1961-1962
1 From Capitalism to Socialism
The text says on pages 327-28 that socialism will "inevitably" supersede capitalism and moreover will do so by "revolutionary means." In the imperialist period clashes between the productive forces and the production relations have become sharper than ever. The proletarian socialist revolution is an "objective necessity." Such statements are quite satisfactory and should be made this way. " Objective necessity" is quite all right and is agreeable to people. To call the revolution an objective necessity simply means that the direction it takes does not hinge on the intentions of individuals. Like it or not, come it will.
The proletariat will "organize all working people around itself for the purpose of eliminating capitalism." (p. 327) Correct. But at this point one should go on to raise the question of the seizure of power. "The proletarian revolution cannot hope to come upon ready-made socialist economic forms." "Components of a socialist economy cannot mature inside of a capitalist economy based on private ownership." (p. 328) Indeed, not only can they not "mature"; they cannot be born. In capitalist societies a cooperative or state-run economy cannot even be brought into being, to say nothing of maturing. This is our main difference with the revisionists who claim that in capitalist societies such things as municipal public enterprises are actually socialist elements, and argue that capitalism may peacefully grow over to socialism. This is a serious distortion of Marxism.
2. The Transition Period
The book says "The transition period begins with the establishment of proletarian political power and ends with the fulfillment of the responsibility of the socialist revolution—the founding of socialism, communism's first stage." (p. 238) One must study very carefully what stages in the final analysis are included in the transition period. Is only the transition from capitalism to socialism included, or the transition from socialism to communism as well?
Here Marx is cited: from capitalism to communism there is a "period of revolutionary transformation." We are presently in such a period. Within a certain number of years our peoples' communes will have to carry through the transformation from ownership by basic team to ownership of the basic commune [1], and then into ownership by the whole people [2]. The transformation to basic commune ownership already carried out by the peoples' communes remains collective ownership [and is not yet ownership by the whole people].
In the transition period "all social relations must be fundamentally transformed." This proposition is correct in principle. All social relations include in its meaning the production relations and the superstructure —economics, politics, ideology and culture etc.
In the transition period we must "enable the productive forces to gain the development they need to guarantee the victory of socialism." For China, broadly speaking, I would say we need 100- 200 million tons of steel per year at the least. Up to this year our main accomplishment has been to clear the way for the development of the productive forces. The development of the productive forces of China's socialism has barely begun. Having gone thorough the Great Leap Forward of 1958-1959, we can look to 1960 as a year promising great development of production.
3. Universal and Particular Characteristics of the Proletarian Revolution in Various Countries.
The book says the October Revolution "planted the standard," and that every country" has its own particular forms and concrete methods for constructing socialism." This proposition is sound. In 1848 there was a Communist Manifesto. One hundred and ten years later there was another Communist Manifesto; namely the Moscow Declaration made in 1957 by various Communist parties. This declaration addressed itself to the integration of universal laws and concrete particulars.
To acknowledge the standard of the October Revolution is to acknowledge that the 'basic content" of the proletarian revolution of any country is the same. Precisely here we stand opposed to the revisionists.
Why was it that the revolution succeeded first not in the nations of the West with a high level of capitalist productivity and a numerous proletariat, but rather in the nations of the East, Russia and China for example, where the level of capitalist productivity was comparatively low and the proletariat comparatively small? This question awaits study.
Why did the proletariat win its first victory in Russia? The text says because "all the contradictions of imperialism came together in Russia." The history of revolution suggests that the focal point of the revolution has been shifting from West to East. At the end of the eighteenth century the focal point was in France, which became the center of the political life of the world. In the mid-nineteenth century the focal point shifted to Germany, where the proletariat stepped onto the political stage, giving birth to Marxism. In the early years of the twentieth century the focal point shifted to Russia, giving birth to Leninism. Without this development of Marxism there would have been no victory for the Russian Revolution. By the mind-twentieth century the focal point of world revolution had shifted to China. Needless to say, the focal point is bound to shift again in the future.
Another reason for the victory of the Russian Revolution was that broad masses of the peasantry served as an allied force of the revolution. The text says, "The Russian proletariat formed an alliance with the poor peasants." (p. 328-29,1967 edition) [Only in the 1969 text]. Among the peasants there are several strata, and the poor peasant is the one the proletariat relied on. When a revolution begins the middle peasants always waver; they want to look things over and see whether the revolution has any strength, whether it can maintain itself, whether it will have advantages to offer. But the middle peasant will not shift over to the side of the proletariat until he has a comparatively clear picture. That is how the October Revolution was. And that is how it was for our own land reform, cooperatives, and people's communes. [3]
Ideologically, politically, and organizationally the Bolshevik-Menshevik split prepared the way for the victory of the October Revolution. And without the Bolshevik's struggle against the Mensheviks and the revisionism of the Second International, the October Revolution could never have triumphed. Leninism was born and developed in the struggle against all forms of revisionism and opportunism. And without Leninism there would have been no victory for the Russian Revolution.
The book says, "Proletarian revolution first succeeded in Russia, and pre-revolutionary Russia had a level of capitalist development sufficient to enable the revolution to succeed." The victory of the proletarian revolution may not have to come in a country with a high level of capitalist development. The book is quite correct to quote Lenin. Down to the present time, of the countries where socialist revolution has succeeded only East Germany and Czechoslovakia had a comparatively high level of capitalism; elsewhere the level was comparatively low. And revolution has not broken out in any of the Western nations with a comparatively high level of development. Lenin had said, "The revolution first breaks out in the weak link of the imperialist world." At the time of the October Revolution Russia was such a weak link. The same was true for China after the October Revolution. Both Russia and China had a relatively numerous proletariat and a vast peasantry, oppressed and suffering. And both were large states.... But in these respects India was much the same. The question is, why could not India consummate a revolution by breaking imperialism's weak link as Lenin and Stalin had described? Because India was an English colony, a colony belonging to a single imperialist state. Herein lies the difference between India and China. China was a semi-colony under several imperialist governments. The Indian Communist Party did not take an active part in its country's bourgeois democratic revolution and did not make it possible for the Indian proletariat to assume the leadership of the democratic revolution. Nor, after independence, did the Indian Communist Party persevere in the cause of the independence of the Indian proletariat.
The historical experience of China and Russia proves that to win the revolution, having a mature party is a most important condition. In Russia the Bolsheviks took an active part in the democratic revolution and proposed a program for the 1905 revolution distinct from that of the bourgeoisie. It was a program that aimed to solve not only the question of overthrowing the tsar, but also the question of how to wrest leadership from the Constitutional Democratic Party in the struggle to overthrow the tsar.
At the time of the 1911 revolution, China still had no communist party. After it was founded in 1921, the Chinese Communist Party immediately and energetically joined the democratic revolution and stood at its forefront. The golden age of China's bourgeoisie, when their revolution had great vitality was during the years 1905-1917. After the 1911 revolution, the Nationalist Party [KMT] was already declining. And by 1924 they had no alternative but to turn to the Communist Party before they could make further headway. The proletariat had superseded the bourgeoisie. The proletarian political party superseded the bourgeois political party as the leader of the democratic revolution. We have often said that in 1927 the Chinese Communist Party had not yet reached its maturity. Primarily this means that our party, during its years of alliance with the bourgeoisie, failed to see the possibility of the bourgeoisie betraying the revolution and, indeed, was utterly unprepared for it.
Here (p. 331) the text goes on to express the view that the reason why countries dominated by pre-capitalist economic forms could carry through a socialist revolution was because of assistance from advanced socialist countries. This is an incomplete way of putting the matter. After the democratic revolution succeeded in China we were able to take the path of socialism mainly because we overthrew the rule of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism. The internal factors were the main ones. While the assistance we received from successful socialist countries was an important condition, it was not one which could settle the question of whether or not we could take the road of socialism, but only one which could influence our rate of advance after we had taken the road. With aid we could advance more quickly, without it less so. What we mean by assistance includes, in addition to economic aid, our studious application of the positive and negative experiences of both the successes and the failures of the assisting country.
4. The Question of "Peaceful Transition"
The book says on page 330, "In certain capitalist countries and former colonial countries, for the working class to take political power through peaceful parliamentary means is a practical possibility." Tell me, which are these "certain countries"? The main capitalist countries of Europe and North America are armed to the teeth. Do you expect them to allow you to take power peacefully?
The communist party and the revolutionary forces of every country must ready both hands, one for winning victory peacefully, one for taking power with violence. Neither may be dispensed with. It is essential to realize that, considering the general trend of things, the bourgeoisie has no intention of relinquishing its political power. They will put up a fight for it, and if their very life should be at stake, why should they not resort to force? In the October Revolution as in our own, both hands were ready. Before July 1917 Lenin did consider using peaceful methods to win the victory, but the July incident demonstrated that it would no longer be possible to transfer power to the proletariat peacefully. And not until he had reversed himself and carried out three months' military preparation did he win the victory of the October Revolution. After the proletariat had seized political power in the course of the October Revolution, Lenin remained inclined toward peaceful methods, using, "redemption" to eliminate capitalism and put the socialist transformation into effect. But the bourgeoisie in collusion with fourteen imperialist powers launched counter-revolutionary armed uprisings and interventions. And so before the victory of the October Revolution could be consolidated, three years of armed struggle had to be waged under the leadership of the Russian party.
5. From the Democratic Revolution to the Socialist Revolution - Several Problems
At the end of page 330 the text takes up the transformation of the democratic revolution into the socialist revolution but does not clearly explain how the transformation is effected. The October Revolution was a socialist revolution which concomitantly fulfilled tasks left over from the bourgeois democratic revolution. Immediately after the victory of the October Revolution the nationalization of land was proclaimed. But bringing the democratic revolution to a conclusion on the land question was yet to take a period of time.
During the War of Liberation, China solved the tasks of the democratic revolution. The founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 marked the basic conclusion of the democratic revolution and the beginning of the transition to socialism. It took another three years to conclude the land reform, but at the time the Republic was founded we immediately expropriated the bureaucratic capitalist enterprises—80 percent of the fixed assets of our industry and transport — and converted them to ownership by the whole people.
During the War of Liberation we raised anti-bureaucratic capitalist slogans as well as anti-imperialist and anti-feudal ones. The struggle against bureaucratic capitalism had a two-sided character: it had a democratic revolutionary character insofar as it amounted to opposition to comprador capitalism, [4] but it has a socialist character insofar as it amounted to opposition to the big bourgeoisie.
