What are Mao’s Ten Questions On the Major Relationships today?
Mao used the experience of the Soviet Union as a warning, summed up the country’s experience, discussed the ten major relationships between the socialist revolution and socialist construction, and proposed how to build socialism quickly, well, and economically that suits our country’s situation. The basic idea of the general line. April 25, 1956 meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships: These ten questions are raised around our basic policy, which is to mobilize all positive factors at home and abroad to serve the cause of socialism.
In the past, in order to end the rule of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism, and for the victory of the people’s democratic revolution, we implemented the policy of mobilizing all positive factors. Now, in order to carry out the socialist revolution and build a socialist country, this policy is also followed. However, there are still some issues in our work that need to be discussed. It is particularly worth noting that the Soviet Union has recently exposed some of their shortcomings and mistakes in the process of building socialism. Do you still want to take the detours they have taken? In the past, based on their experience and lessons, we have avoided some detours, and now of course we have to take a warning.
ONE: The relationship between heavy industry, light industry, and agriculture: Heavy industry is the focus of my country’s construction. Priority must be given to the development of the production of means of production. This has already been set. However, we must not neglect the means of subsistence, especially the production of food. If there is not enough food and other necessities of life, the workers will not be able to feed them in the first place. What else is there to talk about developing heavy industry? Therefore, the relationship between heavy industry, light industry, and agriculture must be handled well.What are the positive factors at home and abroad? At home, workers and peasants are the basic forces. Intermediate forces are forces that can be fought for. Although reactionary forces are a negative factor, we still have to do a good job and try our best to turn negative factors into positive factors. In the international arena, all forces that can be united must be united. Those that are not neutral can be striving to be neutral, and the reactionary can also be divided and used. In short, we must mobilize all direct and indirect forces to strive to build our country into a powerful socialist country. Let me talk about ten questions below.
In handling the relationship between heavy industry, light industry, and agriculture, we have made no mistakes of principle. We have done better than the Soviet Union and some Eastern European countries. For example, the Soviet Union’s food production has not reached the highest level before the revolution for a long time, and some Eastern European countries have serious problems caused by the unbalanced development of light and heavy industries. We do not exist here. They focus on heavy industry one-sidedly and ignore agriculture and light industry. As a result, there are not enough goods on the market and the currency is unstable. We pay more attention to agriculture and light industry. We have been focusing on agriculture and developing agriculture, which has considerably ensured the food and raw materials needed for the development of industry. Our commodities for civilian use are relatively abundant, and prices and currencies are stable.
Our current problem is to appropriately adjust the investment ratio of heavy industry, agriculture and light industry, and develop more agriculture and light industry. In this way, is heavy industry no longer the mainstay? It is still the main focus or the focus of investment. However, the proportion of investment in agriculture and light industry should be heavier.
What is the result of the aggravation? As a result of the aggravation, firstly, it can better supply the people’s living needs, and secondly, it can increase the accumulation of funds more quickly, so that more and better heavy industries can be developed. Heavy industry can also accumulate, but under our current economic conditions, light industry and agriculture accumulate more and faster.
Here is a question. Do you really want to develop heavy industry or do you imagine it, or do you think it harder or worse? If you are hypothetical, or if you miss it a little bit, then attack agriculture and light industry and invest less in them. If you really want to, or want to think hard, then you have to focus on agriculture and light industry, so that more grain and light industry raw materials, more accumulation, and more funds will be invested in heavy industry in the future.
We can now develop heavy industry in two ways. One is to develop less agriculture and light industry, and the other is to develop more agriculture and light industry. From a long-term point of view, the former method will make the development of heavy industry less and slower, at least the foundation is not so solid, and it will not be worthwhile to calculate the general ledger in a few decades. The latter method will enable the heavy industry to develop more and faster, and because it will ensure the needs of the people’s lives, it will make the foundation for its development more stable.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
TWO: The relationship between coastal industries and inland industries. The country’s industry used to be concentrated along the coast. The so-called coastal areas refer to Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, eastern Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi. Approximately 70% of all light and heavy industries in our country are located along the coast and only 30% are in the interior. This is an unreasonable situation formed in history. Coastal industrial bases must be fully utilized, but in order to balance the layout of industrial development, inland industries must develop vigorously. On the issue of the relationship between the two, we have not made any major mistakes, but in recent years, we have underestimated the coastal industries and paid less attention to its development. This needs to be changed.
