." This historical experience made us deeply understand that we
must strengthen the establishment of our socialist legal system. The
resolution of the third plenary session states: "To safeguard the
people's democracy, we must strengthen our socialist legal system and
incorporate democracy in systems and laws, and we must make these systems
and 'Laws possess stability, continuity and extremely great power, so that
the law can guide people's action, the law must be observed, the enforcement
of law must be rigorous and action must be taken against offenders." In his
speech entitled "Free Ourselves From Old Ideas, Seek Truth From Facts, Get
United and Look Forward," Comrade Deng Xiaoping stressed: "We must
incorporate democracy in systems and laws, and make sure that these systems
and laws will not change when new leaders take up their posts or when the
leaders' views or the focus of their attention change." If we have a sound
socialist legal system, then we can correctly distinguish between and handle
two essentially different categories of contradictions, and tackle the
question of class struggle according to stipulations and procedures provided
in the constitution and the law. Thus, the people's democracy can be safe-
guarded and dictatorship can be effectively enforced on the enemy.
To strengthen the socialist legal system, laws must be enacted in the first
place; that is, there must be "laws to guide people's action." From the
third plenary session to August 1982, around 300 items of new legislation,
decrees, and administrative rules and regulations were promulgated in our
country. After that period, some new laws have been further promulgated.
At the fifth meeting of the Fifth NPC, the "Constitution of the PRC" was
amended, adopted and also promulgated for implementation. At present, the
legal system has yet to be further perfected. Many kinds of legislation,
particularly economic legislation, have not been drawn up. The relation-
ship between the state and enterprises, between various enterprises, between
enterprises and individuals, and so on, must be prescribed by means of
legislation. Many of the contradictions between these various parties must
also be resolved by legal means. In addition, we must also rigorously
strengthen the study of international law. Second, concerning enforcement
of the law, "the law must be observed, the enforcement of law must be rigor-
ous and action must be taken against offenders." Otherwise, the enactment
of laws would be meaningless. In the enforcement of the law, for one thing,
any organization or individual must obey the law, and party organizations
and members must likewise abide by the law and the constitution in their
activities. On the other hand, procuratorial and judicial organs must be
appropriately independent. They must be\faithful to laws and systems, to
the people's interests, and to the truthfulness of facts. They must not be
interfered with by any organizations or individuals. The whole people must
be educated in matters of the legal system. Everyone must abide by the law.
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Moreover, the legal system must be vigorously defended and struggle must be
waged against various categories of offenses against the law.
/When we study the fourth main point, we must pay attention to understanding
the following: First, the necessity to reform the political system and
leadership system of our state; and second, the basic principles and main
tasks of reform./
To reform and perfect the political system and leadership system of our
state is a requisite for the achievement of socialist modernization and is
also an important element of the strengthening of political construction
during the current historical period. It was pointed out in the third
plenary session that "to achieve the four modernizations, we must greatly
improve our productive forces. Therefore, inevitably, we must change many
aspects of the production relations and superstructure which are incompati-
ble with the development of the productive forces, and we must change all
those unsuitable styles of management, organizing activities and thinking.
Therefore, we will have to wage an extensive and profound revolution." Our
party places the reform of our political system and leadership system in the
most important position relative to all other reforms. The reasons are as
follows. First, whether our state can correctly draw up its major policies
is extremely closely related to its political system and leadership system.
If the leadership system is not perfect and democratic centralism cannot
be safeguarded, then the results will be dictatorship of the individual,
disruption of collective leadership, or even the committing of great mis-
takes in policy formulation. Comrade Deng Xiaoping said: "Our committing
of various kinds of mistakes in the past was naturally related to the think-
ing and styles of certain leaders. However, the question of systems of
organization and work was more important. If these systems had been good,
evildoers would not have been able to run wild. If the systems are bad,
good people will not be able to do good or may even turn to the opposite
side." Second, many defects exist in certain aspects of our political and
leadership systems, the principal ones being bureaucracy, overconcentration
of power, cadres and leaders holding lifelong posts and enjoying many
privileges, and so on. The principal problems of our organizational setup
are a lack of separation between the party, the government and the authori-
ties in charge of enterprises, the overstaffing of administrative organs,
too many people doing too little work, a lack of clear definition of duties
and responsibilities, and low efficiency. Third, our cadre system has to be
urgently reformed. Comrade Deng Xiaoping said: "For a large country such
as ours, the absolute figure of 18 million cadres for all our industries and
professions is not a large one. The problem is that the composition of
cadres is not rational. There are too many cadres who lack professional
knowledge and ability and too few who possess professional knowledge and
ability." There are grave defects in our cadre system which are dis-
advantageous to the discovery, selection and training of talent, to lowering
the average age of the cadres, and to turning them into a professional con-
tingent of cadres. Moreover, the defects lead to the stifling and wastage
of real talents. Therefore, we must reform our organizational setup and
cadre system. Comrade Deng Xiaoping clearly stated that the streamlining
of administrative organs is a revolution. However, this revolution is aimed
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at organizations and systems, not incividuals. He also said that if we do
not wage this revolution, not only will the four modernizations be hopeless,
but our party and state may even perijah.