After the war of resistance was won, the Nationalist Party [KMT] took over a very large portion of bureaucratic capital from Japan and Germany and Italy. The ratio of bureaucratic to national [i.e., Chinese] capital was 8 to 2. After liberation we expropriated all bureaucratic capital, thus eliminating the major components of Chinese capitalism. [5]
But it would be wrong to think that after the liberation of the whole country "the revolution in its earliest stages had only in the main the character of a bourgeois democratic revolution and not until later would it gradually develop into a socialist revolutions" [No page reference]
6. Violence and the Proletarian Dictatorship
On page 333 the text could be more precise in its use of the concept of violence. Marx and Engels always said that "the state is by definition and instrument of violence employed to suppress the opposing class." And so it can never be said that "the proletarian dictatorship does not use violence purely and simply in dealing with the exploiter and may even not use it primarily."
When its life is at stake the exploiting class always resorts to force. Indeed, no sooner do they see the revolution start up than they suppress it with force? They text says, "Historical experience proves that the exploiting class is utterly unwilling to cede political power to the people and uses armed force to oppose the people's political power." This is not a complete way of stating the matter. It is not only after the people have organized revolutionary political power that the exploiting class will oppose it with force, but even at the very moment when the people rise up to seize political power, the exploiters promptly use violence to suppress the revolutionary people.
The purpose of our revolution is to develop the society's forces of production. Toward this end we must first overthrow the enemy. Second we must suppress its resistance. How could we do this without the revolutionary violence of the people?
Here the book turns to the "substance" of the proletarian dictatorship and the primary responsibilities of the working class and laboring people in general in the socialist revolution. But the discussion is incomplete as it leaves out the suppression of the enemy as well as the remolding of classes. Landlords, bureaucrats, counter-revolutionaries, and undesirable elements have to be remolded; the same holds true for the capitalist class, the upper stratum of the petit bourgeoisie, and the middle peasants. Our experience shows that remolding is difficult. Those who do not undergo persistent repeated struggle can not be properly remolded. To climate thoroughly any remaining strength of the bourgeoisie and any influence they may have will take one or two decades at the least and may even require half a century. In the rural areas, where basic commune ownership has been put into effect, private ownership has been transformed into state ownership. The entire country abounds with new cities and new major industry. Transportation and communications for the entire country have been modernized. Truly, the economic situation has been completely changed, and for the first time the peasants' worldview is bound to be turned around completely step by step. (Here in speaking of "primary responsibilities" the book uses Lenin's words differently from his original intention.)
To write or speak in an effort to suit the tastes of the enemy, the imperialists, is to defraud the masses and as a result to comfort the enemy while keeping one's own class in ignorance.
7. The Form of the Proletariat
On page 334 the book says, "the proletarian state can take various forms." True enough, but there is not much difference essentially between the proletarian dictatorship in the people's democracies and the one established in Russia after the October Revolution. Also, the soviets of the Soviet Union and our own people's congresses were both representative assemblies, different in name only. In China the people's congresses included those participation as representatives of the bourgeoisie, representatives who had split off from the Nationalist Party, and representatives who were prominent democratic figures. All of them accepted the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. One group among these tried to stir up trouble, but failed. [6] Such an inclusive form may appear different from the soviet, but it should be remembered that after the October Revolution the soviets included representatives of the Menshevik rightist Social Revolutionary Party, a Bukharin faction, Zinnoviev faction, and so forth. Nominally representatives of the workers and peasants, they were virtual representatives of the bourgeoisie. The period after the October Revolution was a time when the proletariat accepted a large number of personnel from the Kerensky government— all of whom were bourgeois elements. Our own central people's government was set up on the foundation of the North China People's Government. All members of the various departments were from base areas, and the majority of the mainstay cadres were Communist Party members.
8. Transforming Capitalist Industry and Commerce
On page 335 there is an incorrect explanation of the process by which capitalist ownership changed into state ownership in China. The book only explains our policy toward national capital but not our policy toward bureaucratic capital (expropriation). In order to convert the property of the bureaucratic capitalist to public ownership we chose the method of expropriation.
In paragraph 2 of page 335 the experience of passing through the state capitalist form in order to transform capitalism is treated as a singular and special experience; its universal significance is denied. The countries of Western Europe and the United States have a very high level of capitalist development, and the controlling positions are held by a minority of monopoly capitalists. But there are a great number of small and middle capitalists as well. Thus it is said that American capital is concentrated but also widely distributed. After a successful revolution in these countries monopoly capital will undoubtedly have to be expropriated, but will the small and middle capitalists likewise be uniformly expropriated? It may well be the case that some form of state capitalism will have to be adopted to transform them.
Our northeast provinces may be thought of as a region with a high level of capitalist development. The same is true for Kiangsu (with centers in Shanghai and the southern part of the province). If state capitalism could work in these areas, tell me why the same policy could not work in other countries, which resemble these provincial sectors?
The method the Japanese used when they held our northeast provinces was to eliminate the major local capitalists and turn their enterprises into Japanese state-managed, or in some cases monopoly capitalist enterprises. For the small and middle capitalists they established subsidiary companies as a means of imposing control.
Our transformation of national capital passed through three stages; private manufacture on state order, united government purchase and sale of private output, joint state private operation (of individual units and of whole complexes). Each phase was carried out in a methodical way. This prevented any damage to production, which actually developed as the transformation progressed. We have gained much new experience with state capitalism; for one example, the providing of capitalists with fixed interest after the joint state-private operation phase.[7]
9. Middle Peasants
After land reform, land was not worth money and the peasants were afraid to "show themselves" There were comrades who at one time considered this situation unsatisfactory, but what happened was that in the course of class struggles which disgraced landlords and rich peasants, the peasantry came to view poverty as dignified and wealth as shameful. This was a welcome sign, one that showed that the poor peasants had politically overturned the rich peasants and established their dominance in the villages.
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.
The text says, " the middle peasants became the principal figures in the villages." This is an unsatisfactory assertion. To proclaim the middle peasants as the principals, commending them to the gods, never daring to offend them, is bound to make former poor peasants feel as if they had been put in the shade. Inevitably this opens the way for middle peasants of means to assume rural leadership.
The book makes no analysis of the middle peasant. We distinguish between upper and lower middle peasants and further between old and new within those categories, regarding the new as slightly preferable. Experience in campaign after campaign has shown that the poor peasant, the new lower middle peasant, and the old lower middle peasant have a comparatively good political attitude. They are the ones who embrace the people's communes. Among the upper middle peasants and the prosperous middle peasants there is a group that supports the communes as well as one that opposes them. According to materials from Hopei province the total number of production teams there comes to more than forty thousand, 50 percent of which embrace the communes without reservation, 35 percent of which basically accept them but with objections or doubts on particular questions, 15 percent of which oppose or have serious reservations about the communes. The opposition of this last group is due to the fact that the leadership of the teams fell to prosperous middle peasants or even undesirable elements. During this process of education in the struggle between the two roads; if the debate is to develop among these teams, their leadership will have to change. Clearly, then, the analysis of the middle peasant must be pursued. For, the matter of whose hands hold rural leadership has tremendous bearing on the direction of developments there.
On page 340 the book says, Essentially the middle peasant has a twofold character." This question also requires concrete analysis. The poor, lower middle, upper middle, and prosperous middle peasants in one sense are all workers, but in another they are private owners. As private owners their points of view are respectively dissimilar. Poor and lower middle peasants may be described as semiprivate owners whose point of view is comparatively easily altered. By contrast, the private owner's point of view held by the upper middle and the prosperous peasants has greater substance, and they have consistently resisted co-operativization.
10. The Worker-Peasants Alliance
The third and fourth paragraphs on page 340 are concerned with the importance of the worker-peasant alliance but fail to go into what must be done before the alliance can be developed and consolidated. The text, again, deals with the need of the peasants to press forward with the transformation of the small producers but fails to consider how to advance the process, what kinds of contradictions may be found at each stage of the transformation, and how they may be resolved. And, the text does not discuss the measures and tactics for the entire process.
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 [8]" could not have been persevered in. The reason is that 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.
11. The Transformation of Intellectuals
Page 341 is devoted exclusively to the problem of fostering the development of intellectuals who are the workers' and peasants ' own, as well as the problem of involving bourgeois intellectuals in socialist construction. 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-t'ang, of artistic and literary circles, who, after becoming an author, became a major opponent of socialism, exemplifies 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" [9] 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.
Again on page 341 it says that the fundamental contradiction in the transition economy is the one between capitalism and socialism. Correct. But this passage speaks only of setting struggles in motion to see who will emerge the victor in all realms of economic life. None of this is complete. We would put it as follows: a thoroughgoing socialist revolution must advance along the three fronts of politics, economics, and ideology.
The text says that we absorb bourgeois elements so that they may participate in the management of enterprises and the state. This is repeated on page 357, [page 341, according to the 1967 text.] But we insist on the responsibility for remolding the bourgeois elements. We help them change their lifestyle, their general outlook, and also their viewpoint on particular issues. The text, however, makes no mention of remolding.
12. The Relationship Between Industrialization and Agricultural Collectivization
The book sees socialist industrialization as the precondition for agricultural collectivization. This view in no way corresponds to the situation in the Soviet Union itself, where collectivization was basically realized between 1930 and 1932. Though they had then more tractors than we do now, still and all the amount of arable land under mechanized cultivation was under 20.3 percent. Collectivization is not altogether determined by mechanization, and so industrialization is not the precondition for it.
Agricultural collectivization in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe was completed very slowly, mainly because after land reform, they did not strike while the iron was hot but delayed for a time. In some of our own old base areas, too, a section of the peasantry was satisfied with the reform and unwilling to proceed further. This situation did not depend at all on whether or not there was industrialization.
13. War and Revolution
On pages 352-54 it is argued that the various people's democracies of Eastern Europe "were able to build socialism even though there was neither civil war nor armed intervention from abroad." It is also argued that "socialist transformation in these countries was realized without the ordeal of civil war." It would have been better to say that what happened in these countries is that a civil war was waged in the form of international war, that civil and international war were waged together. The reactionaries of these countries were ploughed under by the Soviet Red Army. To say that there was no civil war in these countries would be mere formalism that disregards substance.
The text says that in the countries of Eastern Europe after the revolution "parliaments became the organs for broadly representing the people's interests." In fact, these parliaments were completely different from the bourgeois parliaments of old, bearing resemblance in name only. The Political Consultative Conference we had during the early phase of Liberation was no different in name from the Political Consultative Conference of the Nationalist period. During our negotiations with the Nationalists we were indifferent to the conference but Chiang Kai-shek was very interested in it. After Liberation we took over their signboard and called into session a nationwide Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which served as a provisional people's congress[10].
The text says that China "in the process of revolutionary struggle organized a people's democratic united front." (p.357) Why only "revolutionary struggle" and not "revolutionary war?" From 1927 down to the nationwide victory we waged twenty-two years of long-term uninterrupted war. And even before that, starting with the bourgeois revolution of 1911, there was another fifteen years' warfare. The chaotic wars of the warlords under the direction of imperialists should also be counted. Thus, from 1911 down to the War to Resist America and Aid Korea, it may be said that continual wars were waged in China for forty years—revolutionary warfare and counter-revolutionary warfare. And, since its founding, our party has joined or led wars for thirty years.
