Regarding Liberty and Democracy:

As a matter of fact, freedom and democracy do not exist in the abstract, only in the concrete. In a society rent by class struggle, if there is freedom for the exploiting classes to exploit the working people, there is no freedom for the working people not to be exploited, and if there is democracy for the bourgeoisie, there is no democracy for the proletariat and other working people. The legal existence of the Communist Party is tolerated in some capitalist countries, but only to the extent that it does not endanger the fundamental interests of the bourgeoisie, it is not tolerated beyond that. Those who demand freedom and democracy in the abstract regard democracy as an end and not a means. Democracy sometimes seems to be an end, but it is in fact only a means. Marxism teaches us that democracy is part of the superstructure and belongs to the category of politics. That is to say, in the last analysis, it serves the economic base. The same is true of freedom. Both democracy and freedom are relative, not absolute, and they come into being and develop in specific historical conditions. Within the ranks of the people, democracy is correlative with centralism, and freedom with discipline. They are the two opposites of a single entity, contradictory as well as united, and we should not onesidedly emphasize one to the denial of the other. Within the ranks of the people, we cannot do without freedom, nor can we do without discipline, we cannot do without democracy, nor can we do without centralism. This unity of democracy and centralism, of freedom and discipline, constitutes our democratic centralism. Under this system, the people enjoy extensive democracy and freedom, but at the same time they have to keep within the bounds of socialist discipline. All this is well understood by the broad masses of the people. [On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People, SW V. V, p. 389]

Later, in March of 1949, Chairman Mao said: "To win countrywide victory is only the first step on a long march of then thousand li. Even if this step is worthy of pride, it is comparatively tiny; what will be more worthy of pride is yet to come. After several decades, the victory of the Chinese people's democratic revolution, viewed in retrospect, will seem like only a brief prologue to a long drama. A drama begins with a prologue, but the prologue is not the climax. The Chinese revolution is great, but the road after the revolution will be longer, the work greater and more arduous." [SW, Vol. IV. , pg 374] Similarly, in On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People, [SW, Vol. V] his great work of February 1957, he specified: "But our socialist system has only just been set up; it is not yet fully established or fully consolidated." [pg. 394] And: "New things always have to experience difficulties and setbacks as they grow. It is sheer fantasy to imagine that the cause of socialism is all plain sailing or easy success, with no difficulties or setbacks, or without the exertion of tremendous efforts." [pg. 400] In this same text he reaffirms the class struggle within socialism, and principally outlines that it is not definitively resolved who will vanquish whom. That is, whether socialism or capitalism will triumph politically, speaking of the class struggle currently in development, because historically socialism will necessarily impose itself and will inevitably triumph:

In China, although socialist transformation has in the main been completed as regards the system of ownership, and although the large-scale, turbulent class struggles of the masses characteristic of times of revolution have in the main come to an end, there are still remnants of the overthrown landlord and comprador classes, there is still a bourgeoisie, and the remolding of the petty bourgeoisie has only just started. Class struggle is by no means over. The class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the class struggle between the various political forces, and the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in the ideological field will still be protracted and tortuous and at times even very sharp. The proletariat seeks to transform the world according to its own world outlook, and so does the bourgeoisie. In this respect, the question of which will win out, socialism or capitalism, is not really settled yet. [On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People, SW V. V, p. 409]

In his Speech at the Chinese Communist Party's National Conference on Propaganda Work in March 1957, Chairman Mao deals with the great transformations generated by socialism, its gradual consolidation, the need for a long historical period to consolidate itself and the security of building a socialist state:

We are living in a period of great social change. Chinese society has been in the midst of great changes for a long time. The War of Resistance Against Japan was one period of great change and the War of Liberation another. But the present changes are much more profound in character than the earlier ones. We are now building socialism. Hundreds of millions of people are taking part in the movement for socialist transformation. Class relations are changing throughout the country. The petty bourgeoisie in agriculture and handicrafts and the bourgeoisie in industry and commerce have both experienced changes. The social and economic system has been changed; individual economy has been transformed into collective economy, and capitalist private ownership is being transformed into socialist public ownership. Changes of such magnitude are of course reflected in people's minds. Man's social being determines his consciousness. These great changes in our social system are reflected differently among people of different classes, strata and social groups. The masses eagerly support them, for life itself has confirmed that socialism is the only way out for China. Overthrowing the old social system and establishing a new one, the system of socialism, means a great struggle, a great change in the social system and in men's relations with each other. It should be said that the situation is basically sound. But the new social system has only just been established and requires time for its consolidation. It must not be assumed that the new system can be completely consolidated the moment it is established; that is impossible. It has to be consolidated step by step. To achieve its ultimate consolidation, it is necessary not only to bring about the socialist industrialization of the country and persevere in the socialist revolution on the economic front, but also to carry on constant and arduous socialist revolutionary struggles and socialist education on the political and ideological fronts. Moreover, various complementary international conditions are required. In China the struggle to consolidate the socialist system, the struggle to decide whether socialism or capitalism will prevail, will take a long historical period. But we should all realize that the new system of socialism will unquestionably be consolidated. We can assuredly build a socialist state with modern industry, modern agriculture, and modern science and culture. [Speech at the Chinese Communist Party's National Conference on Propaganda Work, SW, V. V, p 422-3]