In the past, North Korea was still fighting, and the international situation was still very tense, and it had to affect our view of coastal industries. Now, it is estimated that the new war of aggression against China and the new world war will not be fought in a short period of time, and there may be a peace period of ten years or longer. In this way, it would be wrong if the equipment capabilities and technical strength of coastal industries were not fully utilized. Not to mention ten years, even five years, we should also do a good job in the coastal industry for four years, and wait for the fifth year to fight before moving. Judging from the available materials, the construction and accumulation of light industry factories are generally very fast. After all production is put into operation, within four years, in addition to the investment of the factory, three factories, two factories, and one factory can be earned back. At least half a factory. Why not do such a good thing? The assumption that the atomic bomb is already on our heads and will fall in a few seconds is not in line with the facts. Therefore, it is wrong to adopt a negative attitude towards coastal industries.
This is not to say that the new factories are all built along the coast. There is no doubt that most of the new industries should be placed in the interior to gradually balance the industrial layout and facilitate preparations for war. But some new factories and mines can also be established along the coast, and some can also be large-scale. As for the expansion and reconstruction of the original light and heavy industries along the coast, some have already been done in the past and will continue to develop greatly in the future.
Making good use of and developing the old industrial foundations along the coast can make us more powerful to develop and support inland industries. If a negative attitude is adopted, it will hinder the rapid development of inland industries. So this is also a question of whether the development of mainland industry is real or imaginary. If it is true rather than hypothetical, it is necessary to make more use and development of coastal industries, especially light industry.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
THREE: The relationship between economic construction and national defense. National defense is indispensable. Now, we have a certain degree of national defense strength. After resisting U.S. aggression and aggression against Korea and several years of training, our army has been strengthened, stronger than the Soviet Red Army before World War II, and its equipment has also been improved. Our defense industry is being established. Since Pangu opened up the world, we didn’t know how to build airplanes and cars, and now we can build them.
We still don’t have an atomic bomb. However, we did not have planes and artillery in the past. We defeated Japanese imperialism and Chiang Kai-shek with millet and rifle. We are now stronger than in the past, and we will be stronger in the future. Not only do we need more planes and artillery, but also atomic bombs. In today’s world, if we are not to be bullied by others, we cannot live without this thing. How to do it? The reliable way is to reduce military and administrative expenses to an appropriate ratio and increase economic construction expenses. Only when economic construction develops faster can national defense construction make greater progress.
In 1950, at the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party, we already raised the issue of streamlining state institutions and reducing military and administrative expenditures. We believed that this was one of the three conditions for a fundamental improvement in my country’s financial and economic situation. During the first five-year plan period, military and administrative expenses accounted for 30% of the total expenditure of the state budget. This proportion is too big. During the second five-year plan, it will be reduced to about 20% in order to allocate more funds, open more factories, and build more machines. After a period of time, we will not only have many airplanes and artillery, but also our own atomic bombs.
The question also arises here. Do you really want the atomic bomb, do you really want it, or do you only think about it, but don’t you really want it? If you really want and want it very much, you should lower the proportion of military and administrative expenses and do more economic construction. If you don’t really want it or want it very much, you should still act according to the old rules. This is a question of strategic policy, and I hope the Military Commission will discuss it.
Now we cut all the soldiers, okay? That’s not good. Because there are still enemies, we are still bullied and surrounded by them! We must strengthen national defense, so we must first strengthen economic construction.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
FOUR: Relations between countries, production units and individual producers. The relationship between the state, factories, and cooperatives, and the relationship between factories, cooperatives, and individual producers, must be handled well. For this reason, we must not only take care of one end. We must take into account the three aspects of the state, the collective, and the individual. In view of the experience of the Soviet Union and our own, we must solve this problem better in the future.
For workers, if their labor productivity increases, their working conditions and collective welfare need to be gradually improved. We have always advocated arduous struggle and opposed putting personal material interests above all else. At the same time, we have always advocated caring about the lives of the masses and opposed bureaucracy that does not care about the masses. With the development of the entire national economy, wages also need to be adjusted appropriately. Regarding wages, it has recently been decided to increase some, mainly at the bottom and on the worker side, in order to narrow the gap between the upper and lower sides. Our wages are generally not high, but because more people are employed, because of low and stable prices, and other conditions, workers’ lives have been greatly improved. Under the proletarian regime, the workers’ political consciousness and enthusiasm for work have always been high. At the end of last year, the central government called for anti-rightist conservatives, and the working masses enthusiastically supported them. They fought for three months and exceeded the plan for the first quarter of this year by exception. We need to vigorously promote their spirit of hard work, and we also need to pay more attention to solving their urgent problems in labor and life.