A great revolution must go through a civil war. This is a rule. And to see the ills of war but not its benefits is a one-sided view. It is of no use to the people's revolution to speak one-sidedly of the destructiveness of war.
14. Is Revolution Harder in Backward Countries?
In the various nations of the West there is a great obstacle to carrying through any revolution and construction movement; i.e., the poisons of the bourgeoisie are so powerful that they have penetrated each and every corner. While our bourgeoisie has had, after all, only three generations, those of England and France have had a 250-300 year history of development, and their ideology and exodus operandi have influenced all aspects and strata of their societies. Thus the English working class follows the Labor Party, not the Communist Party.
Lenin says, "The transition from capitalism to socialism will be more cliff cull for a country the more backward it is." This would seem incorrect today. Actually, the transition is less difficult the more backward an economy is, for the poorer they are the more the people want revolution. In the capitalist countries of the West the number of people employed is comparatively high and so is the wage level. Workers there have been deeply influenced by the bourgeoisie and it would not appear to be all that easy to carry through a socialist transformation. And since the degree of mechanization is high, the major problem after a successful revolution would not be advancing mechanization but transforming the people. Countries of the East, such as China and Russia, had been backward and poor, but now not only have their social systems moved well ahead of those of the West, but even the rate of development of their productive forces far outstrips that of the West. Again, as in the history of the development of the capitalist countries, the backward overtake the advanced as America overtook England, and as Germany later overtook England early in the twentieth century.
15. Is Large-Scale Industry the Foundation of Socialist Transformation?
On page 364, [page 349, according to the 1967 text], the text says, "Countries that have taken the road of socialist construction face the task of eliminating as quickly as possible the aftereffects of capitalist rule in order to accelerate the development of large industry (the basis for the socialist transformation of the economy)." It is not enough to assert that the development of large industry is the foundation for the socialist transformation of the economy. All revolutionary history shows that the full development of new productive forces is not the prerequisite for the transformation of backward production relations. Our revolution began with Marxist-Leninist propaganda, which served to create new public opinion in favor of the revolution. Moreover, it was possible to destroy the old production relations only after we had overthrown a backward superstructure in the course of revolution. After the old production relations had been destroyed new ones were created and these cleared the way for the development of new social productive forces. With that behind us we were able to set in motion the technological revolution to develop social productive forces on a large scale. At the same lime, we still had to continue transforming the production relations and ideology.
This textbook addresses itself only to material preconditions and seldom engages the question of the superstructure, i.e., the class nature of the state, philosophy and science. In economics the main object of study is the production relations. All the same, political economy and the materialist historical outlook are close cousins. It is difficult to deal clearly with problems of the economic base and the production relations if the question of the superstructure is neglected.
16. Lenin's Discussion of the Unique Features of Taking the Socialist Road
On page 375 a passage from Lenin is cited. It is well expressed and quite helpful for defending our work methods. "The level of consciousness of the residents, together with the efforts they have made to realize this or that plan, are bound to be reflected in the unique features of the road they take toward socialism." Our own "politics in command" is precisely for raising the consciousness in our neighborhoods. Our own Great Leap Forward is precisely an "effort to realize this or that plan."
17. The Rate of Industrialization Is a Critical Problem
The text says, "As far as the Soviet Union is concerned, the rate of industrialization is a critical problem." At present this is a critical problem for China, too. As a matter of fact, the problem becomes more acute the more backward industry is. This is true not only from country to country but also from one area to another in the same country. For example, our northeastern provinces and Shanghai have a comparatively strong base and so state investment increased somewhat less rapidly there. In other areas, where the original industrial base was slight and development was urgently needed, state investment increased quite rapidly. In the ten years that Shanghai has been liberated 2.2 billion Chinese dollar [11] have been invested, over 500 million by capitalists. Shanghai used to have over half a million workers, now the city has over 1 million, if we do not count the hundreds of thousands transferred out. This is only double the earlier worker population. When we compare this with certain new cities where the work force has increased enormously we can see plainly that in areas with a deficient industrial base the problem of rate is all the more critical. Here the text only says that political circumstances demand the high rate and does not explain whether or not the socialist system itself can attain the high rate. This is one-sided. If there is only the need and not the capability, tell me, how is the high rate to be achieved?
18. Achieve a High Rate of Industrialization by Concurrent Promotion of Small, Medium, and Large Enterprise
On page 381 the text touches on our broad development of small- and medium-scale enterprise but fails to reflect accurately our philosophy of concurrent promotion of native and foreign, small, medium and large enterprise. The text says we "determined upon extensive development of small and medium-scale enterprises because of the utter backwardness and very serious employment problems." But the problem by no means lies in technological age, population size, or the need to increase employment. Under the guidance of the larger enterprises we are developing the small and the medium; under the guidance of the foreign we are adopting-native methods wherever we can—mainly for the sake of achieving the high rate of industrialization.
19. Is Long-Term Coexistence Between Two Types of Socialist Ownership Possible?
On page 386 it says, "A socialist state and socialist Construction can not be established on two different bases for any length of time. That is to say, they can not be established on the base of socialist industry, the largest and most unified base and on the base of the peasant petty commodity economy, which is scattered and backward." This point is well taken, of course and we therefore extend the logic to reach the following conclusion: The socialist state and socialist construction cannot be established for any great length of time on the basis of ownership by the whole people and ownership by the collective as two different bases of ownership.
In the Soviet Union the period of coexistence between the two types of ownership has lasted too long. The contradictions between ownership of the whole people and collective ownership are in reality contradictions between workers and peasants. The text fails to recognize such contradictions.
In the same way prolonged coexistence of ownership by the whole people with ownership by the collectives is bound to become less and less adaptable to the development of the productive forces and will fail to satisfy the ever increasing needs of peasant consumption and agricultural production or of industry for raw materials. To satisfy such needs we must resolve the contradiction between these two forms of ownership, transform ownership by the collectives into ownership by the whole people, and make a unified plan for production and distribution in industry and agriculture on the basis of ownership by the whole people for an indivisible nation.
The contradictions between the productive forces and the production relations unfold without interruption. Relations that once were adapted to the productive forces will no longer be so after a period of time. In China, after we finished organizing the advanced cooperatives, the question of having both large and small units came up in every special district and in every county.
In socialist society the formal categories of distribution according to labor, commodity production, the law of value and so forth are presently adapted to the demands of the productive forces. But as this development proceeds, the day is sure to come when these formal categories will no longer be adapted. At that time these categories will be destroyed by the development of the productive forces; their life will be over. Are we to believe that in a socialist society there are economic categories that are eternal and unchanging? Are we to believe that such categories as distribution according to labor and collective ownership are eternal—unlike all other categories, which are historical [hence relative]?
20. The Socialist Transformation of Agriculture Cannot Depend Only on Mechanization
Page 392 states, "The machine and tractor stations are important tools for carrying through the socialist transformation in agriculture." Again and again the text emphasizes how important machinery is for the transformation. But if the consciousness of the peasantry is not raised, if ideology is not transformed, and you are depending on nothing but machinery—what good will it be? The question of the struggle between the two roads, socialism and capitalism, the transformation and re-education of people—these are the major questions for China.
The text on page 395 says that in carrying through the tasks of the early stages of general collectivization the question of the struggle against hostile rich peasants comes up. This of course is correct. But in the account the text gives of rural conditions after the formation of cooperatives, the question of a prosperous stratum is dropped nor is there any mention of such contradictions as those between the state, the collectives and individuals, between accumulation and consumption [12], and so forth.
Page 402 says, "Under conditions of high tide in the agricultural cooperative movement the broad masses of the middle peasantry will not waver again." This is too general. There is a section of rich middle peasants that is now wavering and will do so in the future.
21. So-Called Full Consolidation
" fully consolidated the collective farm system," it says on page 407.
"Full consolidation"—a phrase to make one uneasy. The consolidation of anything is relative. How can it be "full"? What if no one died since the beginning of mankind, and everyone got "fully consolidated"? What kind of a world would that be! In the universe, on our globe, all things come into being, develop and pass away ceaselessly. None of them is ever "fully consolidated." Take the life of a silkworm. Not only must it pass away in the end, it must pass through four stages of development during its lifetime: egg, silkworm, pupa, moth. It must move on from one stage to the next and can never fully consolidate itself in any one stage. In the end, the moth dies, and its old essence becomes a new essence (as it leaves behind many eggs). This is a qualitative leap. Of course, from egg to worm, from worm to pupa, from pupa to moth clearly are more than quantitative changes. There is qualitative transformation too, but it is partial qualitative transformation. A person too, in the process of moving through life toward death, experiences different stages: childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood and old age. From life to death is a quantitative process for people, but at the same time they are pushing forward the process of partial qualitative change. It would be absurd to think that from youth to old age is but a quantitative increase without qualitative change. Inside the human organism cells are ceaselessly dividing, old ones dying and banishing, new ones emerging and growing.
At death there is a complete qualitative change, one that has come about through the preceding quantitative changes as well as the partial qualitative changes that occur during the quantitative changes. Quantitative change and qualitative change are a unity of opposites. Within the quantitative changes there are partial qualitative changes. One cannot say that there are no qualitative changes within quantitative changes. And within qualitative changes there are quantitative changes. One cannot say that there are no quantitative changes within qualitative changes.
In any lengthy process of change, before entering the final qualitative change, the subject must pass through uninterrupted quantitative changes and a good many partial qualitative changes. But the final qualitative change cannot come about unless there are partial qualitative changes and considerable quantitative change. For example, a factory of a given plant and size changes qualitatively as the machinery and other installations are renovated a section at a time. The interior changes even though the exterior and the size do not. A Company of soldiers is no different. After it has fought a battle and lost dozens of men, a hundred-soldier company will have to replace its casualties. Fighting and replenishing continuously—this is how the company goes through uninterrupted partial qualitative change. As a result the company continues to develop and harden itself.
The crushing of Chiang Kai-shek was a qualitative change, which came about through quantitative change. For example, there had to be a three-and-a-half-year period during which his army and political power were destroyed a section at a time. And, within this quantitative change qualitative change is to be found. The War of Liberation went through several different stages and each new stage differed qualitatively from the preceding stages. The transformation from individual to collective economy was a process of qualitative transformation. In our country this process consisted of mutual aid teams, early stage co-operatives, advanced co-operatives, people's communes [13]. Such different stages of partial qualitative change brought a collective economy out of an individual economy.