Another substantial problem in the fundamental issue being analyzed, socialism and the dictatorship of the proletariat, is the construction and development of socialism. On this question, Maoism's point of departure is: "What will happen if our country does not establish a socialist economy? It will become a revisionist country, in fact a bourgeois state, and the dictatorship of the proletariat will transform itself into a bourgeois dictatorship; even more, into a reactionary and fascist dictatorship. This is a problem that merits our highest vigilance and I hope that comrades will seriously reflect upon it." "Regarding the construction of a powerful socialist economy, China will require not just 50 years, but 100 years or even longer. In their country (England), the development of capitalism took many centuries. It goes back to the XVI Century, which forms part of the Middle Ages. From the XVII Century to today is more than 360 years. In our country, the construction of a powerful socialist economy, according to my estimate, will require more than a century." "The productive forces of capitalism have needed more than three centuries of development to reach where they are today. Compared to capitalism, socialism has many advantages. The economic development of our country will be much faster than the capitalist countries. Nevertheless, China has a huge population, its base is weak and its economy is backward." "If it took three centuries and many decades to build a powerful capitalist economy, what is bad about building a powerful socialist economy in a period of some 50 to 100 years?" He tells us to think about: "Regarding socialist construction, we are still acting blindly. For us, a socialist economy is in many respects and unknown realm of necessity." From another side, he established:

With respect to Socialism and Communism, what is meant by constructing socialism? We raise two points:

Some comrades disapprove of drawing the line between these two types of ownership system, as if the communes were completely publicly owned. In reality there are two systems. One type is public ownership, as in the Anshan Iron and Steel Works, the other is commune-large collective ownership. If we do not raise this, what is the use of socialist construction? Stalin drew the line when he spoke of three conditions. These three basic conditions make sense and may be summarized as follows: increase social output; raise collective ownership to public ownership; go from exchange of commodities to exchange of products, from exchange value to use value.

On these two abovementioned points we Chinese are:

Those who would not draw these distinctions [among types of ownership] would seem to hold the view that we have already arrived at public ownership. This is wrong. Stalin was speaking of culture when he proposed the three conditions, the physical development and education of the whole people. For this he proposed four conditions:

All these conditions are basically to increase production. Once output is plentiful it will be easier to solve the problem of raising collective to public ownership. To increase production we need "More! Faster! Better! More economically!" And for this we need politics-in- command, the four concurrent promotions, the rectification campaigns, the smashing of the ideology of bourgeois right. Add to this the people's communes and it becomes all the easier to achieve "More! Faster! Better! More economically!"

What are the implications of all-embracing public ownership? There are two:

The characteristic of the people's commune is that it is the basic level at which industry, agriculture, the military, education, and commerce are to be integrated in our social structure. At the present time it is the basic-level administrative organization. The militia deals with foreign threats, especially from the imperialists. The commune is the best organizational form for carrying out the two transitions, from socialist (the present) to all- embracing public, and from all-embracing public to communist ownership. In future, when the transitions have been completed, the commune will be the basic mechanism of communist society. [A Critique of Soviet Economics, pp. 132-4]