How should the reform be carried out? In his report on the reform of State
Council organs, Comrade Zhao Ziyang said: "Our basic guiding principle is
to carry out this important reform in the spirit of waging a revolution."
To reform and perfect various systems of our state is an arduous and long-
term task. Therefore, first, our determination must be strong and second,
our work must be meticulous. In the light of the practice in reforming
State Council organs, our first step should be the solution of four problems,
taken as the focus of our work. First, we must initially clearly define the
duties and responsibilities of various departments and their subordinate
organs, establish rigorous and scientific systems of job responsibility,
and resolutely end the situation of overstaffing of administrative organs,
lack of a clear definition of duties and responsibilities, prevalence of
disputes over trifles, and low efficiency. Second, we must select and
appoint upright and capable people to build and provide staff for leading
bodies. Leading bodies should have a smaller but highly trained staff.
They must gradually become more revolutionary, their average age must be
gradually lowered, and their staff must gradually become educated and
professional. This is the most important link. Third, we must conscien-
tiously and satisfactorily plan for old cadres' retirement, resignation,
and retreat to the second front. We must abolish the system of lifelong
posts for leading cadres, which now exists. This abolition must be guaran-
teed by a system. Fourth, we must earnestly strengthen the work of training
cadres in rotation and improve the quality of the entire contingent of
cadres. This is a major item of construction of strategic importance.
In the new constitution adopted at the fifth meeting of the Fifth NPC,
various stipulations concerning the political and leadership systems of
the state incorporate some major reforms. The principal items of reform
are as follows: First, the system of the National People's Congress is
strengthened; second, the posts of chairman and vice chairmen of the state
are to be restored; third, a central military committee under state leader-
ship is to be established to exercise leadership over all armed forces in
our country; fourth, in the State Council, a system of the prime minister's
responsibility is to be established; fifth, the building of local govern-
ments under the centralized leadership of central authorities is to be
strengthened; sixth, the system whereby government organs are incorporated
in authorities in charge of rural people's communes is to be ended, and
rural governments are to be established; and seventh, it is stipulated that
no one may remain in a leading post of the state for more than two consecu-
tive terms. These items of reform reflect the principles and fruits of our
reform. To sum up, the whole people must be enabled to exercise state
power more satisfactorily, and state organs must more effectively exercise
leadership over and organize socialist construction and must more satisfac-
torily cooperate and carry out division of labor among themselves.
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VI. Strengthen the Development of Socialist Spiritual Civilization
Since the third plenary session, our party has brought about a major develop-
ment in building socialism by putting forth the idea that aside from striv-
ing for a high degree of material civilization, we must also work to achieve
a high degree of socialist spiritual civilization. To study this special
topic, we can mainly read Comrade Ye Jianying's article: "Speech at the
Meeting for Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the PRC"; Comrade Deng
Xiaoping's articles: "Congratulatory Speech at the Fourth Conference of
Literary and Art Workers in China," "Implement the Principle of Readjustment,
Ensure Stability and Unity" and "A Talk on Questions of the Ideological
Front"; Comrade Hu Yaobang's articles: "Speech at the Forum on Script
Writing," "Speech at the Second National Conference of the Science Associa-
tion of China" and "Speech at the Forum on Questions of the Ideological
Front"; Comrade Hu Qiaomu's article: "Certain Current Questions of the
Ideological Front"; Comrade Zhao Ziyang's article: "The Current Economic
Situation and Guiding Principles Concerning Future Economic Construction";
Comrade Peng Zhen's article: "Explanations on the Revised Draft of the
Constitution of the PRC"; and also the document: "CPC Central Committee
Circular on Transmitting the Article: 'Launch a Sustained and In-Depth
Movement of "Stressing Five Things and Beautifying Four Things," Strive for
Greater Success in Building Socialist Spiritual Civilization"'; and so on.