The present socialist economy in our country is organized through two different forms of public ownership, ownership by the whole people and collective ownership. This socialist economy has had its own birth and development. Who would believe that this process of changes has come to an end and that we will say, "These two forms of ownership will continue to be fully consolidated for all time?" Who would believe that such formulas of a socialist society as "distribution according to labor," "commodity production," and "the law of value" is going to live forever? Who would believe that there is only birth and development but no dying away and transformation and that these formulas unlike all others are ahistorical?
Socialism must make the transition to communism. At that time there will be things of the socialist stage that will have to die out. And, too, in the period of communism there will still be uninterrupted development.
It is quite possible that communism will have to pass through a number of different stages. How can we say that once communism has been reached nothing will change, that everything will continue "fully consolidated," that there will be quantitative change only, and no partial qualitative change going on all the time.
The way things develop; one stage leads on to another, advancing without interruption. But each and every stage has a "boundary." Every day we read from, say, four o'clock and end at seven or eight. That is the boundary. As far as socialist ideological remolding goes, it is a long-term task. But each ideological campaign reaches its conclusion, that is to say, has a boundary. On the ideological front, when we will have come through uninterrupted quantitative changes and partial qualitative changes, the day will arrive when we will be completely free of the influence of capitalist ideology. At that time the qualitative changes of ideological remolding will have ended, but only to be followed by the quantitative changes of a new quality.
The construction of socialism also has its boundary. We have to keep tabs: for example, what is to be the ratio of industrial goods to total production, how much steel is to be produced, how high can the people's living standard be raised, etc? But to say that socialist construction has a boundary hardly means that we do not want to take the next step, to make the transition to communism. It is possible to divide the transition from capitalism to communism into two stages: one from capitalism to socialism, which could be called underdeveloped socialism; and one from socialism to communism, that is, from comparatively underdeveloped socialism to comparatively developed socialism, namely, communism. This latter stage may take even longer than the first. But once it has been passed through, material production and spiritual prosperity will be most ample. People's communist consciousness will be greatly raised, and they will be ready to enter the highest stage of communism.
On page 409 it says that after the forms of socialist production have been firmly established, production will steadily and rapidly expand. The rate of productivity will climb steadily. The text uses the term steadily or without interruption a good many times, but only to speak of quantitative transformation. There is little mention of partial qualitative change.
22. War and Peace
On page 408 it says that in capitalist societies " a crisis of surplus production will inevitably be created, causing unemployment to increase." This is the gestation of war. It is difficult to believe that the basic principles of Marxist economics are suddenly without effects, that in a world where capitalist institutions still exist war can be fully eliminated.
Can it be said that the possibility of eliminating war for good has now arisen? Can it be said that the possibility of plying all the world's wealth and resources to the service of mankind has arisen? This view is not Marxism, it has no class analysis and it has not distinguished clearly between conditions under bourgeois and proletarian rule. If you do not eliminate classes, how can you eliminate war?
We will not be the ones to determine whether a world war will be waged or not. Even if a non-belligerency agreement is signed, the possibility of war will still exist. When imperialism wants to fight no agreement is going to be taken into account. And, if it comes, whether atomic or hydrogen weapons will be used is yet another question. Even though chemical weapons exist, they have not been used in time of war; conventional weapons were used after all. Even if there is no war between the two camps, there is no guarantee war will not be waged within the capitalist world. Imperialism may make war on imperialism. The bourgeoisie of one imperialist country may make war on its proletariat. Imperialism is even now waging war against colony and semi-colony. War is one form of class conflict. But classes will not be eliminated except through war. And war cannot be eliminated for good except through the elimination of classes. If revolutionary war is not carried on, classes cannot be eliminated. We do not believe that the weapons of war can be eliminated without destroying classes. It is not possible. In the history of class societies any class or state is concerned with its "position of strength." Gaining such positions has been history's inevitable tendency. Armed force is the concrete manifestation of the real strength of a class. And as long as there is class antagonism there will be armed forces. Naturally, we are not wishing for war. We wish for peace. We favor making the utmost effort to stop nuclear war and to strive for a mutual non-aggression pact between the two camps. To strive to gain even ten or twenty years' peace was what we advocated long ago. If we can realize this wish, it would be most beneficial for the entire socialist camp and for China's socialist construction as well.
On page 409 it says that at this time the Soviet Union is no longer encircled by capitalism. This manner of speaking runs the risk of lulling people to sleep. Of course the present situation has changed greatly from when there was only one socialist country. West of the Soviet Union there are now the various socialist countries of Eastern Europe. East of the Soviet Union are the socialist countries of China, Korea, Mongolia and Vietnam. But the guided missiles have no eyes and can strike targets thousands or tens of thousands of kilometers away. All around the socialist camp American military bases are deployed, pointed toward the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries. Can it be said that the Soviet Union is no longer inside the ring of missiles?
23. Is Unanimity the Motive force of Social Development?
On page 413 and 417 it says that socialism makes for the "solidarity of unanimity" and is "hard as a rock." It says (hat unanimity is the "motive force of social development."
This recognizes only the unanimity of solidarity but not the contradictions within a socialist society, nor that contradiction is the motive force of social development. Once it is put this way, the law of the universality of contradiction is denied, the laws of dialectics are suspended. Without contradictions there is no movement, and society always develops through movement. In the era of socialism, contradictions remain the motive force of social development. Precisely because there is no unanimity there is the responsibility for unity, the necessity to fight for it. If there were 100 percent unanimity always, then what explains the necessity for persevering in working for unity?
24. Rights of Labor Under Socialism
On page 414 we find a discussion of the rights labor enjoys but no discussion of labor's right to run the state, the various enterprises, education, and culture. Actually, this is labor's greatest right under socialism, the most fundamental right, without which there is no right to work, to an education, to vacation, etc.
The paramount issue for socialist democracy is: Does labor have the right to subdue the various antagonistic forces and their influences? For example, who controls things like the newspapers, journals, broadcast stations, the cinema? Who criticizes? These are a part of the question of rights. If these things are in the hands of right opportunists (who are a minority) then the vast nationwide majority that urgently needs a great leap forward will find itself deprived of these rights. If the cinema is in the hands of people like Chung Tien-p'ei [14], how are the people supposed to realize their own rights in that sector? There are a variety of factions among the people. Who is in control of the organs and enterprises bears tremendously on the issue of guaranteeing the people's rights. If Marxist-Leninists are in control, the rights of the vast majority will be guaranteed. If rightists or right opportunists are in control, these organs and enterprises may change qualitatively, and the people's rights with respect to them cannot be guaranteed. In sum, the people must have the right to manage the superstructure. We must not take the rights of the people to mean that the state is to be managed by only a section of the people, that the people can enjoy labor rights, education rights, social insurance, etc., only under the management of certain people.
25. Is the Transition to Communism a Revolution?
On page 417 it says, Under socialism there will be no class or social group whose interests conflict with communism and therefore the transition to communism will come about with out social 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 materials 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 change over 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 some opposition. 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.
26. The Claim That '"for China There Is No Necessity to Adopt Acute Forms of Class Struggle"
There is an error on page 419. After the October Revolution Russia's bourgeoisie saw that the country's economy had suffered severe damage, and so they decided that the proletariat could not change the situation and lacked the strength to maintain its political power. They judged that they only had to make the move and proletarian political power could be overthrown. At this point they carried out armed resistance, thus compelling the Russian proletariat to take drastic steps to expropriate their property. At that time neither class had much experience.
To say that China's class struggle is not acute is unrealistic. It was fierce enough! We fought for twenty-two years straight. By waging war we overthrew the rule of the bourgeoisie's Nationalist Party, and expropriated bureaucratic capital, which amounted to 80 percent of our entire capitalist economy. Only thus was it possible for us to use peaceful methods to remold the remaining 20 percent of national capital. In the remolding process we still had to go through such fierce struggles as the "three-evils" and the "five-evils" campaigns[15]
Page 420 incorrectly describes the remolding of bourgeois industrial and commercial enterprises. After Liberation the national bourgeoisie was forced to take the road of socialist remolding. We brought down Chiang Kai-shek, expropriated bureaucratic capital, concluded the land reform, carried out the "three-evils" and "five-evils" campaigns, and made the cooperatives a working reality. We controlled the markets from the beginning. This series of transformations forced the national bourgeoisie to accept remolding step by step. From yet another point of view, the Common Program stipulated that various kinds of economic interests were to be given scope. This enabled the capitalists to try for what profits they could. In addition, the constitution gave them the right to a ballot and a living. These things helped the bourgeoisie to realize that by accepting remolding they could hold onto a social position and also play a certain role in the culture and in the economy.
In joint state-private enterprises the capitalists have no real managerial rights over the enterprise. Production is certainly not jointly managed by the capitalists and representatives of the public. Nor can it be said that "Capital's exploitation of labor has been limited." It has been virtually curtailed. The text seems to have missed the idea that the jointly operated enterprises we are speaking of were 75 percent socialist. Of course at present they are 90 percent socialist or more.
The remolding of capitalist industry and commerce has been basically concluded. But if the capitalists had the chance they would attack us without restraint. In 1957 we pushed back the onslaught of the right [16]. In 1959, through their representatives in the party, they again set in motion an attack against us [17]. Our policy toward the national capitalists is to take them along with us and then to encompass them.
The text uses Lenin's statement that state capitalism "continues the class struggle in another form". This is correct. (p. 421)
27. The Time Period for Building Socialism
On page 423 it says that we "concluded" the socialist revolution on the political and ideological fronts in 1957. We would rather say that we won a decisive victory.
On the same page it says that we want to turn China into a strong socialist country within ten to fifteen years. Now this is something we agree on! This means that after the second five- year plan we will have to go through another two five-year plans until 1972 (or 1969 if we strive to beat the schedule by two or three years). In addition to modernizing industry and agriculture, science and culture, we have to modernize national defense. In a country such as ours bringing the building of socialism to its conclusion is a tremendously difficult task. In socialist construction we must not speak of "early.
28. Further Discussion of the Relationship Between Industrialization and Socialist Transformation
On page 423 it says that reform of the system of ownership long before the realization of industrialization was a circumstance created by special conditions in China. This is an error. Eastern Europe, like China, ''benefited from the existence of the mighty socialist camp and the help of an industrialized country as developed as the Soviet Union." The question is, what was the reason Eastern European countries could not complete the socialist transformation in the ownership system (including agriculture) before industrialization became a reality? [Cf. Chapter 28, paragraph 1, of the 1967 edition: Page 423 says, "Given the special conditions in China, before socialist industrialization became a reality, it was thanks to the existence of the mighty socialist camp and the help of a powerful, highly developed industrial nation like the Soviet Union that the reform of the ownership system (including agriculture) achieved victory." This is an error. The countries of Eastern Europe no less than China " had the existence of the powerful socialist camp and the help of as highly developed an industrial nation as the Soviet Union. "Why could they not complete socialist transformation in the ownership system (including agriculture) before industrialization became a reality?] Turning to the relationship between industrialization and socialist transformation, the truth is that in the Soviet Union itself the problem of ownership was settled before industrialization became a reality.