Here I also want to talk about the independence of the factory under unified leadership. It would be inappropriate to concentrate everything in the central or provincial and municipal governments without giving factories a little power, a little room for maneuver, and a little profit. We don’t have much experience and we still need to study how much the rights and interests of the central government, provinces, cities, and factories should be. In principle, unity and independence are the unity of opposites, and there must be unity and independence. For example, when we have a meeting now, it is unity. After the meeting, some people go for a walk, some people study, and some people eat, which means independence. If we don’t give everyone independence after the meeting, and keep the meeting going on endlessly, won’t everyone die? This is true of individuals, as are factories and other production units. Each production unit must have an independence linked to unity in order to develop more vigorously.
Let me talk about farmers again. Our relationship with farmers has always been good, but we have made a mistake on the food issue. In 1954, production was reduced in parts of our country due to floods, but we bought 7 billion catties more of grain. Such a reduction of one more than one, caused almost everyone to talk about grain in many places last spring, and households talked about unified marketing. The peasants have opinions, and there are many opinions inside and outside the party. Although many people deliberately exaggerate and take the opportunity to attack, it cannot be said that we have no shortcomings. The investigation was not enough and I couldn’t figure it out. I bought an extra 7 billion catties. This is a shortcoming. We discovered the shortcomings. In 1955, we lost 7 billion jin in purchases, and we made a “three fixed”, which is to set production, order purchases and sales, plus a bumper harvest. One is less and one is increased, which makes farmers have more. More than 20 billion catties of grain. In this way, the peasants who had opinions in the past also said that “the Communist Party is really good.” The whole party must remember this lesson.
The Soviet method digs the peasants very hard. They took the so-called compulsory sales system [1] and other methods to take too much of the things produced by the farmers, and the price they gave was extremely low. By accumulating funds in this way, farmers’ enthusiasm for production has been greatly damaged. You want the hen to lay more eggs without giving her rice to eat. You want the horses to run well and the horses not to eat grass. How can there be such a truth in the world!
Our policy on peasants is not the kind of Soviet policy, but we take into account the interests of the country and peasants. Our agricultural taxes have always been relatively light. In the exchange of industrial and agricultural products, we adopt a policy of narrowing the scissors gap, equivalent exchange or nearly equivalent exchange. We purchase agricultural products at normal prices, and farmers do not suffer, and the purchase price has gradually increased. In supplying industrial products to farmers, we adopt policies of small profits but quick turnover, stable prices or appropriate price cuts, and generally provide slight subsidies for the supply of food to farmers in grain-deficient areas. But that’s it. If you are careless, you will still make mistakes of one kind or another. In view of the serious mistakes made by the Soviet Union on this issue, we must pay more attention to handling the relationship between the country and the peasants.
The relationship between cooperatives and farmers should also be handled well. Regarding the income of cooperatives, how much the state receives, how much cooperatives receive, how much farmers receive, and how to receive them, must be properly regulated. The part taken by the cooperative serves the farmers directly. Needless to say, production costs, management fees are also necessary, the provident fund is for the expansion of reproduction, and the public welfare fund is for the welfare of farmers. However, the proportion of each of these items should be worked out with farmers in a reasonable ratio. We must strive to save production costs and management costs. The provident fund public welfare fund must also be controlled, and we cannot hope to do all the good things in one year.
In addition to encountering extraordinary natural disasters, we must, on the basis of increasing agricultural production, strive for an increase in the annual income of 90% of the members over the previous year, and the income of 10% of the members can remain unchanged. If there is a reduction, we must find a way to solve it as soon as possible.
In short, the state and the factory, the state and the workers, the factory and the workers, the state and the cooperative, the state and the peasant, the cooperative and the peasant, must all take care of it, not just one head. Either way, it is not conducive to socialism or the dictatorship of the proletariat. This is a major issue that concerns 600 million people, and education must be repeated among the entire party and the people of the whole country.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
FIVE: The relationship between the central and local governments. The relationship between the central and local governments is also a contradiction. To resolve this contradiction, what we must pay attention to at present is that under the premise of consolidating the unified leadership of the central government, we should expand the power a little bit, give the locality more independence, and let the locality do more. This is more beneficial for us to build a strong socialist country. Our country is so big, with such a large population, and the situation is so complicated. It is much better to have both the central and local enthusiasm than just one enthusiasm. We can’t concentrate everything in the center like the Soviet Union, so that the localities are stuck tightly, and there is no right to maneuver at all.
The central government must develop industry, and the local governments must also develop industry. Even industries directly under the central government still rely on local assistance. As for agriculture and commerce, it is even more dependent on the locality. In short, to develop socialist construction, we must give full play to the enthusiasm of local governments. To consolidate the central government, it must pay attention to local interests.