When we study this special topic, we can pay attention to understanding the
following four main points:
1. The great significance of building socialist spiritual civilization;
2. New developments in ideological construction since the third plenary
session;
3. The importance of, and basic guiding principles concerning, the vigorous
development of education, science, literature and art; and
4. The need to fully develop the intellectuals' role in modernization.
/When we study the first main point, we must pay attention to understanding
the following: First, the reasons for putting forth the building of social-
ist spiritual civilization; second, the great importance of building social-
ist spiritual civilization to. the achievement of modernization; and third,
communist ideology being the core of spiritual .ivilization./
Since the shift of the focus of the entire party's work to economic mod-
ernization, the CPC Central Committee has repeatedly and earnestly put forth
the idea that while we strive for a high degree of material civilization,
we must also vigorously work to achieve a high degree of socialist spiritual
civilization. This is a strategic guiding principle concerning the building
of socialism. Our party's fine traditions include development of ideological
education and cultural education, heightening the political and ideological
awareness of the cadres and the masses as well as raising their cultural
standard, and promoting the development of revolution and construction.
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However, during the decade of internal disorder, Lin Biao and the "gang of
four" sabotaged our party's work in ideological and cultural education and
promoted the spread and growth of bourgeois ideology, petty bourgeois
ideology and remnants of feudalist ideology. Over the past several years,
since the implementation of the policy of opening our country to economic
intercourse with foreign countries, foreign bourgeois ideology and hostile
forces have found their way in, so that a minority of people have been
tempted by decadent bourgeois lifestyles and infected by the ideology of
striving for bourgeois freedom. These, historical and social reasons have
caused unhealthy developments in our party's style of work and in the
general mood of society. In a certain period, some people openly spread
extremely erroneous opinions about major questions of principle, primarily
the question of whether we should uphold the four basic principles or be
skeptical about them and oppose them. Moreover, various unhealthy trends
constituted a serious problem, social order was thrown into confusion and
the committing of crimes and offenses by young people and juveniles became
a marked problem. Therefore, it was an important and urgent task for our
party to conscientiously strengthen ideological construction, to correct
unhealthy trends, to rectify social order, to develop fine revolutionary
traditions, and to develop education in communist ideals and morals. The
CPC Central Committee opportunely put forth the question of building social-
ist spiritual civilization. Comrade Ye Jianying put forth this question for
the first time in his "Speech at the Meeting for Celebrating the 30th Anni-
versary of the Founding of the PRC.11 He said: "While striving for a high
degree of material civilization, we must also raise our nation's standard
of education, science, culture and health, establish lofty revolutionary
ideals, morals and habits, develop a lofty and rich cultural life that is
full of variety, and work to achieve a high degree of socialist spiritual
civilization." Later, in "A Talk at the Forum on Script Writing," Comrade
Hu Yaobang again mentioned the task of building socialist spiritual civili-
zation and explained the interrelationship between it and material civiliza-
tion. In December 1980, Comrade Deng Xiaoping again pointed out: "What we
call spiritual civilization does not only include education, science and
culture (which are absolutely essential), but also includes communist
ideology, ideals, beliefs, morals and discipline, revolutionary stand and
principles, relationship between man and man as comrades, and so on." In
November 1981, in his governmental work report presented at the fourth
meeting of the Fifth NPC, Comrade Zhao Ziyang further clearly elaborated on
the significance and substance of, and measures to be taken in, building
socialist spiritual civilization. Within a few years, with the development
of practice, our party has acquired a much deeper understanding of building
socialist spiritual civilization. The report of the 12th CPC Congress has
comprehensively summed up experience in this respect, has stated that
socialist spiritual civilization is an important characteristic of social-
ism, has explained the importance of building socialist spiritual civiliza-
tion on the theoretical high plane of scientific socialism and on the
political high plane of our country's future social development, and has
put forth various guiding principles for work and various specific measures,
to make possible the accomplishment of this task.