Similarly, from the standpoint of world history, the bourgeois revolutions and the establishment of the bourgeois nations came before, not after, the industrial Revolution. The bourgeoisie first changed the superstructure and took possession of the machinery of state before carrying on propaganda to gather real strength. Only then did they push forward great changes in the production relations. When the production relations had been taken care of and they were on the right track they then opened the way for the development of the productive forces. To be sure, the revolution in the production relations is brought on by a certain degree of development of the productive forces, but the major development of the productive forces always comes after changes in the production relations. Consider the history of the development of capitalism. First came simple co-ordination, which subsequently developed into workshop handicrafts. At this time capitalist production relations were already taking shape, but the workshops produced without machines. This type of capitalist production relations gave rise to the need for technological advance, creating the conditions for the use of machinery. In England the Industrial Revolution (late eighteenth-early nineteenth centuries) was carried through only after the bourgeois revolution, that is, after the seventeenth century. All in their respective ways, Germany, France, America, and Japan underwent change in superstructure and production relations before the vast development of capitalist industry.
It is a general rule that you cannot solve the problem of ownership and go on to expand development of the productive forces until you have first prepared public opinion for the seizure of political power. Although between the bourgeois revolution and the proletarian revolution there are certain differences (before the proletarian revolution socialist production relations did not exist, while capitalist production relations were already beginning to grow in feudal society), basically they are alike.
29. Contradictions Between: Socialist Production Relations and Productive Forces
Page 433 discusses only the "mutual function" of the production relations and the productive forces under socialism but not the contradictions between them. The production relations include ownership of the means of production, the relations among people in the course of production, and the distribution system. The revolution in the system of ownership is the base, so to speak. For example, after the entire national economy has become indivisibly owned by the whole people through the transition from collective to people's ownership, although people's ownership will certainly be in effect for a relatively long time, for all enterprises so owned important problems will remain. Should a central-local division of authority be in effect? Which enterprises should be managed by whom? In 1958 in some basic construction units a system of fixed responsibility for capital investment was put into effect. The result was a tremendous release of enthusiasm in these units. When the center cannot depend on its own initiative it must release the enthusiasm of the enterprise or the locality. If such enthusiasm is frustrated it hurts production.
We see then that contradictions to be resolved remain in the production relations under people's ownership. As far as relations among people in the course of labor and the distribution relations go, it is all the more necessary to improve them unremittingly. For these areas it is rather difficult to say what the base is. Much remains to be written about human relations in the course of labor, e.g., concerning the leadership's adopting egalitarian attitudes, the changing of certain regulations and established practices, "the two participation" [worker participation in management and management participation in productive labor], "the three combinations" [combining efforts of cadres, workers, and technicians], etc. Public ownership of primitive communes lasted a long time, but during that time people's relations to each other underwent a good many changes, all the same, in the course of labor.
30. The Transition from Collective to People's Ownership Is Inevitable
On page 435 the text says only that the existence of two forms of public ownership is objectively inevitable, but not that the transition from collective to people's ownership is also objectively inevitable. This is an inescapable objective process, one presently in evidence in certain areas of our country. According to data from Cheng An county in Hopei province, communes growing industrial crops are thriving, accumulation levels have been raised to 45 percent [18] and the peasants' living standard is high. Should this situation continue to develop, if we do not let collective ownership become people's ownership and resolve the contradiction, peasant living standards will surpass those of the workers to the detriment of both industrial and agricultural development.
On page 438 it says that "state-managed enterprises are not fundamentally different from cooperatives... there exist two forms of public ownership... sacred and inviolable." There is no difference between collective and people's ownership with reference to capitalism, but the difference becomes fundamental within the socialist economy. The text speaks of the two forms of ownership as "sacred and inviolable." This is allowable when speaking of hostile forces, but when speaking of the process of development of public ownership it becomes wrong. Nothing can be regarded as unchanging. Ownership by the whole people itself also has a process of change.
After a good many years, after ownership by the people's communes has changed into ownership by the whole people, the whole nation will become an indivisible system of ownership by the whole people. This will greatly spur the development of the productive forces. For a period of time this will remain a socialist system of ownership by the whole people, and only after another period will it be a communistsystem of ownership by the whole people. Thus, people's ownership itself will have to progress from distribution according to labor to distribution according to need.
31. Individual Property
On page 439 it says, "Another part is consumer goods... which make up the personal property of the workers." This manner of expression tends to make people think that goods clarified as "consumer" are to be distributed to the workers as their individual property. This is incorrect. One part of consumer goods is individual property, another is public property, e.g., cultural and educational facilities, hospitals, athletic facilities, parks, etc. Moreover, this part is increasing. Of course they are for each worker to enjoy, but they are not individual property.
On page 440 we find lumped together work income and savings, housing, household goods, goods for individual consumption, and other ordinary equipment. This is unsatisfactory because savings, housing, etc. are all derived from working people's incomes.
In too many places this book speaks only of individual consumption and not of social consumption, such as public welfare, culture, health, etc. This is one-sided. Housing in our rural areas is far from what it should be. We must improve rural dwelling conditions in an orderly fashion. [Only in the 1969 text.] Residential construction, particularly in cities, should in the main use collective social forces, not individual ones. If a socialist society does not undertake collective efforts what kind of socialism is there in the end? Some say that socialism is more concerned with material incentives than capitalism. Such talk is simply outrageous.
Here the text says that the wealth produced by collective farms includes individual property as well as subsidiary occupations. If we fail to propose transforming these subsidiary occupations into public ownership, the peasants will be peasants forever. A given social system must be consolidated in a given period of time. But consolidation must have a limit. If it goes on and on, the ideology reflecting the system is bound to become rigidified, causing the people to be unable to adjust their thinking to new developments.
On the same page there is mention of integrating individual and collective interests. It says, integration is realized by the following method: a member of society is compensated according to the quantity and quality of his labor so as to satisfies the principle of individual material interest." Here, without discussion of the necessary reservations, the text places individual interest first. This is one-sided treatment of the principle of individual material interest.
According to page 441, "Public and individual interests are not at odds and can be gradually resolved." This is spoken in vain and solves nothing. In a country like ours, if the contradictions among the people are not put to rights every few years, they will never get resolved.
32. Contradiction Is the Motive Force of Development in a Socialist Society
Page 443, paragraph 5, admits that in a socialist society contradiction between the productive forces and the production relations exist and speak of overcoming such contradictions. But by no means does the text recognize that contradictions are the motive force.
The succeeding paragraph is acceptable; however, under socialism it is not only certain aspects of human relations and certain forms of leading the economy, but also problems of the ownership system itself (e.g., the two types of ownership) that may hinder the development of the productive forces.
Most dubious is the viewpoint in the next paragraph. It says, "The contradictions under socialism are not irreconcilable." This does not agree with the laws of dialectics, which hold that all contradictions are irreconcilable. Where has there ever been a reconcilable contradiction? Some are antagonistic, some are non-antagonistic, but it must not be thought that there are irreconcilable and reconcilable contradictions.
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.
Here the text speaks of relying on the "positive action" of the masses to overcome contradictions at the proper time. "Positive action" should include complicated struggles.
"Under socialism there is no class energetically plotting to preserve outmoded economic relations." Correct, but in a socialist society there are still conservative strata and something like "vested interest groups." There still remain differences between mental and manual labor, city and countryside, worker and peasant. Although these are not antagonistic contradictions they cannot be resolved without struggle.
The children of our cadres are a cause of discouragement. They lack experience of life and of society, yet their airs are considerable and they have a great sense of superiority. They have to be educated not to rely on their parents or martyrs of the past but entirely on themselves.
In a socialist society there are always advanced-and backward persons, those who are steadfastly loyal to the collective effort, diligent and sincere, fresh of spirit and lively, and those who are acting for fame and fortune, for the personal end, for the self, or who are apathetic and dejected. In the course of socialist development each and every period is bound to have a group that is more than willing to preserve backward production relations and social institutions. On many questions the prosperous middle peasants have their own point of view. They cannot adapt to new developments, and some of them resist such developments, as proved by the debate over the Eight-Word Constitution [19] with the prosperous peasants of the Kuangtung rural areas.
Page 453, the last paragraph, says, "Criticism and self-criticism are powerful motive forces for the development of socialist society." This is not the point. Contradictions are the motive forces; criticism and self-criticism are the methods for resolving contradictions.
33. The Dialectical Process of Knowledge
Page 446, paragraph 2, says that as ownership becomes public "people become the masters of the economic relations of their own society." and are "able to take hold of and apply these laws fully and consciously." It should be observed that this requires going through a process. The understanding of laws always begins with the understanding of a minority before it becomes the knowledge of the majority. It is necessary to go through a process of practice and study to go from ignorance to knowledge. At the beginning no one has knowledge. Foreknowledge has never existed. People must go through practice to gain results, meet with failure as problems arise; only through such a process can knowledge gradually advance. If you want to-know the objective laws of the development of things and events you must go through the process of practice, adopt a Marxist- Leninist attitude, compare successes and failures, continually practicing and studying, going through multiple successes and failures; moreover, meticulous research must be performed. There is no other way to make one's own knowledge gradually conform to the laws. For those who see only victory but not defeat it will not be possible to know these laws.
It is not easy "to possess and apply these laws fully and consciously." On page 446 the text quotes Engels. "Only at this time does the fully conscious self begin to create history. For the first time to a great extent and to an ever greater extent people can create the effects they aspire after" "Begin to" and "to an ever greater extent" are relatively accurate.
The text does not recognize the contradictions between appearances and essences. Essences always lie behind appearance and cannot be disclosed except through appearances. The text does not express the idea that for a person to know the laws it is necessary to go through a process. The vanguard is no exception.
34. Unions and the Single Leadership System
On page 452 when speaking of the mission of trade unions, the text does not say that the primary task of the unions is to develop production; it does not discuss ways to strengthen political education; it merely overemphasizes welfare.
Throughout, the text speaks of "managing production according to the principle of the single-leader system." All enterprises in capitalist countries put this principle into effect. There should be a basic distinction between the principles governing management of socialist and capitalist enterprises-. We in China have been able to distinguish our methods strictly from capitalist management by putting into effect factory leader responsibility under the guidance of the party.