Now dozens of hands are stuck in places, making local affairs difficult. Once a ministry is established, revolution is required, and if revolution is required, orders must be given. The ministries fail to issue orders to the provincial party committee and the provincial people’s committees, and they will unite with the provincial and municipal departments and bureaus, and give orders to the departments and bureaus every day. Although these orders are not known to the Party Central Committee and the State Council, they all say they come from the Central Committee, which puts a lot of pressure on local governments. There were so many reports that caused a flood of trouble. This situation must be corrected.
We must promote the style of negotiating and handling affairs with local governments. In handling affairs, the Party Central Committee always consults with localities, and never pretends to give orders when discussing with different places. In this regard, I hope that the various ministries of the central government will pay attention to all matters related to the local government. They must first discuss with the local government, and then issue orders after consultation.
The central departments can be divided into two categories. In one category, their leaders can continue to manage the enterprises, and their local management agencies and enterprises are supervised by the local authorities; in the other category, their task is to put forward guidelines and formulate work plans. To deal with.
Handling the relationship between the central and local governments is a very important issue for a big country like ours. Some capitalist countries are also paying attention to this problem. Their systems are fundamentally different from ours, but their development experience is still worthy of our study. Based on our own experience, the large-area system we implemented in the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China was necessary at that time, but it also had shortcomings. Later, the Gao-Rao Anti-Party Alliance took advantage of this shortcoming to some extent. In the future, the decision to abolish the large regions and the provinces directly under the central government is correct. But the necessary independence from this to abolish the place, the result is not so good. Our constitution stipulates that the legislative power is concentrated in the central government. However, under the conditions of not violating the policies of the central government, localities can formulate regulations, regulations, and methods in accordance with the situation and work needs. The constitution does not restrict them. We want to be unified, but also special. In order to build a powerful socialist country, there must be a strong unified leadership of the central government, a unified plan and a unified discipline throughout the country, and it is not allowed to undermine this necessary unification. At the same time, we must give full play to the enthusiasm of localities, and each region must have its own specialties that suit local conditions. This kind of speciality is not the kind of Gao Gang’s special, but is necessary for the overall benefit and to strengthen national unity.
There is also the issue of the relationship between the locality and the locality. What we are talking about here is mainly the relationship between the superior and the subordinate of the locality. Provinces and cities have opinions on central departments, but prefectures, counties, districts, and townships have no opinions on provinces and cities? The central authorities must pay attention to the enthusiasm of provinces and cities, and provinces and cities must also pay attention to the enthusiasm of prefectures, counties, districts, and townships. Of course, we must also tell the comrades below which things must be unified and not be messed up. In short, what can and should be unified must be unified, and what cannot and should not be unified must not be forced to be unified. Provinces, cities, prefectures, counties, districts, and townships should have legitimate independence and legitimate rights, and they should all be contested. This kind of power struggle based on the overall interests of the country is not a power struggle based on one’s own interests. It cannot be called localism or independence.
The relationship between provinces and cities is also a relationship between localities and localities, and it must be handled well. Our principle has always been to promote the overall situation and mutual assistance and accommodation.
We don’t have much experience and immature in resolving the relationship between the central government and local governments and local governments. We hope that you will study and discuss them, and you will sum up your experience, carry forward your achievements, and overcome your shortcomings every time you pass.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
SIX. The relationship between the six Han and ethnic minorities: Regarding the relationship between the Han and ethnic minorities, our policy is relatively stable and is more favored by ethnic minorities. We emphatically oppose Han chauvinism. Local nationalism should also be opposed, but that is generally not the point.
The minority population in our country is small and occupy a large area. In terms of population, the Han nationality accounts for 94%, which is an overwhelming advantage. It would be bad if Han people practice Han chauvinism and discriminate against ethnic minorities. And who has more land? The land is mostly ethnic minorities, accounting for 50 to 60%. We say that China has a vast land and abundant resources. In fact, the Han nationality has a “large population” and ethnic minorities have a vast land and abundant resources. At least the underground resources are likely to be ethnic minorities.
All ethnic minorities have made contributions to the history of China. The Han nationality has a large population and was formed by the mixed blood of many ethnic groups over a long period of time. The reactionary rulers in history are mainly the reactionary rulers of the Han nationality. They have created various barriers among our nationalities and bullied the ethnic minorities. The impact of this situation is not easy to eliminate quickly among the working people. Therefore, both cadres and the masses of the people, we must carry out extensive and lasting education on the national policy of the proletariat, and we must always pay attention to the relationship between the Han and ethnic minorities. An inspection has been done two years earlier, and it should be done again now. If the relationship is not normal, you must deal with it seriously, not just talking about it.