On goods, value and planning: "If we sensibly develop commodity production, it is not held to be a beneficial objective, but in the interests of the peasantry, the worker-peasant alliance and the development of production." "After the rectification campaigns against the Rightists, work is not longer a commodity. People no longer work to get money but to serve the people. This is possible only if labor is no longer a commodity." "The law of value does not release a regulating power. This role is played by planning and the principle consists in putting politics in command. In Chinese society, the law of value does play a regulating role, that is to say a decisive role. What does play a decisive role in production is planning." [A Critique of Soviet Economics] And: "In the field of planning, if we refuse to make a balance and adopt a policy of laissez faire, if we act too prudently and exclude any audacity, we will end up destroying even development. These methods of work are both wrong. A plan is an ideology. Ideology is the reflection of a reality and it acts on reality . . . This clearly shows that things like plans, which make up part of the ideologies, have a big influence on the progress or absence of progress in the economy, as well as the rhythm of economic development." [A Critique of Soviet Economics]

Fighting the revisionist position on "material incentives": "Some say that socialism should lend greater attention to material incentives than capitalism. This thesis truly makes no sense!" "To consider the distribution of the means of consumption as a decisive motive force is the revise the Marxist point of view . . . " Also: "Immediately afterward the text raises this point: 'To begin with, we must utilize material incentives.' This makes it seem as if the masses' creative activity has to be inspired by material interest. At every opportunity the text discusses individual material interest as if it were an attractive means for luring people into pleasant prospects. This is a reflection of the spiritual state of a good number of economic workers and leading personnel and of the failure to emphasize political-ideological work. Under such circumstances there is no alternative to relying on material incentives. 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his labor.' The first half of the slogan means that the very greatest effort must be expended in production. Why separate the two halves of the slogan and always speak onesidedly of material incentive? This kind of propaganda for material interest will make capitalism unbeatable!" [A Critique of Soviet Economics, pg. 79] Furthermore: "Even if the importance of material incentive is recognized, it is never the sole principle. There is always another principle, namely, spiritual inspiration from political ideology. And, while we are on the subject, material incentives cannot simply be discussed as individual interests. There is also the collective interest to which individual interest should be subordinated, long-term interests to which temporary interests should be subordinated, and the interests of the whole to which partial interests should be subordinated." [Ibid. pp 83-4]

Considering the vital importance that the development of socialism has for the peasantry, recall what Chairman Mao had already said in the period of the anti-Japanese resistence: "For thousands of years, an individual economy has ruled over the peasant masses, in which each family and home constituted a productive unit. This form of individual and dispersed production was the economic cement of the feudal regime, and trapped the peasants into eternal poverty. The only path to change this state of things is gradual collectivization." In 1953, upon establishing the socialist transformation of agriculture as part of the general line: "If we speak of agriculture, the only road for agriculture in our country is the socialist road." Similarly, in criticizing the granting of lands propounded in the Soviet "Textbook," he outlines the method of working with the peasantry:

On page 339 it says that the land taken from the rich peasants and given to the poor and middle peasants was land the government had expropriated and then parceled out. This looks at the matter as a grant by royal favor, forgetting that class struggles and mass mobilizations had been set in motion, a right deviationist point of view. Our approach was to rely on the poor peasants, to unite with the majority of middle peasants (lower middle peasants) and seize the land from the landlord class. While the party did play a leading role, it was against doing everything itself and thus substituting for the masses. Indeed, its concrete practice was to "pay call on the poor to learn of their grievances," to identify activist elements, to strike roots and pull things together, to consolidate nuclei, to promote the voicing of grievances, and to organize the class ranks all for the purpose of unfolding the class struggle. [A Critique of Soviet Economics, pp. 44-5]

On the worker-peasant alliance, the basis of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and its development linked to the socialist transformations in agriculture:

Our worker-peasant alliance has already passed through two stages. The first was based on the land revolution, the second on the cooperative movement. If cooperativization had not been set in motion the peasantry inevitably would have been polarized, and the worker- peasant alliance could not have been consolidated. In consequence, the policy of "unified government purchase and sale of private output" could not have been persevered in. The reason is that policy could be maintained and made to work thoroughly only on the basis of cooperativization. At the present time our worker-peasant alliance has to take the next step and establish itself on the basis of mechanization. For to have simply the cooperative and commune movements without mechanization would once again mean that the alliance could not be consolidated. We still have to develop the cooperatives into people's communes. We still have to develop basic ownership by the commune team into basic ownership by the commune and that further into state ownership. When state ownership and mechanization are integrated, we will be able to begin truly to consolidate the worker- peasant alliance, and the differences between workers and peasants will surely be eliminated step by step. [A Critique of Soviet Economics, pp. 46-7]

And on the transformation of intellectuals:

However, the text fails to deal with the transformation of intellectuals. Not only the bourgeois intellectuals but even those of worker or peasant origin need to engage in transformation because they have come under the manifold influence of the bourgeoisie. Liu Shao-tang, of artistic and literary circles, who, after becoming an author, became a major opponent of socialism, ex amplifies this. Intellectuals usually express their general outlook through their way of looking at knowledge. Is it privately owned or publicly owned? Some regard it as their own property, for sale when the price is right and not otherwise. Such are mere "experts" and not "reds" who say the party is an "outsider" and "cannot lead the insiders." Those involved in the cinema claim that the party cannot lead the cinema. Those involved in musicals or ballet claim that the party cannot offer leadership there. Those in atomic science say the same. In sum, what they are all saying is that the party cannot lead anywhere. Remolding of the intellectuals is an extremely important question for the entire period of socialist revolution and construction. Of course it would be wrong to minimize this question or to adopt a concessive attitude toward things bourgeois. [A Critique of Soviet Economics, p. 47]

Regarding the process of humanity, the great dialectical understanding of conceiving the passage from socialism to Communism and the development of this through revolution:

The transition to communism certainly is not a matter of one class overthrowing another. But that does not mean there will be no social revolution, because the superseding of one kind of production relations by another is a qualitative leap, i.e., a revolution. The two transformations of individual economy to collective, and collective economy to public in China are both revolutions in the production relations. So to go from socialism's "distribution according to labor" to communism's "distribution according to need" has to be called a revolution in the production relations. Of course, "distribution according to need" has to be brought about gradually. Perhaps when the principal material goods can be adequately supplied we can begin to carry out such distribution with those goods, extending the practice to other goods on the basis of further development of the productive forces.

Consider the development of our people's communes. When we changed from basic ownership by the team to basic ownership by the commune, was a section of the people likely to raise objections or not? This is a question well worth our study. A determinative condition for realizing this changeover was that the commune-owned economy's income was more than half of the whole commune's total income. To realize the basic commune- ownership system is generally of benefit to the members of the commune. Thus we estimate that there should be no objection on the part of the vast majority. But at the time of changeover the original team cadres could no longer be relatively reduced under the circumstances. Would they object to the changeover?

Although classes may be eliminated in a socialist society, in the course of its development there are bound to be certain problems with "vested interest groups" which have grown content with existing institutions and unwilling to change them. For example, if the rule of distribution according to labor is in effect they benefit from higher pay for more work, and when it came time to change over to "distribution according to need" they could very well be uncomfortable with the new situation. Building any new system always necessitates some destruction of old ones. Creation never comes without destruction. If destruction is necessary, it is bound to arouse some opposition. The human animal is queer indeed. No sooner do people gain some superiority than they assume airs . . . it would be dangerous to ignore this. [A Critique of Soviet Economics, pp. 62-63]

And: Under socialism there may be no war but there is still struggle, struggle among sections of the people; there may be no revolution of one class overthrowing another, but there is still revolution. The transition from socialism to communism is revolutionary. The transition from one stage of communism to another is also. Then there is technological revolution and cultural revolution. Communism will surely have to pass through many stages and many revolutions. [A Critique of Soviet Economics, p. 71]

It was in these conditions and on these bases that Chairman Mao Tse-tung prepared and led the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, in whose founding document he established:

Now then, do classes exist in socialist countries? Does class struggle exist? We can now affirm that classes do exist in socialist countries and that class struggle undoubtedly exists. Lenin said: After the victory of the revolution, because of the existence of the bourgeoisie internationally, because of the existence of bourgeois remnants internally, because the petit bourgeoisie exists and continually generates a bourgeoisie, therefore the classes which have been overthrown within the country will continue to exist for a long time to come and may even attempt restoration. The bourgeois revolutions in Europe in such countries as England and France had many ups and downs. After the overthrow of feudalism there were several restorations and reversals of fortune. This kind of reversal is also possible in socialist countries. An example of this is Yugoslavia which has changed its nature and become revisionist, changing from a workers' and peasants' country to a country ruled by reactionary nationalist elements. In our country we must come to grasp, understand and study this problem really thoroughly. We must acknowledge that classes will continue to exist for a long time. We must also acknowledge the existence of a struggle of class against class, and admit the possibility of the restoration of reactionary classes. We must raise our vigilance and properly educate our youth as well as the cadres, the masses and the middle and basic-level cadres. Old cadres must also study these problems and be educated. Otherwise a country like ours can still move towards its opposite. Even to move towards its opposite would not matter too much because there would still be the negation of the negation, and afterwards we might move towards our opposite yet again. If our children's generation go in for revisionism and move towards their opposite, so that although they still nominally have socialism it is in fact capitalism, then our grandsons will certainly rise up in revolt and overthrow their fathers, because the masses will not be satisfied. Therefore, from now on we must talk about this every year, every month, every day. We will talk about it at congresses, at Party delegate conferences, at plenums, at every meeting we hold, so that have a more enlightened Marxist-Leninist line on the problem. [Chairman Mao Talks to the People, pp. 189-190]