35. Starting from Fundamental Principles and Rules Is Not the Marxist Method
From the second chapter on a great many rules are set up. The analysis of capitalist economy in Das Kapital commences with appearances, searches out essences, and only then uses the essence to explain the appearance, making through this method effective summaries and outlines. But the text does not pursue an analysis. Its composition lacks order. It always proceeds from rules, principles, laws, definitions, a methodology Marxism- Leninism has always opposed. The effects of principles and laws must be subjected to analysis and thorough study; only then can principles and laws be derived. Human knowledge always encounters appearances first. Proceeding from there, one searches out principles and laws. The text does the opposite. Its methodology is deductive, not analytical. According to formal logic, "People all will die. Mr. Chang is a person. Therefore Mr. Chang will die." This is a conclusion derived from the premise that all human beings die. This is the deductive method. For every question the text first gives definitions, which it then takes as a major premise and reasons from there, failing to understand that the major premise should be the result of researching a question. Not until one has gone through the concrete research can principles and laws be discovered and proved.
36. Can Advanced Experience Be Popularized Effortlessly?
Page 461, paragraph 2, says, "In a socialist national economy science's latest achievements, technical inventions, and advanced experience can be popularized in all enterprises without the slightest difficulty." This is far from necessarily so. In a socialist society there are still "academic overlords" who control the organs of scientific research and repress new forces. This is why science's latest achievements are not simply popularized without the slightest difficulty. Such a manner of speaking essentially fails to recognize that there are contradictions within a socialist society. Whenever something new appears it is bound to meet with obstacles, perhaps because people are unaccustomed to it or do not understand it, or because it conflicts with the interests of a particular group. For example, our practices of close planting and deep furrowing have no class nature in and of themselves, yet they have been opposed and resisted by a particular group. Of course, in a socialist society such inhibiting conditions are fundamentally different from those in a capitalist society.
37. Planning
Page 465 quotes Engels as saying, "Under socialism it will become possible to carry out social production according to a predetermined plan." This is correct. In capitalist society equilibrium of the national economy is achieved through economic crises. In socialist society there is the possibility of making equilibrium a reality through planning, But let us not deny, because of this possibility, that knowledge of the required proportions must come through a process. Here the text says, "Spontaneity and laissez faire are incompatible with public ownership of the means of production." It should not be thought, however, that spontaneity and laissez faire do not exist in a socialist society. Our knowledge of the laws is not perfect all at once. Actual work tells us that in a given period of time there are such and such a plan by such and such people, or by a different group. No one can say that one particular group's plan conforms to the laws. Surely, some plans will accord or basically accord, while others will not or basically will not.
To think that knowledge of the proportions does not require a process —comparison between successes and failures, a tortuous course of development — is a metaphysical point of view. Freedom is the recognition of necessity, but necessity is not perceived in a glance. The world has no natural sages, nor upon attaining a socialist society does everyone become prescient. Why was not this text on political economy published at some earlier time? Why has it been revised time and again after its publication? And after all, is not the reason for this that knowledge was imperfect in the past and even now remains so? Take our own experiences—at the beginning we did not understand how to make socialism work; gradually, though practice, we came to understand a little, but not enough. If we think it is enough then nothing will be left to do!
On page 466 it says that an outstanding feature of socialism is "the conscious regular maintaining of due proportion." This is both a responsibility and a demand, and a difficult one to fulfill. Even Stalin said that the plans of the Soviet Union could not be regarded as already fully reflecting what the laws demanded.
The "regular maintaining of due proportion" is at the same time the regular appearance of imbalances. For when due proportion is not achieved then the task of keeping things in proportion arises. In the course of the development of a socialist economy the regular appearance of imbalances requires us to balance things by holding to proportionality and comprehensiveness. For example, as the economy develops, shortages of technical personnel and cadres are felt all over, and a contradiction between needs and supply appears. This in turn spurs us to operate more schools and train more cadres to resolve this contradiction. It is after the appearance of imbalances and disproportion that people further understand the objective laws.
In planning, if no accounting is made, if we let things run their course, or are overly cautious insisting on everything being foolproof, then our methods will not succeed, and as a result proportionality will be destroyed.
A plan is an ideological form. Ideology is a reflection of realities, but it also acts upon realities. Our past plans stipulated that no new industry would be built on our coasts, and up to 1957 there was no construction there. We wasted seven years. Only after 1958 did major construction begin. These past two years have seen great developments. Thus, ideological forms such as plans have a great effect on economic development and its rate.
38. Priority Growth in Producing the Means of Production; Concurrent Promotion of Industry and Agriculture
On page 466 the problem of priority growth in producing the means of production is addressed.
Priority growth in producing the means of production is an economic rule for expanded reproduction common to all societies. If there are no priorities in producing the means of production in capitalist society there can be no expanded reproduction. In Stalin's time, due to special emphasis on priority development of heavy industry, agriculture was neglected in the plans. Eastern Europe has had similar problems in the past few years. Our approach has been to make priority development of heavy industry the condition for putting into effect concurrent promotion of industry and agriculture, as well as some other concurrent programs, each of which again has within it a leading aspect. If agriculture does not make gains few problems can be resolved. It has been four years now since we proposed concurrent promotion of industry and agriculture, though it was truly put into effect in 1960. How highly we regard agriculture is expressed by the quantity of steel materials we are allocating to agriculture. In 1959 we allocated only 590,000 tons but this year (including water conservancy construction) we allocated 1.3 million tons. This is truly concurrent promotion of industry and agriculture.
Here the text mentions that between 1925 and 1958 production of the means of production in the Soviet Union increased 103 times, while consumer goods increased 15.6 times. The question is, does a ratio of 103:15.06 benefit the development of heavy [Only in 1967 text.] industry or not? If we want heavy industry to develop quickly everyone has to show initiative and maintain high spirits. And if we want that then we must enable industry and agriculture to be concurrently promoted, and the same for light and heavy industry.
Provided that we enable agriculture, light industry, and heavy industry Jo develop at the same time and at a high rate, we may guarantee that the people's livelihood can be suitably improved together with the development of heavy industry. The experience of the Soviet Union, no less than our own, proves that if agriculture does not develop, if light industry does not develop, it hurts the development of heavy industry.
39. "Distribution Is Determinative"—All Erroneous View
In chapter 20 it says, "The precondition for the high tide in state-managed industry was utilizing the workers' concern for their individual material interest in the development of socialist production." In chapter 21 it says, "Fully carry out economic accounting using the economic law of distribution according to labor (a law which combines workers' individual material interest with the interests of socialist production) to serve an important function in the struggle for national industrialization." In chapter 25 it says, "The goals of socialist production cause workers to be keenly concerned to make vigorous efforts to raise production and project personnel to be concerned with the fruits of their own labor, out of material interest. This is powerful motive force for the development of socialist production." To make an absolute out of "concern for individual material interest" in this fashion is bound to entail the danger of increasing individualism.
Page 452 says that the law of distribution according to labor "is one of the determining motive forces for socialist production in that it causes all workers out of material interest to be concerned for the carrying out of plans to raise productivity." One cannot help asking. "If the fundamental economic laws of socialism determine the direction of development of socialist production, then how does it follow that individual material interest is alleged to be a determining motive force of production?" To treat distribution of consumer goods as a determining motive force is the erroneous view of distribution as determinative. Marx said, in his Critique of the Gotha Programme, "Distribution in the first place should be distribution of the means of production: in whose hands are the means of production? This is the determinative question. Distribution of the of production is what determines distribution of consumer goods." To regard distribution of consumer goods as the determining motive force is a distortion of Marx's correct view and a serious theoretical error.
40. Politics in Command and Material Incentive
Page 452, paragraph 2, places party organization after local economic organs; these latter become the heads under the direct administration of the central government. Local party organizations cannot take the political lead in those areas, making it virtually impossible for them to mobilize all positive forces sufficiently. The text on page 457, although conceding the creative activities of the masses, nonetheless says, "One of the most important conditions for accelerating communist construction is the participation of the masses in the struggle to fulfill and overfulfill plans for national economic development." Page 447 also says, "Initiative of farm personnel is one decisive factor in developing agriculture." To regard the mass struggle as "one important factor" flies in the face of the principle that the masses are the creators of history. Under no circumstances can history be regarded as something the planners rather than the masses create.
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 one-sidedly of material incentive? This kind of propaganda for material interest will make capitalism unbeatable!
41. Balance and Imbalance
Page 432, paragraph 1, is mistaken. The development of capitalist technology is balanced in certain respects, unbalanced in others. The point is that balance and imbalance in technological development is essentially different under capitalism and under socialism. Under socialism there is balance and imbalance; for example, in the first period of Liberation we had barely over 200 geological project workers, and prospecting was altogether out of phase with the needs of the development of the national economy. After several years' intense efforts the situation was practically rectified when fresh imbalance arose. At present there is in China an overwhelming preponderance of manual labor, a situation quite out of phase with our needs for developing production and raising labor productivity. This is why we have to launch a broad technological revolution and resolve this imbalance. With the appearance of every new technical department imbalance of technological development is bound to become noticeable again. For example, we are now tackling higher technology so we are conscious of the incompatibility of many things. But this Soviet text not only denies a degree of balance under capitalism but also a degree of imbalance under socialism.
Technology and the economy both develop in this way. The text seems to be unacquainted with the wavelike advances of the development of socialist production and speaks of the development of socialist economy as perfectly linear, free of dips. This is unthinkable. No line of development is straight; it is wave or spiral shaped. Even our studying has this pattern. Before studying we do something else. Afterward we have to rest for a few hours. We cannot continue studying as if there were neither day nor night. We study more one day, less the next. Moreover in our daily study sometimes we find more to comment upon, sometimes less. These are all wavelike patterns, rising and falling. Balance is relative to imbalance. Without imbalance there is no balance. The development of all things is characterized by imbalance. That is why there is a demand for balance. Contradiction between balance and imbalance exists in all parts of the various areas and departments, forever arising, forever being resolved. When there is a plan for the first year there has to be one for the next year as well. An annual plan requires a quarterly plan, which in turn requires a monthly plan. In every one of the twelve months contradictions between balance and imbalance have to be resolved. Plans constantly have to be revised precisely because new imbalances recur.
But the text has not adequately applied the dialectical method to research the various problems. The chapter devoted to the laws of planned proportional development of the national economy is quite long, yet no mention is made of the contradiction between balance and imbalance.
The national economy of a socialist society can have planned proportional development, which enables imbalances to be regulated. However, imbalance does not go away. "Unevenness is in the nature of things". Because private ownership was eliminated it was possible to have planned organization of the economy. Therefore, it was possible to control and utilize consciously the objective! Laws of imbalance to create many relative temporary, balances [Only in the 1969 text].