In minority areas, the economic management system and financial system should be studied carefully.
We must sincerely and actively help ethnic minorities develop economic and cultural development. In the Soviet Union, the relationship between the Russian nation and ethnic minorities is very abnormal, and we should accept this lesson. The air in the sky, the treasures in the forest and the underground are all important factors for the construction of socialism, and all material factors can only be developed and utilized through human factors. We must improve the relationship between the Han and ethnic minorities, consolidate the unity of all ethnic groups, and work together to build a great socialist motherland.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
SEVEN: Party and non-party relations. Is it better for one party or several parties? From now on, I am afraid it is better for several parties. This is not only the case in the past, but it can also be the case in the future, which is long-term coexistence and mutual supervision.
In our country, many democratic parties, dominated by the national bourgeoisie and its intellectuals, formed in the struggle against Japan and Chiang Kai-shek, continue to exist today. On this point, we are different from the Soviet Union. We consciously leave the democratic parties so that they have the opportunity to express their opinions and adopt a policy of unity and struggle against them. We must unite with all the democrats who give us opinions in good faith. We should continue to mobilize the enthusiasm of Kuomintang military and political personnel with patriotism like Wei Lihuang and Weng Wenhao. Those who scold us, like Long Yun, Liang Shuming, Peng Yihu, and so on, we have to raise, let them scold, scold it unreasonably, we refute, scold it justified, and we accept it. This is more beneficial to the party, the people, and socialism.
Since there is still class and class struggle in China, it will not be without various forms of opposition. Although all democratic parties and non-party democrats have expressed their acceptance of the leadership of the Communist Party of China, many of them are actually opposition parties of varying degrees. They both opposed and did not oppose the issues of “carrying the revolution through to the end”, resistance to US aggression and aid to Korea, and land reform. They still have opinions about suppressing counter-revolutionaries. They said that the “Common Program” was so good that they didn’t want to build a socialist-type constitution, but they all raised their hands in favor of the constitution. Things often go to the opposite side of their own, and the attitude of the Democratic Party on many issues is the same. They are the opposition, but not the opposition. They often go from opposition to no opposition.
Both the Communist Party and the democratic parties happened in history. Everything that happened in history must be eliminated in history. Therefore, the Communist Party will one day be eliminated, and the democratic parties will one day be eliminated. Elimination is so uncomfortable? I think it’s very comfortable. The Communist Party, the dictatorship of the proletariat, I think it is really good one day. Our task is to prompt them to be eliminated earlier. We have said this many times in the past.
However, the proletarian party and the dictatorship of the proletariat are now indispensable and must continue to be strengthened. Otherwise, counter-revolutionaries cannot be suppressed, imperialism cannot be resisted, socialism cannot be built, and construction cannot be consolidated. Lenin’s theory of the proletarian party and the dictatorship of the proletariat is by no means “outdated” as some people say. The dictatorship of the proletariat cannot be without great coercion. However, it is necessary to oppose bureaucracy and oppose large institutions. Under the condition that no one is dead and two things are not to be done, I suggest that the party and government institutions should be greatly streamlined and cut two-thirds of it.
Having said that, the need to streamline the party and government institutions does not mean that democratic parties are not needed. I hope you will take a look at the work of the united front so that their relationship with us will be improved, and their enthusiasm will be mobilized to serve socialism as much as possible.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
EIGHT: The relationship between the eight revolutions and counter-revolutions. What is the counter-revolutionary factor? It is the negative factor, the destructive factor, and the opposing force of the positive factor. Can the counter-revolution be changed? Of course, some counter-revolutionaries who are devoted to it will not change. However, under the conditions of our country, most of them will change to varying degrees in the future. Because we have adopted the correct policy, many counter-revolutionaries have now been transformed into non-counter-revolutionaries, and some people have done some useful things. A few points should be affirmed:
First, it should be affirmed that the suppression of counter-revolutionaries in 1951 and 1952 was necessary. There is such an opinion that the suppression of counter-revolutionaries should not be carried out at that time. This opinion is wrong.
The way to deal with counter-revolutionaries is to kill, shut down, manage, and release. Kill, everyone knows what it is all about. To shut down is to shut up for labor reform. Management is to put it in the society and be supervised by the masses. Letting go means generally not catching what can be caught or not, or letting him go if he is caught and behaves well afterwards. It is necessary to deal with counter-revolutionaries differently according to different situations.