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What is the great importance of building a highly developed socialist
spiritual civilization to the achievement of modernization? First, it is a
necessity prescribed by the substance of scientific socialism. Socialist
spiritual civilization is an important characteristic of socialism and an
important manifestation of the superiority of the socialist system. The
sign which distinguishes socialist modernization from capitalist moderniza-
tion is that in socialism, not only is the standard of material livelihood
highly developed, but people possess communist ideology and there exist new
relationships between man and man, and so on. Second, in building socialist
spiritual civilization, ideological construction, in particular the estab-
lishment of revolutionary ideals, morals and discipline, not only promotes
the building of material civilization, but ensures that it develops in the
socialist orientation. Moreover, in building spiritual civilization, cul-
tural construction is of enormous importance to raising the whole people's
cultural, scientific and technological standard. If we do not train vast
numbers of various categories of qualified personnel at various levels as
well as vast numbers of skilled workers, the achievement of the four mod-
ernizations will become empty talk. Third, to build socialist spiritual
civilization is the most positive and effective means of thoroughly cor-
recting various unhealthy tendencies. We can free people from the influ-
ences of various kinds of ideologies of exploiting classes and enable them
to become new socialist men only by vigorously grasping the building of
spiritual civilization, strengthening ideological education and arming
people with communist ideology.
Communist ideology is the core of socialist spiritual civilization and also
our banner. This lofty ideal encouraged tens of thousands of revolutionaries
to fight arduously and sacrifice their lives in struggles. Only thus have
we been able to achieve success in our new democratic revolution and social-
ist revolution. Today, when we work to achieve socialist modernization, it
is even more necessary for us to hold high this brilliant banner, pool the
people's wisdom and strength, and overcome various difficulties encountered
in our advance. At present, we are implementing the policy of distribution
according to work done, but we must also advocate the communist ideology
and attitude to work. Only thus can people be made to break through a
narrow horizon and correctly understand and handle relations of interests
between the state, the collective and the individual. Otherwise, spirit-
ually, people will get bogged down in individualism, and the cause of mod-
ernization will change in nature and embark on an evil path because people
do not have a lofty ideal and aim. Some people distort the implications of
our policy of enlivening our domestic economy acid opening our country to
economic intercourse with foreign countries. They think that we have done
away with the communist spirit and revolutionary slogans such as "be utterly
devoted to others without any thought of self" and "fear neither hardship
nor death." In the light of this erroneous idea, Comrade Deng Xiaoping
solemnly said: "The more extensively our party and our government carry
out various economic reforms or implement the policy of opening our country
to economic intercourse with foreign countries, the more necessary it is
for party members, especially responsible cadres at high levels in our party,
to pay great attention to communist ideology and morals and to put them into
practice in their own action." It is a completely erroneous view to set
education in communist ideology against existing socioeconomic policies.
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/When we study the second main point, first, we must clearly understand the
substance and requirement of ideological construction; and second, we must
pay attention to persisting in and developing mass activities aimed at
ideological construction./
The content of ideological construction includes many things, the most
important of which being the establishment of revolutionary ideals, morals
and discipline. We must effectively carry out propaganda, educational work,
ideological-political work and work in other areas, so that gradually,
members of our society can acquire communist ideals, morals and habits,
acquire a communist attitude to work, acquire lofty ideology, sentiments
and aesthetic viewpoints, acquire the spirit of consciously abiding by the
law, acquire a high degree of compliance to organizational discipline, take
to a lofty style of living, persist in subordination of one's personal
interests and partial or local interests to overall interests of the whole
and subordination of immediate interests to long-term interests, devote
themselves to socialist modernization and to our socialist motherland in
whatever they do, and develop a lofty spirit of patriotism and inter-
nationalism. We must build socialist spiritual civilization so that an
ever-increasing proportion of members of society can become educated work-
ers who possess good ideals and morals and abide by discipline, and a new
relationship prevails among the whole people, marked by unity, friendship,
helpfulness, and joint effort in struggle and advance.
Since the third plenary session, our party has always stressed the neces-
sity to launch education aimed at teaching the whole party and the whole
people to resist the corrosive influences of capitalist ideology, so that
the purity of communist ideology can be upheld. Principles of communist
morals must be applied to various realms such as social morality, profes-
sional integrity, morals concerning marriage and family life, and so on.