If the productive forces run ahead, the production relations will not accord with the productive forces; the superstructure will not accord with the production relations. At that point the superstructure and the production relations will have to be changed to accord with the productive forces. Between superstructure and production relations, between production relations and productive forces—some say balance is only relatively attainable, for the productive forces are always advancing, therefore there is always imbalance. Balance and imbalance are two sides of a contradiction within which imbalance is absolute and balance relative. If this were not so, neither the superstructure nor the production relations, nor the productive forces, could further develop; they would become petrified. Balance is relative, imbalance absolute. This is a universal law which I am convinced applies to socialist society. Contradiction and struggle are absolutes; unity, unanimity and solidarity are transitional, hence relative. The various balances attained in planning are temporary, transitional and conditional, hence relative. Who can imagine a state of equilibrium that is unconditional, eternal?
We need to use balance and imbalance among the productive forces, the production relations and the superstructure as a guideline for researching the economic problems of socialism.
The main object of study in political economy is the production relations. But to study clearly the production relations it is necessary to study concomitantly the productive forces and also the positive and negative effects of the superstructure on the production relations. The text refers to the state but never studies it in depth. This is one omission. Of course, in the process of studying political economy, the study of the productive forces and the superstructure should not become overdeveloped. If the study of the productive forces goes too for it becomes technology and natural science. If the study of the superstructure goes too far it becomes nation-state theory, class struggle theory. Under the heading of socialism (one of Marxism's three component parts) what we study are: theories of class struggle, theories of the state, theories of revolution and the party, as well as military strategies and tactics, etc.
There is nothing in the world that cannot be analyzed. But circumstances differ and so do essences. Many fundamental categories and laws— e.g., unity of contradiction—are applicable. If we study problems in this way, if we observe problems in this way, we will then have a solid, integral worldview and methodology.
42. "Material Incentives"
Page 486 says, "In the socialist stage labor has not yet become the primary necessity in the lives of all members of society, and therefore material incentives to labor have the greatest significance." Here "all members" is too general. Lenin was a member of the society. Had his labor not become a "primary necessity" of his life?
Page 486 raises this point: there are two kinds of individuals in socialist society, the great majority who faithfully discharge their duties and the few who are dishonest about their duties. This is correctly analyzed. But if we want to bring around this latter group we can not rely exclusively on material incentives. We still have to criticize and educate them to raise their consciousness.
This section of the text speaks of workers who are comparatively diligent and positive. Conditions being equal, these are the ones who will produce more. Plainly, whether a worker is diligent and enthusiastic or not is determined by political consciousness, not by the level of technical or cultural expertise. Some whose technical and cultural level is high are nonetheless neither diligent nor enthusiastic; others whose level is lower are quite diligent and enthusiastic. The reason lies in the lower political consciousness of the former, the higher political consciousness of the latter.
The book says that material incentive to labor "spurs increases in production" and "is one of the decisive factors in stimulating the development of production." But material incentive does not necessarily change every year. People may not require such incentive daily, monthly, or yearly. In times of difficulty when incentives are reduced people must still carry on, and that satisfactorily., By making material incentive a one-sided absolute the text fails to give due importance to raising consciousness and cannot explain why there are differences among the labor of people in the same pay scale. For example, in scale no. 5, [20] one group may carry on very well, another rather poorly and a third tolerably well on the whole. Why, with similar material incentive, such differences occur is inexplicable according to their way of reasoning.
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 incentive can not simply be discussed as individual interest. 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.
In the section "Material Incentives to Labor, Socialist Emulation," there are some fairly well written passages concerning emulation. What is missing is the discussion of politics!
First, don't work people to death. Second, don't ruin their health, but even bring about gradual strengthening. These two points are basic. As for other things, if we can have them, fine, if not, well and good' We want the people to have some consciousness. The text seems to lay almost no emphasis on the future, the generations to come, only emphasizing material interest, constantly taking the road of material interest and rashly turning it into the principle of individual interest, as if it were a magic wand.
What they do not say is that individual interest will be satisfied when the interests of the whole people are satisfied. The individual material interest they emphasize is in reality myopic individualism, an economistic tendency from the period of proletarian class struggle against capitalism manifesting itself in the period of socialist construction. During the era of bourgeois revolutions a number of bourgeois revolutionaries made heroic sacrifices for the interests of their class and future generations of their class, but certainly not for immediate individual interest.
When we were in the base areas we had a free [non-market] supply system [21]. People were tougher then and there was no wrangling at all on account of seeking preferential treatment. After liberation we had a wage system and agreed upon scales, but our problems only multiplied. Many people wrangled frequently in a struggle for status and we had to do a lot of persuading.
Our party has waged war for over twenty years without letup. For a long time we made a non-market supply system work. Of course at that time the entire society of the base areas was not practicing the system. But those who made the system work in the civil war period reached a high of several hundred thousand, and at the lowest still numbered in the tens of thousands. In the War of Resistance against Japan the number shot up again from over a million to several millions. Right up to the first stage of Liberation our people lived an egalitarian life, working hard and fighting bravely, without the least dependence on material incentives, only the inspiration of revolutionary spirit. At the end of the second period of the civil war we suffered a defeat, although we had victories before and after. This course of events had nothing at all to do with whether we had material incentives or not. It had to do with whether or not our political line and our military line were correct. These historical experiences have the greatest significance for solving our problems of socialist construction.
Chapter 26 says, "Workers in socialist enterprises who, out of material interest, are concerned with the results of their own work are the motive forces developing socialist production." (p. 482)
Chapter 27 says, "Compensation for skilled labor is comparatively high... And this stimulates workers to raise their cultural and technical level, causing the essential difference between manual and mental labor to diminish." (pp. 501-03)
The point here is that higher compensation for skilled labor has spurred unskilled workers to upgrade themselves continuously so they can enter the ranks of skilled workers. This means that they studied culture and technology in order to earn more money. In a socialist society every person entering school to study culture and technology should recognize before anything else that they are studying for socialist construction, for industrialization, to serve the people, for the collective interest, and not above all for a higher wage.
Chapter 28 says, "Distribution according to labor is the greatest force propelling the development of production." (p. 526) And at the end of this page, after explaining that wages rise steadily under socialism, the un-revised third edition of this textbook even goes so far as to say, "Socialism is fundamentally superior to capitalism precisely in this." Now to say that socialism is fundamentally superior to capitalism because wages steadily rise is very wrong. Wages are distribution of consumer goods. If there is no distribution of the means of production, there can be no distribution of the goods produced, of consumer goods. The latter is predicated on the former.
43. Interpersonal Relations in Socialist Enterprises
Page 500 says, "Under socialism the prestige of economic leaders is contingent upon the trust the masses have in them." This is well said indeed. But to reach this goal it will take work. In our experience, if cadres do not set aside their pretensions and identify with the workers, the workers will never look on the factory as their own but as the cadres'. Master-of-the-house" attitudes make the workers reluctant to observe labor discipline in a self-conscious way. Do not think that under socialism creative cooperation between the workers and the leadership of the enterprises will emerge all by itself without the need to work at it.
If manual workers and enterprise leaders are both members of a unified production collective then Why do socialist enterprises have to put 'single leadership' into effect rather than leadership under collective guidance" i.e., the system of factory head responsibility under party committee guidance?
It is when politics is weakened that there is no choice but to talk about material incentive. That is why the text follows right up with "fully putting into effect the principle of having workers deeply concerned with the results of their own labor out of individual material interest is the mainspring for progressively grasping and raising socialist production."
44. Crash Programs, Accelerated Work
Page 505 says, "Do away with the phenomenon of accelerated work. Carry on production in a well-balanced way according to the blueprints." In the un-revised third edition this sentence reads, "We must fight against 'crash programs' and work in a well- balanced way according to predetermined schedules." This utter repudiation of crash programs and accelerated work is too absolute.
We can not completely repudiate crash programs. Their use or non-use constitutes a unity of opposites. In nature there are gentle breezes and light rains, and there are high winds and violent rains. Use of crash programs appears and disappears, wavelike. In the technological revolution in production the need of them continually arises. In agriculture we must grapple with the seasons. The drama must have its climax. To gainsay crash programs is in reality to deny the climax. The Soviet Union wants to overtake the United States. We expect to reach the Soviet's level in less time than it took, the Soviets. That is a kind of crash program.
Socialist emulation means that the backward overtakes the advanced. This is possible only through crash programs. Relations between individuals, between units, between enterprises, as well as between nations, are all competitive. If one wants to overtake the advanced, one cannot help having crash programs. If construction or revolution is attacked with executive orders (e.g., carrying out land reform or organizing cooperatives by administrative order) there is bound to be a reduction in production because the masses will not have been mobilized, and not because of crash programs.
45. The Law of Value and Planning
On page 521 there is a small print passage that is correct; it is critical, it joins the issues.
The law of value serves as an instrument of planning. Good. But the law of value should not be made the main basis of planning. We did not carry through the Great Leap on the basis of the demands of the law of value but on the basis of the fundamental economic laws of socialism and the need to expand production. If things were narrowly regarded from the point of view of the law of value the Great Leap would have to be judged not worth the losses and last year's all-out effort to produce steel and iron as wasted labor. The local steel produced was low in quantity and quality and the state had to make good many losses. The economic results were not significant, etc. The partial short-term view is the campaign was a loss, but the overall long-term view is that there was great value to the campaign because it opened wide a whole economic construction phase. Throughout the country many new starts in steel and iron were made and many industrial centers were built. This enabled us to step up our pace greatly.
In the winter of 1959 over 75 million people were working on water conservancy nationwide. The method of organizing two large- scale campaigns could be used to solve our basic water conservancy problems. From the standpoint of one, two, or three years the value of the grain to pay for so much labor was naturally quite high. But in the longer view the campaign could considerably increase grain production and accelerate it too and stabilize agricultural production and so the value of commodities per unit gains. All this then goes toward satisfying the people's need for grain.
The continuing development of agriculture and light industry creates further accumulation for heavy industry. This too benefits people in the long run. So long as the peasants and the people of the entire country understand what the state is doing, whether money is gained or lost, they are bound to approve and not oppose. From among the peasants themselves the slogan of supporting industry has been put forward. There is the proof! Stalin as well as Lenin said, "In the period of socialist construction the peasantry must pay tribute to the state." The vast majority of China's peasants is "sending tribute" with a positive attitude. It is only among the prosperous peasants and the middle peasants, some 15 percent of the peasantry, that there is any discontent. They oppose the whole concept of the Great Leap and the people's communes.
In sum, we put plans ahead of prices. Of course we cannot ignore prices. A few years ago we raised the purchase price for live pigs, and this had a positive effect on pig breeding. But for the kind of large-scale, nationwide breeding we have today, planning remains the main thing we rely on.
Page 521 refers to the problem of pricing in the markets of collective farms. Their collective farm markets have too much freedom. It is not enough to use only state economic power to adjust prices in such markets. Leadership and control are also necessary. In our markets, during the first stage, prices were kept within certain bounds by the government. Thus small liberties were kept from becoming big ones.