Now just talk about killing. At that time, the suppression of counter-revolution killed a group of people. Who were they? It is a counter-revolutionary who hates the common people and is heavily indebted. In the great revolution of 600 million people, the people will not be able to rise without killing the “Eastern Domination” and “West Domination”. If it had not been for that repression, we would have adopted a leniency policy today, and the people would not be able to approve it. Some people now hear that Stalin killed some people by mistake, and they say that the counter-revolutionaries we killed also killed the wrong people. This is not right. It is certain that the past was fundamentally right, and it has practical significance at present.
The second point is that it should be affirmed that there is still a counter-revolution, but it has been greatly reduced. After the issue of Hu Feng came out, it was necessary to check the counter-revolutionaries. Some have not been found out, but the survey will continue. We must be sure that there are still a few counter-revolutionaries who are still carrying out various counter-revolutionary sabotage activities, such as killing cattle, burning food, sabotaging factories, stealing intelligence, putting up reactionary slogans, and so on. Therefore, it is wrong to say that the counter-revolution has been eliminated and you can sit back and relax. As long as there is still class struggle between China and the world, we can never relax our vigilance. However, it is also wrong to say that there are still many counter-revolutionaries.
The third point is that in the future, the suppression of counter-rebels in society will require fewer catches and killings. Because the counter-revolutionaries in society are directly wronged by the common people, and the common people hate it, a few people still want to kill. Most of them have to be handed over to agricultural cooperatives to control production and reform through labor. However, we cannot declare a non-killing or abolishment of the death penalty.
The fourth point is that when counter-revolutionaries are checked in agencies, schools, and troops, we must adhere to the one that started in Yan’an, which is not to kill one, but not to catch most of them. Counter-revolutionaries that are based on facts are inspected by agencies, but the Public Security Bureau does not catch them, the procuratorial organs do not prosecute, and the courts do not try. Of the 100 counter-revolutionaries, more than 90 were dealt with in this way. This is the so-called ignorance of the majority. As for killing, it means not killing.
What kind of people don’t kill? People like Hu Feng, Pan Hannian, and Jao Shushi did not kill, even the captured war criminals like Emperor Xuantong and Kang Ze. Not killing them is not that there is no crime to kill, but that it is disadvantageous to kill. If such a person kills one, the second and the third are about to be compared, and many people’s heads will fall to the ground. This is the first one. Second, you can kill the wrong person. History has proved that a head can’t be picked up. It’s not like leeks, which can grow up after a single cut. If you cut a wrong head, there is no way to correct the mistake. The third article is to destroy evidence. The suppression of counter-revolution requires evidence. This counter-revolution is often living evidence of that counter-revolution, and you can ask him if you have a lawsuit. If you wiped him out, there may be no more evidence. This will only benefit the counter-revolution, not the revolution. The fourth is to kill them, one cannot increase production, two cannot improve the level of science, three cannot help eliminate the four evils, four cannot strengthen national defense, and five cannot regain Taiwan. Kill them, you have a reputation for killing captives. Killing captives has always had a bad reputation. There is one more thing: the counter-revolution in the organization is different from the counter-revolution in the society. The counter-revolutionaries in society crawl on the people’s heads, while the counter-revolutionaries in the institutions are farther away from the people. They have common grievances, but not many direct grievances. What is the harm in not killing one of these people? Those who can be reformed through labor go to reform through labor, and those who cannot be reformed through labor can raise a group. Counter-revolutionaries are waste and pests, but after they are caught, they can do something for the people.
However, should we enact a law to say that the counter-revolutionaries in the organization will not be killed? This is our internal policy. There is no need to announce it. In fact, it is as good as possible. Suppose someone dropped a bomb and killed everyone in this house, or half, or one-third, would you say kill or not? Then it must be killed.
The implementation of a non-killing policy in the elimination of counter-revolutionaries does not prevent us from adopting a serious attitude towards counter-revolutionaries. However, it can be guaranteed not to make irreparable mistakes, and there are opportunities for corrections when mistakes are made. Many people can be stabilized and distrust among party comrades can be avoided. If you don’t decapitate, you have to feed it. All counter-revolutionaries should be given a way out of life so that they have a chance to rehabilitate. Doing so will benefit the people’s cause and international influence.
The suppression of counter-revolutionaries still has to do hard work, and everyone cannot relax. In the future, in addition to the continued suppression of counter-revolutionaries in society, all counter-revolutionaries in government offices, schools, and troops must continue to be found out. We must distinguish ourselves from the enemy. If the enemy is allowed to mix into our ranks, or even into our leading organs, it will cause serious danger to the cause of socialism and the dictatorship of the proletariat. This is clear to everyone.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
NINE: Right and wrong relations. Both inside and outside the party must distinguish between right and wrong. How to treat people who have made mistakes is an important issue. The correct attitude should be that for comrades who have made mistakes, we should adopt the policy of “punishing the past, treating the sick and saving people” to help them correct their mistakes and allow them to continue their revolution. In the past, when the dogmatists headed by Wang Ming were in power, our party made mistakes on this issue and learned the bad side of Stalin’s style. They don’t want middle forces in society, they don’t allow others to correct their mistakes, or revolutions within the party.