To strengthen education in communist ideology, we must not only promote
the study of basic principles of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought, but
must use methods suited to the tastes of the Chinese people and launch
solid and lively mass activities. In recent years, in building socialist
spiritual civilization, our people have invented many new forms and new
methods, for example, the "stressing five things, beautifying four things,
fervently loving three things" movement, a "civilization and courtesy month
for the whole people," learning from Lei Feng, rectification of traffic
order, cleanliness and hygiene movements, youth service teams, the "having
four things, stressing three things, fearing not two things" movement
among the army, "school regulations" for colleges and primary and secondary
schools, "regulations for workers" as applicable to enterprises in the
industrial and mining sectors, common codes of practice for service trades
and for peasants in rural areas, moral norms of scientific work for scien-
tific and technical workers, and so on. Considerable success and valuable
experience have been gained through launching these movements and imple-
menting these codes and regulations, and gratifying changes have occurred
in the face of various urban and rural areas in our country. There have
been improvements in making the environment green, in social order and
traffic order and so pn. Interpersonal relationships have improved to a
certain extent. The communist spirit has been continuously carried forward,
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greatly curbing the spread of decadent bourgeois ideology. More impor-
tantly, these activities have greatly stimulated our national spirit, so
that the vast numbers of cadres and the masses have gained greater con-
fidence in working to bring about a good style of work in our party and a
good general mood in society. People have been encouraged to overcome
difficulties with one heart and to do a good job of socialist moderniza-
tion. We must continue to carry out these activities in a down-to-earth
manner, and establish sound. regulations and systems according to necessity
to incorporate them in systems and to make them become our regular work.
/When we study the third main point, we must deepen our understanding of
the following issues: First, to popularize education is an important pre-
requisite for the building of material civilization and spiritual civiliza-
tion; second, science and technology constitute a category of productive
forces and the modernization of science and technology is the key to the
four modernizations; and third, we mush uphold the guiding principle that
literature and art must serve the people and socialism./
To achieve socialist modernization, we need to vigorously develop education
and train a large number of qualified personnel in various specialized
fields and at various levels as well as a large number of skilled workers.
This is an extremely important item of basic construction. Recent history
of economic development has fully demonstrated that the standard of science
and education of the workers of enterprises to a very large extent deter-
mines the standard of running and managing the enterprises, the level of
economic benefits, the level of labor efficiency and the speed of develop-
ment of production. The workers' standard of science and technology can be
raised only by developing education, and the training of qualified personnel
needed by various cultural undertakings depends greatly on education.
Therefore, education is an important guarantee of sustained national eco-
nomic development and an important prerequisite for building material
civilization and spiritual civilization. Since the founding of the PRC,
our education has greatly developed. However, because of various mistakes
in our work, particularly because of the sabotage that took place during
the decade of internal disorder, education is still relatively backward in
our country. At present, 5-year primary education has not yet been extended
to all children in our country, so that the number of illiterate persons
keeps on increasing. Some 80 percent of our workers have not received
junior middle education. Out of every 10,000 people in our country, there
are only 13 university students. In this respect, our country ranks 129th
among 137 countries and regions in the world. This situation is far from
satisfying the requirements for building a highly democratic and civilized
modern socialist country. To change this situation as quickly as possible,
we must gradually increase the relative proportion of investment in educa-
tion and put an end to the present situation in which spending on education
is highly inadequate. We must vigorously and steadily develop higher educa-
tion quantitatively. In particular, we must pay attention to the raising of
quality. Aside from operating regular universities, we must vigorously
develop university education through part-time programs, television,
correspondence and so on. We must encourage people to become qualified
through studying on their own. In the arena of secondary education, we
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must gradually put an end to the situation in which ordinary higher middle
schools are too many but vocational training middle schools are too few.
We must vigorously develop technical middle schools and train large numbers
of technical workers and middle-level specialized personnel. In the 1980's,
we must basically accomplish our historical task of extending primary educa-
tion to all children in our country. We must also conscientiously
strengthen education for all our workers and effectively raise their
standard of political ideology, science, academic education, professional
skill and management and operation.
In his "Speech at the Second National Conference of the Science Association
of China," Comrade Hu Yaobang said: "Science is an enormous force which
promotes historical advances. The conversion of science into powerful
productive forces has become increasingly more rapid. Without advanced
science and technology, our four modernizations would be impossible. To
master the most advanced science and technology of our times is a basic
question related to our country's future prospects." Since the 1970's, the
relative contribution of science and technology to development in produc-
tion has been 60 to 80 percent in some developed countries. The moderniza-
tion of science and technology is the key to our modernization construction.