Page 522 says, "Thanks to our command of the law of value, the kind of anarchy in production or waste of social labor power the law entails under capitalism is not found in a socialist economy." This makes too much of the effects of the law of value. In socialist society crises do not occur, mainly because of the ownership system: the basic laws of socialism, national planning of production and distribution, the lack of free competition or anarchy, etc., and not because we command the law of value. The economic crises of capitalism, it goes without saying, are determined by the ownership system too.
46. Forms of Wages
Page 530, in its discussion of wage forms, advocates taking piecework wages as primary and the time-rate as supplementary. We do the reverse. One-sided emphasis on piece rates is bound to create contradictions between older and younger, stronger and weaker laborers, and will foster among the workers a psychology of "going for the big ones " This makes the primary concern not the collective cause but the individual income. There is even evidence that the piece-rate wage system impedes technological innovation and mechanization.
The book concedes that with automation, piece-rate wages are unsuitable. On the one hand they say they want automation widely developed; on the other they say they want piece-rate wages used widely. This involves a contradiction.
We have put into effect the time-rate system, plus rewards. The year-end "leap forward" bonuses of the last two years are an example. With the exception of governmental and educational workers, all staff and workers have had year-end leap forward bonuses in varying amounts determined by the staff and workers themselves in the particular units.
47. Two Question About Prices
There are two questions that deserve study.
The first is the pricing of consumer goods. The text says, "Socialism has all along been putting into practice a policy of lowering the prices of consumer goods for the people." Our approach is to stabilize prices, generally neither letting them rise nor lowering them. Although our wage levels are comparatively low, universal employment and low paces and rents have kept the living standard of staff and workers decent enough. In the last analysis whether it is preferable to keep lowering prices or neither to raise nor lower them is a problem deserving study.
The other question concerns pricing of products of heavy and light industry. Relatively speaking, they have low prices for the former, and higher ones for the latter. We do the reverse. Why? Which is the better way in the last analysis is another problem deserving study.
48. Concurrent Promotion of the foreign and the Native, the Large, Medium, and Small
Page 547 expresses opposition to dispersing construction funds. If they mean that not too many major projects should be undertaken at one time lest none can be completed on schedule, then of course we agree.
But if the conclusion is to be that during major construction small, and medium-scale projects should be opposed, then we disagree. The principle new industrial centers in China were established on the basis of medium and small-scale enterprises developed in large numbers in 1958. According to initial arrangements in the steel and iron industry, construction of twenty-nine large, nearly a hundred medium and several hundred small-scale centers will be completed over the next eight years. The medium- and small-scale ones have already had a major effect on the steel and iron industry. Speaking from the standpoint of 1959, raw iron production nationwide has exceeded 20 million tons, half of which was produced by medium- and small-scale enterprises. In the future the medium and the small-scale enterprise will continue to have major importance for the development of the steel and iron industry. Many small ones will become medium, many medium, large; backward ones will become advanced, local models will become like foreign ones—this is the objective law of development.
We will adopt advanced technology, but this cannot gainsay the necessity and the inevitability of backward technology for a period of time. Since history began, revolutionary wars have always been won by those whose weapons were deficient, lost by those with the advantage in weapons. During our civil war, our War of Resistance Against Japan, and our War of Liberation, we lacked nationwide political power and modernized arsenals. If one cannot fight unless one has the most modern weapons, that is the same as disarming one's self.
Our desire to make all-around mechanization such as the text describes a reality (p. 420) in our second decade appears still short of fulfillment; probably it will be in our third decade. In a future time' because of inadequate machinery, we will be calling for partial mechanization and improvement of our tools. For now we are holding off on general automation. Mechanization has to be discussed, but with a sense of proportion. If mechanization and automation are made too much of, it is bound to make people despise partial mechanization and production by native methods. In the past we had such diversions, when everybody was demanding new technology, new machinery, the large scale, high standards; the native, the medium, or small in scale were held in contempt. We did not overcome this tendency until we promoted concurrently native and foreign, large and medium and small.
At the present time we have not proposed chemicalization of agriculture. One reason is that we do not expect to be able to produce much fertilizer in the next however many years. (And the little we have is concentrated on our industrial crops.) Another reason is that if the turn to chemicals is proposed everybody will focus on that and neglect pig-breeding. Inorganic fertilizers are also needed but they have to be combined with organic; alone they harden the soil.
The text speaks of adopting new techniques in every department. But this is not so easy to do. There must always be a process of gradual development. Moreover, even as some new machine is being adopted many old ones remain. The text is correct when it says that as you build new enterprises and renew equipment in existing factories, you should put existing machinery and mechanical equipment to use rationally and to the fullest extent. (p. 427) Things will be no different in the future.
As to the "large" and the "foreign," we must work on these in a spirit of "self reliance for new growth." In 1958 we proposed slogans on ridding ourselves of superstition and working with our own hands. The facts show that working on our own is quite feasible. In the past, backward capitalist countries relied on the application of new techniques to catch up with advanced capitalist countries in production. The Soviet Union likewise relies on the application of advanced technology to catch up with the capitalist countries. We too must do the same, and we can.
49. Which First, Tractors or Cooperatives?
Page 563 says, "In 1928, on the eve of overall collectivization, spring crop areas were tilled 99 percent with wood or horsedrawn ploughs." This fact refutes the text's repeated assertion that "tractors must precede cooperatives." On the same page we find, "Socialist production relations cleared a wide field for the development of agricultural productive forces and progress in agricultural technology." That is true.
First the production relations have to be changed, then and only then the productive forces can be broadly developed. This rule is universal. In some countries of Eastern Europe the cooperatives were not organized very energetically, and even to day they remain uncompleted. The main reason is not that they lacked tractors (they had many more than we, comparatively speaking) but that their land reform was a top-down royal favor. Land was expropriated by quota (in some countries no expropriation was carried out on farms under 100 hectares); the work of expropriation was carried out by executive order; and after the land reform, instead of striking while the iron was hot they let a full five or six years go by without doing much. We did quite the reverse. We put a mass line [22] into effect, roused the poor and lower-middle peasants to launch class struggle and seize all the land of the landlord class and distribute the surplus land of rich peasants, apportioning land on a per-capita basis. (This was a tremendous revolution in the rural areas.) Immediately afterward, we followed up with the mutual aid and cooperative movements. And from that point, steadily advancing step by step, we led the peasants on to the road to socialism. We had a massive party and army. When our forces went south a full complement of cadre squads had been set in place in every province to do local work at provincial, regional, county, and district levels. As soon as our forces would arrive they would penetrate deeply into the agricultural villages, "paying call on the poor to learn of their grievances," "striking roots and pulling things together," and getting the active elements of the poor and lower middle peasants organized.
50. Two Goals: Large and Public
The collective farms of the Soviet Union have undergone merger twice. Over 250,000 farms were merged into over 93,000, then were again merged into about 70,000. In the future they will surely expand again. The text says (p. 568), "We must strengthen and develop the production relations of the various collective farms and organize publicly used production enterprises among the collective farms." Here, actually, there are many similarities to our own methods, they simply express things differently. In the future, even if their approach is like ours, it appears doubtful they will use the term commune. Differences in expression and terminology do include a substantive issue, namely, whether or not a mass line is being put into effect.
To be sure, the large scale of the Soviet Union's collective farms may never approach ours in terms of households and population because their rural population is sparse and their land area great. But who can say that for this reason their collective farms now need no further expansion? In places like Sinkiang and Ch'inghai the communes still need to enlarge even though there are few people for much land. Some counties in our southern provinces (e.g., northern Fukien) got large communes together under like conditions.
Enlarging the communes is a major issue. Changes in quantity are bound to bring on changes in quality, to stimulate such changes. Our people/s communes are a good example—"Large! and Public!" First comes "Large!" — it will raise the level of "Public. This means that quantitative changes bring on partial qualitative changes.
51. What Is the Fundamental Reason for the Special Emphasis on Material Interest?
In the chapter on the collective farm system there is continual discussion of individual material interest. (pp. 565, 571, etc.) The present special emphasis on material interest is for a reason. In the time of Stalin there was excessive emphasis on collective interest; individual gain was neglected. The public was overemphasized, the private underemphasized. Now they have gone to the opposite extreme, overemphasizing material incentive, neglecting collective interest. And if they persist in this course it will surely go to the opposite side again.
"Public" is in relation to "private," and vice-versa, a unity of opposites. One without the other is impossible., We have always spoken of joint consideration of public and private and long ago made the point that there is no such thing as all the one or the other, but that the public takes precedence over the private. The individual is a part of the collective. If the collective interest advances, the individual's lot will improve in consequence.
Duality is an attribute of all things, and for all time. Of course, duality is manifested through different concrete forms, and so the character of things varies. Heredity and mutation are a duality of opposites in unity. If there were only the latter without the former the succeeding generation would be utterly unlike the prior. Rice would no longer be that which makes it rice, nor dogs, nor people. The conservative side can have a good, a positive function. It can give living things in the midst of uninterrupted change a provisional constancy or stability. So, improved rice is still rice. But heredity without mutation would mean no advance, and development would come to a halt.
52. It is for the People to Act
Page 577 says, "Collective farms offer the natural and economic conditions [or allowing differential rent to be arranged." Differential rent is not altogether determined by objective conditions. Actually the matter rests with the people's doing. For example, in Hopei province there are many mechanized wells along the Peking-Hankow Railway, but very few along the Tientsin-Pukow. The natural conditions are similar, the communications equally convenient, but land improvements are never the same from place to place. There may have been reasons why the one locale was receptive (or unreceptive) to improvement, or there might have been varying historical reasons. But after all, the main thing is that it is for people to act.
While we are on the subject, some of the outlying districts of Shanghai are able to breed pigs properly, others not. In Ch'ung Ming county it was originally thought that certain natural conditions, e.g., the large number of lakes, would not be favorable for pig breeding. But after getting rid of people's fears of difficulties, and after people adopted a positive attitude toward the business of breeding, it was realized that far from presenting an obstacle, these very natural conditions offered advantages. Actually, whether it is a matter of deep ploughing, fine horticulture, mechanization, or collectivization, it is for people to act.
Ch'ang P'ing county, Peking, has always been plagued by flood and drought. But tilings changed after the construction of the reservoir at the Ming Tombs. Does not this again illustrate that it is for people to act? In Honan they are planning after 1959 and 1960 to spend another three years to tame the Yellow River by completing construction of several large-scale conduits. All this shows again that it is for people to act.
53. Transport and Commerce
Transport and packaging do not increase use value, but they do increase value. The labor they use is a part of socially necessary labor. For without transportation and packaging the process of pro