“The True Story of Ah Q” is a good novel. I advise comrades who have read it to read it again, and comrades who have not read it. In this novel, Lu Xun mainly wrote about a backward and unconscious peasant. He specially wrote the chapter “No revolution allowed”, saying that fake foreign devils are not allowed to make Ah Q revolution. In fact, Ah Q’s so-called revolution at that time was just trying to get something like others. However, such revolutionary fake foreign devils are still not allowed. I think at this point, some people are a bit like fake foreign devils. They do not allow people who make mistakes to revolution, regardless of the boundary between mistakes and counter-revolution, and even kill some who make mistakes. We must remember this lesson. It is not good whether people are forbidden to make revolution in society or for comrades who have made mistakes in the party to correct their mistakes.
For the comrades who have made mistakes, some people say that they should see if they change it. I said that just looking at it is not enough, and I have to help them change it. That is to say, one must see, and the other must help. People want to help, those who have not made mistakes want to help, and those who have made mistakes want to help even more. People probably don’t make mistakes. They make mistakes more or less, and help if they make mistakes. Just looking at it is negative, and various conditions must be set up to help him change. The right and wrong must be clarified, because the principled dispute within the party is a reflection of the class struggle in society within the party, and ambiguity is not allowed. According to the situation, it is normal to adopt appropriate and realistic criticisms and even necessary struggles against comrades who have made mistakes, and this is to help them correct their mistakes. Instead of giving help to comrades who have made mistakes, but gloating over misfortune, this is sectarianism.
For the revolution, it is always better to have more people. Most people who make mistakes can be corrected, except for a few who persist in their mistakes and do not correct them after repeated instruction. Just as people who have had typhoid fever can be immune, people who have made mistakes can make fewer mistakes as long as they are good at learning from their mistakes. On the contrary, a person who has never made a mistake is prone to make mistakes because he tends to raise his tail. We must pay attention to over-correcting people who have made mistakes, often to ourselves. Gao Gang originally wanted to move rocks and hit others, but he knocked him down. Treating people who make mistakes kindly can win people’s hearts and unite people. Whether to adopt a helpful attitude or a hostile attitude towards comrades who have made mistakes is a criterion for distinguishing whether a person is good or bad.
The policy of “punishing the past, treating the sick and saving people” is the policy of uniting the whole party, and we must adhere to this policy.
Mao: Ten Questions On the Major Relationships
TEN: Relations between China and Foreign Countries.
We put forward the slogan of learning from foreign countries, I think it is correct. Now leaders of some countries are reluctant to mention, or even dare not to mention this slogan. This requires a little courage, which is to put down the shelf on the stage.
It should be admitted that every nation has its strengths, otherwise why can it exist? Why can it develop? At the same time, every nation has its shortcomings. Some people think that socialism is great, without any shortcomings. How can this happen? It should be admitted that there are always advantages and disadvantages. Our party branch secretary and the company’s platoon leader know that it is written in a small book. There are two points in summing up the experience today. One is the advantages and the other is the disadvantages. They all know there are two points, why do we only mention one? There are two points in ten thousand years. There will be two points in the future, two points in the present, and two points for each person. In short, there are two points, not one point. To say that there is only one point is called knowing the first and not knowing the second.
Our policy is to learn the strengths of all nations and countries, and all the really good things in politics, economy, science, technology, literature, and art. However, there must be a critical study of analysis, not blindly, not copy everything, and apply it mechanically. Of course, don’t learn their shortcomings and shortcomings.
This attitude should also be adopted with regard to the experience of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. In the past, some of us didn’t know, and others learned about their shortcomings. When I learned how to be great, they no longer wanted it. As a result, I fell into a catty, like Monkey King, turned it over. For example, in the past, some people said that we had made a mistake of principle because the Soviet Union had a film department and a cultural bureau, and we had a cultural department and a film bureau. They didn’t expect that the Soviet Union soon changed the Ministry of Culture, just like us. Some people don’t analyze anything and rely entirely on the “wind”. Today the north wind blows, he is the north wind faction, tomorrow the westerly wind blows, he is the west wind faction, and then the north wind blows, he is the north wind faction again. He has no opinion, and often goes from one extreme to the other.