Without relying on advanced science and technology, we would be unable to
attain the magnificent goals of achieving a vigorous development of our
country's economy and quadrupling our country's annual industrial and
agricultural output by the end of this century. However, some of our com-
rades always think that "development of production is a rigid task, but
development of science and technology is a flexible target." They do not
fully understand the importance of, and urgent need for, scientific and
technological advance. We must vigorously propagate attaching great
importance to science and technology. Through conscientious efforts in
organization, we must turn our CPC Central Committee's call for learning
and developing science and technology. into a down-to-earth and conscious
action of the hundreds of millions of people in our country. Our basic
guiding principle concerning the development of science and technology is
clear and definite. Basic research definitely must not be weakened. How-
ever, the overall scientific and technological work must be geared to the
needs of economic construction. The focus of development should be the
serving of the needs of economic construction, in particular, the serving
of the need for solving key problems of our national economy that involve
great economic benefits. Therefore, we must vigorously launch research in
applied science and use our valuable human, financial and material resources
for the most urgent needs, so that science and technology can make contribu-
tions in promoting progress in production techniques and the enhancement of
economic benefits. To this end, we must implement our party's guiding
principles and policies in the following ways, as pointed out by Comrade
Zhao Ziyang: First, we must develop the enthusiasm of scientific and
technological personnel; second, we must pose questions for the scientific
and technological front; third, we must create conditions for scientific and
technological work; and fourth, we must open up ways to apply the fruits of
scientific research to production.
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The CPC Central Committee has put forth the point that in the current
historical period, art and literature must serve the people and socialism.
This represents an application and development of Comrade Mao Zedong's
thought about art and literature under current historical conditions. To
serve socialism is a broad concept. Any work that is advantageous to the
training of the socialist new man does serve socialism. To serve socialism
is tantamount to and consistent with serving the people. This guiding
principle is compatible with the objective situation of the development of
art and literature, and is conducive to the flourishing and development of
socialist art and literature. In his "Congratulatory Speech at the Fourth
Conference of Literary and Art Workers in China," Comrade Deng Xiaoping
said: "We must continue to adhere to the orientation put forth by Comrade
Mao Zedong, namely, that literature and art is to serve the broadest sector
of the masses of people, and should serve the workers, peasants and soldiers
in the first place. We must adhere to the guiding principle of letting a
hundred flowers blossom, weeding through the old to bring forth the new,
making foreign things serve China and making the past serve the present.
In artistic creation, we must encourage the free development of various
forms and styles. In artistic theory, we must encourage free discussion
of various viewpoints by various schools." We must create an atmosphere
which is most suitable to the vigorous development of literature and art,
fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the vast numbers of literary and art work-
ers, and develop all literature and art which is socialist in nature or
beneficial to the people. We should also criticize works or opinions
which contain mistakes. However, we must criticize in the spirit of com-
rades and our criticism must be sensible, based on reason, appropriate and
convincing. Moreover, we must permit countercriticism. Some time ago, in
the literary and art field, as in other realms of ideology, for a time
there was an ideological trend of striving for bourgeois freedom, marked by
attempts to do away with party leadership and to depart from the path of
socialism. Some comrades misinterpreted the guiding principle of "letting
a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend" as
implying that one could do away with any principles, could write or say
anything as one wished, and could not be criticized or interfered with by
anyone else. Some comrades deny that social life is the only source of
literary and artistic creation and they do not agree to the idea of going
deep into people's daily life to study society. Some comrades regarded
literature and art as a purely personal undertaking, thinking that writers
and artists could disregard social effects and could depart from our party's
correct leadership over the orientation of development of literature and
art. In creation work, some comrades blindly twitated Western and foreign
fashions, or pandered to the low tastes of a backward section of the masses.
In the light of these problems, the CPC Central Committee opportunely took
measures to patiently and warmly enlighten and educate literary and art
workers, thus ending these erroneous tendencies. Since the third plenary
session, great success has been achieved in the literary and art field. By
their own creative and highly successful work, the vast numbers of literary
and art workers have provided the people with a great deal of wholesome
nourishment for the mind. Outstanding works on various themes, forms and
styles have realistically reflected the pulse of the times and the people's
aspirations, and have played a beneficial role in raising the spiritual
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plane and aesthetic tastes of the br6ad masses of the audiences and readers.
In literary and art circles, various forums on creation and various activ-
ities in assessing and granting awards for outstanding works have greatly
promoted the flourishing of creation and greatly encouraged new writers and
artists. In the literary and art field, a gratifying scene of vigor pre-
vails, marked by flourishing creation and people of talent coming forth in
large numbers.