Invoking "Never forget classes and the class struggle" in May 1963: Class struggle, the struggle for production and scientific experiment are the three great revolutionary movements for building a mighty socialist country. These movements are a sure guarantee that communists will be free from bureaucracy and immune against revisionism and dogmatism, and will forever remain invincible. They are a reliable guarantee that the proletariat will be able to unite with the broad working masses and realize a democratic dictatorship. If, in the absence of these movements, the landlords, rich peasants, counter revolutionaries, bad elements and monsters of all kinds were allowed to crawl out, while our cadres were to shut their eyes to all this and in many cases fail even to differentiate between the enemy and ourselves but were to collaborate with the enemy and were corrupted, divided and demoralized by him, if our cadres were thus pulled out or the enemy were able to sneak in, and if many of our workers, peasants and intellectuals were left defenseless against both the soft and the hard tactics of the enemy, then it would not take long, perhaps only several years or a decade, or several decades at most, before a counterrevolutionary restoration on a national scale inevitably occurred, the Marxist- Leninist party would undoubtedly become a revisionist party or fascist party, and the whole of China would change its color.

Similarly in point 17 of the "Proposal Concerning the General Line of the International Communist Movement" of June 1963, a document drafted under the personal direction of Chairman Mao: 17) For a very long historical period after the proletariat takes power, class struggle continues as an objective law independent of man's will, differing only in form from what it was before the taking of power.

After the October Revolution, Lenin pointed out a number of times that:

Life has confirmed these conclusions of Lenin's.

For decades or even longer periods after socialist industrialization and agricultural collectivization, it will be impossible to say that any socialist country will be free from those elements which Lenin repeatedly denounced, such as bourgeois hangers-on, parasites, speculators, swindlers, idlers, hooligans and embezzlers of state funds; or to say that a socialist country will no longer need to perform or be able to relinquish the task laid down by Lenin of conquering "this contagion, this plague, this ulcer that socialism has inherited from capitalism."

In a socialist country, it takes a very long historical period gradually to settle the question of who will win socialism or capitalism. The struggle between the road of socialism and the road of capitalism runs through this whole historical period. This struggle rises and falls in a wavelike manner, at times becoming very fierce, and the forms of the struggle are many and varied.

The 1957 Declaration rightly states that "the conquest of power by the working class is only the beginning of the revolution, not its conclusion."

To deny the existence of class struggle in the period of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the necessity of thoroughly completing the socialist revolution on the economic, political and ideological fronts is wrong, does not correspond to objective reality and violates Marxism-Leninism.

So much so that in 1964 he reiterated: "It will require a very extended period to resolve the struggle of who will triumph over whom: socialism or capitalism, on the political and ideological fronts. To achieve success a few decades are not enough, it will require a hundred or several hundred years. Regarding how long, it is better to prepare oneself for a long period and not a short one; regarding work, it is better to regard the task as difficult rather than easy. Thinking and acting in this way is more beneficial and less detrimental." And in 1965: "The principal target of the current movement are the people in power taking the capitalist road within the Party." "Among the people in power taking the capitalist road, some act openly while others act behind the scenes." Supporting them are "some people at a high level--in the communes, territories, districts, prefectures, and even at the provincial and central department level that are opposed to the construction of socialism."

The powerful development of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution began in 1966. In its initial milestone, the "Circular of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China" on May 1966, Chairman Mao wrote substantive paragraphs. Referring to the representatives of the bourgeoisie: "Numerous of the their representatives exist in the Central Committee of the Party and in the Party, government and other organizations, and at the central, provincial, municipal and autonomous region level." And:

"Can any equality be permitted on such basic questions as the struggle of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, the dictatorship of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie, the dictatorship of the proletariat in the superstructure, including all the various spheres of culture, and the continued efforts of the proletariat to weed out those representatives of the bourgeoisie who have sneaked into the communist party and who wave 'red flags' to oppose the red flag? For decades the old-line Social Democrats, and for over ten years the modern revisionists, have never allowed the proletariat equality with the bourgeoisie. They completely deny that the several thousand years of human history is a history of class struggle. They completely deny the class struggle of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, the proletarian revolution against the bourgeoisie, and the dictatorship of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie. On the contrary, they are faithful lackeys of the bourgeoisie and imperialism. Together with the bourgeoisie and imperialism, they cling to the bourgeois ideology of oppression and exploitation of the proletariat and to the capitalist system, and they oppose Marxist-Leninist ideology and the socialist system. They are a bunch of counter revolutionaries opposing the communist party and the people. Their struggle against us is one of life and death, and there is no question of equality. Therefore, our struggle against them, too, can be nothing but a life-and-death struggle, and our relation with them can in no way be one of equality. On the contrary, it is a relation of one class oppressing another, that is, the dictatorship of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie. There can be no other type of relation, such as a so-called relation of equality, or of peaceful coexistence between exploiting and exploited classes, or of kindness or magnanimity."

"Chairman Mao often says that there is no construction without destruction. Destruction means criticism and repudiation; it means revolution. It involves reasoning things out, which is construction. Put destruction first, and in the process you have construction."

"As a matter of fact, those party people in authority taking the capitalist road who support the bourgeois scholar-tyrants, and those bourgeois representatives who have sneaked into the party and protect the bourgeois scholar-tyrants, are indeed big party tyrants who have usurped the name of the party, have no contact with the masses, have no learning at all, and rely solely on 'acting arbitrarily and trying to overwhelm people with their power."

"But on the other hand, they give free rein to all the various ghosts and monsters who for many years have abounded in our press, radio, magazines, books, textbooks, platforms, works of literature, cinema, drama, ballads and stories, the fine arts, music, the dance, etc., and in doing so they never advocate proletarian leadership or stress any need for approval."

"Hold high the great banner of the proletarian Cultural Revolution, thoroughly expose the reactionary bourgeois stand of those so-called 'academic authorities' who oppose the party and socialism, thoroughly criticize and repudiate the reactionary bourgeois ideas in the sphere of academic work, education, formalism, literature and art, and publishing, and seize the leadership in these cultural spheres. To achieve this, it is necessary at the same time to criticize and repudiate those representatives of the bourgeoisie who have sneaked into the party, the government, the army, and all spheres of culture, to hear them out or transfer some of them to other positions. Above all, we must not entrust these people with the work of leading the Cultural Revolution. In fact many of them have done and are still doing such work, and this is extremely dangerous."

"Those representatives of the bourgeoisie who have sneaked into the party, the government, the army, and various cultural circles are a bunch of counterrevolutionary revisionists. Once conditions are ripe, they will seize political power and turn the dictatorship of the proletariat into a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. Some of them we have already seen through, others we have not. Some are still trusted by us and are being trained as our successors, persons like Khrushchev, for example, who are still nestling beside us. Party committees at all levels must pay full attention to this matter."

From the Central Committee's (CC) Circular of May 16, 1966.

Elsewhere, Chairman Mao has established that: "The present great cultural revolution is only the first, and in the future there will doubtless be others. In the revolution, the problem of who will defeat whom will only be resolved in a long historical period. If things are not resolved adequately, there will be the possibility of capitalist restoration at any moment. All the members of the Communist Party and the people of the entire country should not think that everything will be resolved after one or two great cultural revolutions, or even three or four. We must always be very alert and never drop our vigilance."

And defining the objectives and political essence of this great revolution, transcendental milestone in the world proletarian revolution:

"The present Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is completely necessary and very timely to consolidate the dictatorship of the proletariat, prevent the restoration of capitalism and to build socialism."

"The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is, in essence, a great political revolution begun, under the conditions of socialism, by the proletariat against the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes; it is the continuation of the protracted struggle between the Communist Party of China and the broad popular revolutionary masses under its leadership, on the one hand, and the reactionaries of the Kuomintang, on the other; it is the continuation of the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie."

And highlighting its economic role: "The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is a powerful motive force for the development of the social forces of production in our country." And in the ideological sphere the basic problem is to be guided by the principal of "combat the concept of privacy, and criticize and repudiate revisionism"; because, "the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is a great revolution that reaches the very soul of the people and is destined to resolve the problem of their world view." Insisting on this point, in 1967 the Chairman, before the Albanian military delegation said: "Now I would like to ask you a question: What would you say is the goal of the Great Cultural Revolution? (Someone answered on the spot: It is to struggle against power holders within the party who take the capitalist road.) To struggle against power holders who take the capitalist road is the main task, but it is by no means the goal. The goal is to solve the problem of world outlook; it is the question of eradicating the roots of revisionism.

