A message and analysis by Henry C.K. Liu from [EMAIL PROTECTED] "When the head of the snake is cut off, the rest will die by itself." Creating People-Centred Economics needs offensive attitude. >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Status: > >Patrick, you have raised some very legitimate issues. > >For reference on how China tried to deal with these issues, you may find Mao's >views of help: > >ON THE QUESTION OF THE NATIONAL BOURGEOISIE AND THE ENLIGHTENED GENTRY[*] > > Mao Zedong March 1, 1948 > > > > The Chinese revolution at the present stage is in its character a >revolution against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism waged by >the >broad masses of the people under the leadership of the proletariat. By the >broad >masses of the people is meant all those who are oppressed, injured or fettered >by imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism, namely, workers, peasants, >soldiers, intellectuals, businessmen and other patriots, as clearly stated in >the Manifesto of the Chinese People's Liberation Army of October 1947.[1] In >the manifesto "intellectuals" means all intellectuals who are persecuted and >fettered. "Businessmen" means all the national bourgeois who are persecuted and >fettered, that is, the middle and petty bourgeois. "Other patriots" refers >primarily to the enlightened gentry. The Chinese revolution at the present >stage >is a revolution in which all these people form a united front against >imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism and in which the working >people >are the main body. By working people are meant all those engaged in manual >labour (such as workers, peasants, handicraftsmen, etc.) as well as those >engaged in mental labour who are close to those engaged in manual labour and >are >not exploiters but are exploited. The aim of the Chinese revolution at the >present stage is to overthrow the rule of imperialism, feudalism and >bureaucrat-capitalism and to establish a new-democratic republic of the broad >masses of the people with the working people as the main force; its aim is not >to abolish capitalism in general. > >We should not abandon the enlightened gentry who co-operated with us in the >past >and continue to co-operate with us at present, who approve of the struggle >against the United States and Chiang Kai-shek and who approve of the land >reform. Since they gave us considerable help in the hard times during and after >the War of Resistance Against Japan and did not obstruct or oppose the land >reform when we were carrying it out, we should continue the policy of uniting >with them. But uniting with them does not mean treating them as a force that >determines the character of the Chinese revolution. > The forces that determine the character of a revolution are the chief >enemies on the one side and the chief revolutionaries on the other. At present >our chief enemies are imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism, while >the main forces in our struggle against these enemies are the people engaged in >manual and mental labour, who make up 90 per cent of the country's population. >And this determines that our revolution at the present stage is a >new-democratic, a people's democratic revolution in character and is different >from a socialist revolution such as the October Revolution. > > The few right-wingers among the national bourgeoisie who attach >themselves to imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism and oppose the >people's democratic revolution are also enemies of the revolution, while the >left-wingers among the national bourgeoisie who attach themselves to the >working >people and oppose the reactionaries are also revolutionaries, as are the few >enlightened gentry who have broken away from the feudal class. But the former >are not the main body of the enemy any more than the latter are the main body >among the revolutionaries; neither is a force that determines the character of >the revolution. The national bourgeoisie is a class which is politically very >weak and vacillating. But the majority of its members may either join the >people's democratic revolution or take a neutral stand, because they too are >persecuted and fettered by imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism. >They are part of the broad masses of the people but not the main body, nor are >they a force that determines the character of the revolution. However, because >they are important economically and may either join in the struggle against the >United States and Chiang Kai-shek or remain neutral in that struggle, it is >possible and necessary for us to unite with them. Before the birth of the >Communist Party of China, the Kuomintang headed by Sun Yat-sen represented the >national bourgeoisie and acted as the leader of the Chinese revolution of that >time (a non-thorough democratic revolution of the old type). But after the >Communist Party of China was born and demonstrated its ability, the Kuomintang >could no longer be the leader of the Chinese revolution (a new-democratic >revolution). The national bourgeoisie joined the 1924-27 revolutionary >movement[3] and during the years 1927-31 (before the September 18th Incident of >1931) quite a few of them sided with the reaction under Chiang Kai-shek. But >one >must not on this account think that we should not have tried during that period >to win over the national bourgeoisie politically or to protect it economically, >or that our ultra-Left policy towards the national bourgeoisie was not >adventurist. > On the contrary, in that period our policy should still have been to >protect >the national bourgeoisie and win it over so as to enable us to concentrate our >efforts on fighting the chief enemies. In the period of the War of Resistance >the national bourgeoisie was a participant in the war, wavering between the >Kuomintang and the Communist Party. At the present stage the majority of the >national bourgeoisie has a growing hatred of the United States and Chiang >Kai-shek; its left-wingers attach themselves to the Communist Party and its >right-wingers to the Kuomintang, while its middle elements take a hesitant, >wait-and-see attitude between the two parties. These circumstances make it >necessary and possible for us to win over the majority of the national >bourgeoisie and isolate the minority. To achieve this aim, we should be prudent >in dealing with the economic position of this class and in principle should >adopt a blanket policy of protection. Otherwise we shall commit political >errors. > >Full article: >http://www.cruzio.com/~marx2mao/Mao/QNB48.html > >While unique Chinese conditions solicited Chinese solutions, there are >similarities between all developing countries of the world. >Mao understood four points clearly: >1) Revolutionary work will be protracted and revolutionaries have to be >prepared >for long struggles. >2) During this protracted struggle, there will be many phases of the revolution >that would required changing strategies and tactic. Adopting the end game >strategy prematurely is counter-revolutionary. >3) The nature of any revolution means that while the ideological core must be >unswerving, for the revolution to succeed, the movement must try to unite all >that can be united and translate the minority nature of ideological leadership >into massive, broad base support. >4) Separate the true enemy of the revolution from those the enemy forcibly >controls. Conversely, never drive any segment of the population into the arms >of the enemy of the revolution. > >Now conditions have changed since Mao's time. Global revolutionary forces, >instead of being on the offensive at the end of WWII, are now plainly on the >defensive, with a few residual socialist governments fighting rearguard action >against global neo-imperialism under US leadership. Yet the signs of >self-destruction from market fundamentalism and neo-liberalism are beginning to >be visible and are opposed by many for all kinds of different reasons. The end >result is that such opposition can be organized as a unified progressive force >that will help the revolution. To the extend that Third World markets are >denied to neo-imperialism, it will hastens the demise of global capitalism and >imperialism. That is why at this moment in time, fighting globalization is >progressive even though many forces within the coalition do not aim at fighting >capitalism per se. When the head of the snake is cut off, the rest will die by >itself. > >Henry > > >> > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