/When we study the fourth main point, we must pay attention to the follow-
ing points: First, we must further eliminate the erroneous idea of dis-
criminating against intellectuals and we must promote respect for knowledge
and intellectuals; and second, we must continue to conscientiously implement
policies concerning intellectuals and must fully develop the intellectuals'
role./
The intellectuals play a very important role in the building of material
civilization and spiritual civilization. However, over many years, because
of the influences of "leftist" ideology, and particularly because of the
sabotage done by the counterrevolutionary clique of Lin Biao and Jiang Qing
during the decade of internal disorder, the tendency of despising knowledge
and discriminating against intellectuals became increasingly more serious
both within and outside our party. Over a considerable number of years,
intellectuals were erroneously regarded as a section of the bourgeoisie and
it was then even more difficult for their role to be brought into play.
This was very disadvantageous to socialist modernization. Therefore, to
implement policies concerning intellectuals became an important and urgent
task. Since the third plenary session, on the question of the intellec-
tuals, the CPC Central Committee has set to rights things which had been
thrown into disorder and has repeatedly stressed the necessity to implement
policies concerning the intellectuals. It has clearly pointed out that
overall, the intellectuals in our country have become part of the working
class and they constitute a particularly important key force in moderniza-
tion. It no longer says that we must "unite, educate and reform" the
intellectuals, but now says that it is necessary to "treat them equally
politically, go all out to make use of their work and show concern and care
for their livelihood." It stresses the need to promote capable intellec-
tuals in their prime who have political integrity and organizing ability to
various leadership posts. It encourages all the people to respect knowledge
and the intellectuals. Moreover, it has done a great deal of work to
improve the treatment, remuneration, and conditions for the intellectuals
in the political, work, and livelihood aspects. For example, it has con-
scientiously investigated and reversed the verdicts on a large number of
unjust, fabricated and erroneous cases involving intellectuals. It has
restored or instituted through appraisal titles of professional posts for
many. It has conferred commendations or awards on intellectuals who have
made contributions. It has solved some comrades' problems of accommodation
or problem of having their family members living apart, and so on. It has
improved wages, pay and conditions, and so on. These categories of work
should continue to be done in the future. At present, middle-aged intel-
lectuals constitute the backbone of various trades and professions. They
have to bear heavy burdens in their work and in supporting their families.
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We must help them to solve those problems which should be and can be solved.
Leading cadres must opportunely understand intellectuals' thinking and con-
ditions of work and living. They must listen to their views and demands.
In particular, they must study how to fully bring their role into play.
Because the influences of "leftist" mistakes have not been completely
eliminated, at present, some comrades still do not fully understand the
intellectuals' status and role in the current period. In his article
entitled "Be a Thoroughgoing Materialist," Comrade Hu Yaobang says: "We
have not finished our work of implementing our policies concerning the
intellectuals. We have not satisfactorily made use of the intellectuals.
We have not satisfactorily solved many of their actual problems, such as
accommodation, their family members living apart, wages and so on. How-
ever, some of our comrades now say that we are treating the intellectuals
too well and they have become cocky. Thus, it can be seen that our work
has met great impediment. As soon as the intellectuals' status has been
raised, a very small minority of comrades want to repress them again. In
this respect, comrades of various related quarters must do some work.
Over many years, in many ways, our attitude to knowledge and the intel-
lectuals has neither been materialist nor Marxist. Today, we must end
discrimination against the intellectuals and overcome remnants of
ideologies embodying such discrimination. We must resolutely take measures
to solve this problem." There are two ways to solve this problem. The
first is to build up public opinion, that is, to educate and convince all
our cadres and the masses. Second, we must vigorously grasp the imple-
mentation of policies concerning the intellectuals, mainly through inspec-
tion, supervision and urging.
A powerful and large contingent is necessary for building socialist
spiritual civilization, which is both a task for the whole party and a
common task for various fronts in our country. Ideological-political
workers, various categories of cultural and scientific workers as well as
education workers shoulder a particularly important responsibility in
building socialist spiritual civilization. To strengthen the building of
this contingent, we must require members of this contingent to: First,
conscientiously study Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought; second, go deep
into society and among the masses, discovering and solving new problems in
actual work; and third, clearly understand the aim of devoting all their
efforts to the achievement of socialist modernization and doing their best
to make contributions.
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PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE AND GENUINE KNOWLEDGE
Beijing RED FLAG in Chinese No 6, 16 Mar 83 inside back cover
[Article by Song Changrui [1345 7022 3843]]
[Text] Some party members think that they have a profound knowledge of
Marxism because, after joining the party, they study books on Marxism-
Leninism and work for the communist movement. Therefore, they pay little
attention to a systematic education in communist ideology.