The Central Committee has emphasized time and again that the masses must educate themselves and liberate themselves. This is because world outlook cannot be imposed on them. In order to transform ideology, it is necessary for the external causes to function through inner causes, though the latter are principal. If the world outlook is not transformed, how can the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution be called a victory? If the world outlook is not transformed, then although there are 2,000 power holders taking the capitalist road in this Great Cultural Revolution, there may be 4,000 next time." The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in which: "it is right to rebel against the reactionaries"; "the working class should lead everything" and "The proletariat should exercise an all-round dictatorship over the bourgeoisie in the superstructure, including in cultural areas." A revolution whose complexity and difficult conditions where masterfully expressed as follows: "In the past, we fought in the South and the North; it was relatively easy to make such wars, because the enemy was obvious. This Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is much more difficult than that type of war." "The problem is that those who have committed ideological errors are confused with those who contradictions with us are the same ones that exist between ourselves and the enemy, and it is difficult for a while to differentiate between them."

A great revolution, in which the revolutionary Shanghai storm in January 1967 unfurled the call by Chairman Mao: "Proletarian revolutionaries, unite to snatch power from the handful of leaders who are following the capitalist road within the Party!"; and his important instruction: "The People's Liberation Army should support the broad masses of the left." The revolutionary committees were formed to exercise the unified leadership of the revolution, a form of power concretized by: "The fundamental experience of the revolutionary committee resides on three points: first, it has representatives of the revolutionary cadres; second, it has representatives of the armed forces; and third, it has representatives of the revolutionary masses. Thus, triple revolutionary integration is formed. The revolutionary committee should exercise a unified leadership, end the excessive superposition by the administrative structure, have 'fewer but better troops and a simpler administration' and organize a revolutionized leading group that maintains contact with the masses."

A great revolution which developed itself following the principal of "grasp revolution and promote production, work and the preparations for war," within the strategic conception "make preparations to face war, make preparations against natural catastrophes and do everything for the good of the people."

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, as a continuation of the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat, thus marks the path of the world proletarian revolution in its heroic and unstoppable march towards Communism. In the most gigantic revolutionary epic of humanity it conquered imperishable victories for the international proletariat. Nevertheless, in 1968, with a profound understanding of history and proletarian internationalism, Chairman Mao taught us:

We have won a great victory. But the defeated class will continue to struggle. Its members are still about and it still exists. Therefore we cannot speak of the final victory, not for decades. We must not lose our vigilance. From the Leninist point of view, the final victory in one socialist country not only requires the efforts of the proletariat and the broad popular masses at home, but also depends on the victory of the world revolution and the abolition of the system of exploitation of man by man on this earth so that all mankind will be emancipated. Consequently, it is wrong to talk about the final victory of the revolution in our country light-heartedly; it runs counter to Leninism and does not conform to facts. [(4/15/69) Directives on GPCR, SW, Vol. IX, p. 428]

In April 1969, Chairman Mao said:

"It seems essential that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution should still be carried out. Our foundation has not been consolidated. According to my own observation I would say that, not in all factories, nor in an overwhelming majority of factories, but in quite a large majority of cases the leadership is not in the hands of true Marxists, nor yet in the hands of the masses of the workers. In the past the leadership in the factories was not devoid of good men there were good men. Among the Party committee secretaries, assistant secretaries and committee members there were good men. There were good men among the branch secretaries. But they followed the old line of Liu Shao-chi. They were all for material incentives, they put profits in command and did not promote proletarian politics. Instead they operated a system of bonuses, etc." "But in the factories there are indeed bad people" .... "I have brought up this instance to illustrate that the revolution has not been completed." [Talk at the First Plenum of the Ninth CC of the Chinese CP, SW Vol. IX, pp 398-399]

Aiming against bourgeois right: "Lenin talked about a bourgeois state without capitalists, build to protect bourgeois right. We ourselves have built up a state like that, in which things are not very different from the old society. There is greater hierarchy and a system of eight wage categories rules, and distribution is according to work and the exchange of equal values."