The man who used to hold Stalin ten thousand feet high in the Soviet Union has now demoted him to nine thousand feet underground. Some people in our country followed suit. The Central Committee believes that Stalin is a three-point error and seven-point achievement. In general, he is still a great Marxist. According to this measure, he wrote the “History of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.” The evaluation of Sanqikai is more appropriate. Stalin did something wrong with China. The “Left” adventurism of Wang Ming in the late period of the Second Revolutionary Civil War, and the right opportunism of Wang Ming in the early stage of the War of Resistance Against Japan all came from Stalin. During the War of Liberation, revolutions were not allowed at first, saying that if there was a civil war, the Chinese nation would be in danger of destruction. When the war started, he was dubious about us. The war was won, and we suspected that we were a Tito-style victory. 1949 and 1950 put a lot of pressure on us. However, we still think that he is a three-point error and a seven-point score. This is fair.
We must continue to study hard in social sciences, Marxism-Leninism, and those aspects that Stalin said correctly. What we want to learn is something that belongs to the universal truth, and the learning must be combined with the reality of China. If every sentence, including Marx’s words, were to be copied, it would be terrible. Our theory combines the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution. Some people in the party practiced dogmatism for a while, and we criticized this thing at that time. But it still does. Whether in academia or in economics, there is still dogmatism.
In terms of natural sciences, we are relatively backward, and we must especially work hard to learn from foreign countries. But we must also study critically, not blindly. In terms of technology, I think most of them have to be followed first, because we don’t have them yet, and we don’t understand them. It’s more beneficial to learn. However, for the part that is already clear, don’t do everything.
We must resolutely resist and criticize all corrupt systems and ideological styles of the foreign bourgeoisie. However, this does not prevent us from learning the scientific aspects of the advanced science and technology and business management methods of capitalist countries. Companies in industrialized developed countries employ fewer people, are more efficient, and can do business. These should be learned in principle to help improve our work. Now, those who study English no longer study English, and academic papers are not translated into English, French, German, or Japanese anymore. This is also a kind of superstition. The rejection of foreign science, technology, and culture without analysis, and the unanalyzed copying of foreign things mentioned above are not Marxist attitudes, and they are both detrimental to our cause.
In my opinion, China has two shortcomings and two advantages at the same time.
First, my country used to be a colony, semi-colonial, not imperialism, and has always been bullied by others. Industry and agriculture are underdeveloped and the level of science and technology is low. Except for the vast land and abundant resources, a large population, a long history, and the “Dream of Red Mansions” in literature, many places are inferior to others and cannot be proud. However, some people have been slaves for a long time, and they feel that everything is not as good as people, and they can’t straighten their waists in front of foreigners. Like Jia Gui [2] in Famen Temple , they let him sit, and he said he’s used to standing. Don’t want to sit. In this regard, we must encourage our national self-confidence and develop the spirit of “contempt of US imperialism” advocated during the War of Resistance against US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Second, our revolution is backward. Although the Revolution of 1911 defeated the emperor earlier than Russia, there was no Communist Party at that time and the revolution also failed. The victory of the People’s Revolution was in 1949, thirty years later than the October Revolution in the Soviet Union. At this point, it is not our turn to be proud. The Soviet Union is different from ours. First, Tsarist Russia is imperialist, and second, there was another October Revolution. So many Soviets are very proud, their tails are high.
Our two shortcomings are also advantages. I once said that one of us is “poor” and the other is “white”. “Poor” means that there is not much industry and agriculture is not developed. “White” is just a piece of blank paper, and the level of literacy and science is not high. From a development point of view, this is not bad. Poor requires revolution, and rich revolution is difficult. Countries with a high level of science and technology are very proud. We are a blank sheet of paper, just right for writing.
Therefore, both of these articles are good for us. In the future, when our country becomes prosperous and strong, we must still adhere to the revolutionary stand, be modest and prudent, and learn from others, and we must not cock our tails. Not only should we learn from others during the first five-year plan, but after dozens of five-year plans, we should also learn from them. I have to learn for ten thousand years! What’s wrong with this?
A total of ten points have been said. These ten relationships are all contradictions. The world is made up of contradictions. There is no world without contradictions. Our task is to correctly handle these contradictions. Whether these contradictions can be completely dealt with in practice, we must prepare for two possibilities, and in the process of dealing with these contradictions, we will definitely encounter new contradictions and new problems. However, as we often say, the road is always tortuous, and the future is always bright. We must work hard to mobilize all the positive factors, direct and indirect positive factors, both inside and outside the party, at home and abroad, to build our country into a powerful socialist country.
Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 5, People’s Publishing House, April 1977, 1st edition, pp 267-288
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