This brings to mind a famous thesis by Hegel: Profound knowledge is not
genuine knowledge. In the preface to "A Study of Mental Phenomena," he
said: "Generally speaking, something profoundly known is not genuinely
known precisely because it is profoundly known." These words reveal a
relatively common phenomenon and state a truth which is easily overlooked.
In real life, examples of knowing something profoundly but not genuinely
are numerous. For example, everyone knows the sun well because they see it
every day. However, probably not everyone has some knowledge of the
theories concerning the sun's creation,.age and composition and the laws
concerning its movement, not to mention the conducting of advanced and
rigorous studies to understand in depth the sun's numerous mysteries.
Another example is that people can be said to know themselves profoundly.
However, they probably do not clearly understand their own bodies, includ-
ing their internal organs, bones, muscles, nerves, physiological structure
and so on. Facts are different from principles. Some of those who believe
themselves to know communism profoundly actually do not necessarily have a
genuine knowledge or understanding of the scientific communist ideological
system. Perhaps they have a superficial knowledge of this system but do
not understand its essential principles. If this were not the case, why
do some people begin to vacillate whenever a storm arises, lose heart
whenever there is a setback, and feel depressed whenever there are
relapses?
Profound knowledge can be said to be a positive negation of ignorance, and
is usually a necessary precondition for a development from knowing some-
thing profoundly to knowing it genuinely. However, profound knowledge does
not thus amount to genuine knowledge. After all, an invisible but real
bridge separates profound knowledge from genuine knowledge, and people often
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ignore the existence of this bridge, mistaking profound knowledge for
genuine knowledge and refraining from further conscientious study or
exploration. Consequently, their understanding of various problems remains
stagnant and cannot advance to any extent. This is precisely the reason
why some people who have had a "profound knowledge" of communism for many
years do not really understand the scientific communist ideological system,
are full of muddled ideas in their thinking, or even do not know the ABC's
of Marxism.
It should be noted that the so-called "wavering of faith" in communism of
some individuals is due to the fact that their faith has been diluted by
water and they really have never been firm, and so it is not strange that
they should waver now. Some other people really have never understood the
true scientific content of communism. If they are questioned about their
faith or about the reasons why they waver, they will be totally at a loss.
Strictly speaking, they have nothing to do with faith or wavering. Thus,
they are only like "willow leaves dangling wildly in the winds, and flakes
of peach blossom drifting casually on the waters." Any profound knowledge
of communism is even more probably out of the question for these comrades.
It should also be noted that some of those who joined the party during those
years of upheaval knew little about the communist ideological system. More-
over, during those times when right and wrong were confounded and evil and
good were mistaken for each other, many fallacies, which were really
"leftist" ideas but were extolled as communism, were rampant in society.
Thus, in the speck of knowledge about communism, of which people thought
they had a profound knowledge, an element of bogus communist ideas was
possibly present. If this kind of knowledge could be considered as some
real knowledge of communism, then we have to quote the saying: "Prejudice
deviates farther from the truth than ignorance."
People cannot possibly know everything in the boundless universe so full of
complicated things. We should not require everyone to thoroughly study "the
sun" or "the human body," which have been mentioned above, unless one is an
astronomer or a medical expert, just as we must not require a physicist to
be also a doctor of law. However, each communist must be required to have
a genuine knowledge and understanding of Marxism-Leninism as a discipline,
because a very firm faith in the communist cause can only be built on a very
firm scientific foundation. If our party is to remain a purely Communist
Party and an advanced proletarian party, we must not allow some communists
to be content with a profound knowledge of the Lommunist ideological system,
or to be content with being ignorant, or even to be handicapped by prejudices.
To this end, we must eliminate various kinds of muddled knowledge, and reso-
lutely and systematically educate the vast numbers of party members in
communist ideology. In this respect, Stalin said: "One of the best methods
of educating these comrades in Marxism is to systematically repeat and
patiently explain the so-called 'well-known' truths." ("Selected Works of
Stalin," Vol II, p 545)
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According to the Marxist viewpoint, the communist ideological system is
neither something from heaven nor something inherent in people's mind; it
is something external to man. Therefore, only if we persist in sustained
and unceasing "instillation" in this way, can communist ideology be
incorporated in people's thinking and can all communists be made to highly
respect communist ideals and firmly believe in them.
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