Combating the revisionism of the anti-Cultural Revolution wind of Teng and his henchmen, Chairman Mao proposed:

"After the democratic revolution, the workers, the poor peasants and lower middle peasants have not been delayed and want to make the revolution. In contrast, some portion of the Party militants have proven reluctant to move forward, and some have retreated and have put themselves against the revolution. Why? Because they, like the high officials they have become, seek to protect the interests of the high officials." "It happens that the socialist revolution falls on their own heads, thus during the collectivization of agriculture there were already those in the Party who opposed it, and when bourgeois right was criticized, their feelings are of rejection. We are making the socialist revolution, nevertheless it is not understood where the bourgeoisie is. It is right inside the Communist Party, and it is the followers of the capitalist road inside the Party. The followers of the capitalist road are still following their road." "Overturning correct verdicts goes against the will of the people." "Without struggle it is impossible to advance." "We are 800 million, can we sidestep the struggle?!" "What does it mean to take the three instructions as key? Stability and unity do not imply abandoning the class struggle. The class struggle is like the key line in a net and the rest is just the mesh." "This person does not engage in the class struggle; he has never mentioned this key point. He persists with his 'black cat or white cat', without making any distinction between imperialism and Marxism."

And synthesizing the class struggle in China and the Communist Party of China (CPC):

"We have been singing The Internationale for 50 years. Nevertheless, on 10 occasions people have appeared in our Party who intended to create splits. The way I see it, this will occur 10, 20 or 30 times more. You don't believe it? Even if you don't, I believe it anyway. Will struggles cease when we reach Communism? I don't believe it. Even in Communism, there will be struggles, only they will be struggles between the new and the obsolete, between what is correct and what is incorrect. From today until tens of thousands of years from now, wrong ideas will be worthless and will not be able to sustain itself."

"In China, since the emperor was overthrown in 1911, no reactionary has be capable of staying in power for long. The longest rule by reaction (Chiang Kai-shek) only lasted 20 years, but he also fell when the people rose up in rebellion. Chiang Kai-shek rose to power by taking advantage of the confidence bestowed on him by Sun Yat-sen and the Juangpu Academy he was in charge of, and by uniting great band of reactionaries around him. Once he turned against the Communist Party, practically all the landlords and bourgeoisie supported him. Furthermore, the Communist Party lacked experience at that time. In that way, Chiang Kai-shek was able to temporarily impose himself with great jubilation. Despite this, during these 20 years he was never able to unite the country.

During this time there was the war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the wars between the Kuomintang and various warlords, the war between China and Japan, and finally, the civil war on a grand scale, for four years, that cast Chiang Kai-shek out to a group of islands. If the Right is able to carry out an anti-Communist coup in China, I am convinced it will know no peace, and very probably its domination will be short-lived, since this will be intolerable by any of the revolutionaries who represent the interests of the people, who make up more than 90% of the population." "In conclusion: the future is bright, but the road has twists and turns, phrases which have become time-honored."

In 1975, Renmin Ribao and Hongqi published the following note to the publication of Marx, Engels and Lenin on the Dictatorship of the Proletariat: Our great leader Chairman Mao recently gave an important instruction on the question of theory.

Chairman Mao pointed out: "Why did Lenin speak of exercising dictatorship over the bourgeoisie? This question must be thoroughly understood. Lack of clarity on this question will lead to revisionism. This should be made known to the whole nation."

... Referring to the socialist system, Chairman Mao pointed out: "China is a socialist country. Before liberation she was much the same as capitalism. Even now she practices an eight- grade wage system, distribution to each according to his work and exchange by means of money, which are scarcely different from those in the old society. What is different is that the system of ownership has changed." Chairman Mao also pointed out: Our country currently practices a system of exchange, and the wage system is unequal, with eight grades, etc. So far as the bourgeois rights are concerned, "these can only be restricted under the dictatorship of the proletariat." Thus it would be quite easy for people like Lin Piao to push the capitalist system if they should come to power. Therefore, we should read more of the works by Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin and by Chairman Mao.

Furthermore, Chairman Mao also pointed out: "Lenin said: 'Small production engenders capitalism and the bourgeoisie continuously, daily, hourly, spontaneously, and on a mass scale.' This also occurs among a section of the workers and a section of the Party members. Both within the ranks of the proletariat and among personnel of state organs, there are those who follow the bourgeois style of life."

These instructions of Chairman Mao profoundly elucidate the Marxist theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat and highlights the great importance the study of the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat in the current situation. This should merit the close attention of all the Party comrades and the entire people. [People's Daily, February 9, 1975] Go to the section