Communism Must Be Realized
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23. Communism Must Be Realized
From the Socialist Society to the Communist Society 1
Like all other historical production relations, socialist production relations undergo a process of emergence, development, and extinction. After a long period of movement, socialist production relations must necessarily be transformed into communist production relations. Communism is the highest ideal of the proletariat and the millions of laboring people. It is the most perfect, most progressive, most revolutionary, and most rational social system. It is a natural tendency in human social development. It is the ultimate goal of proletarian revolution. Chairman Mao pointed out: “The ultimate goal of all Communists is to fight for the final attainment of socialist society and communist society.” 2 Every revolutionary warrior should struggle for communism all his life.
Communism Is Irresistible
Socialist Society Is a Necessary Stage on the Way to Communist Society
Lenin pointed out, “The only thing mankind can do is to make the transition directly from capitalism to socialism, namely, to make the transition to the public ownership of the means of production and to distribution according to labor.” 3 In socialist society, public ownership of the means of production has been established, the laboring people have become masters of society and enterprises, and Marxism has become the guiding thought of society. In these respects, socialist society possesses elements of communism. However, socialist society is merely the first stage of communist society. It is still an incomplete communist society. In socialist society, the bourgeoisie and all exploitative classes have been overthrown, but the influence of these classes on the economy, politics, and ideology will still exist for a long time to come. Disparities between the worker and the peasant, between the urban and the rural areas, and between mental and physical labor left behind by the old society and remnants of bourgeois legal rights reflecting these disparities will exist for a long time. In these respects, socialist society is different from communist society.
The historical task of the proletariat in the socialist period is to continuously sweep away capitalist elements and remnants in the production relations and the superstructure, thoroughly defeat the bourgeoisie, eliminate all classes and class differences, eliminate all production relations based on these differences, eliminate all social relations corresponding with such production relations, change all concepts derived from these social relations, and push socialist society toward a higher and more perfect communist society. Therefore, socialist society becomes the necessary preparation for communist society, and communist society is, in turn, a natural tendency in the development of socialist society.
Then, what is a complete communist society?
Communist Society Is the Most Complete, Most Progressive, Most Revolutionary, and Most Rational Society
There is a precise content to scientific communism. According to Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought, communist society is a society that has completely eliminated classes and class disparities. It is a society in which the whole people possess a high degree of communist ideological consciousness and moral standards. It is a society in which the whole people possess a high degree of labor activism and initiative. It is a society in which the social product is abundant. It is a society in which the principle of “from each according to his ability and to each according to his need” is adopted. It is a society in which the state will wither away.
Marx pointed out: “In a higher phase of communist society, after the enslaving subordination of the individual to the division of labor, and therewith also the antithesis between mental and physical labor, has vanished; after labor has become not only a means of life but life’s prime want; after the productive forces have also increased with the all-round development of the individual, and all the springs of cooperative wealth flow more abundantly — only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be crossed in its entirety and society inscribe on its banners: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need!” 4
According to the Marxist theory of scientific communism, the realization of communist society requires the creation of the following conditions.
First, the thorough elimination of all classes and class disparities, including the natural disparities between the worker and the peasant, between the urban and the rural areas, between mental and physical labor, and bourgeois legal rights reflecting these disparities. In communist society, the basis for capitalist restoration will have been thoroughly eliminated. At that time, Chairman Mao’s “May 7 Directive” will be fully realized. The whole people will become completely developed new communists. People will consciously grasp the objective law of social development and propel communist society continuously forward. Of course, the elimination of classes and class disparities does not mean that there will be no contradictions and no struggles in communist society. At that time, there will still be contradictions between the superstructure and the economic substructure and between the production relations and the productive forces, and there will be struggles between the advanced and the backward and between correct and erroneous lines. Therefore, even in communist society, it will still be necessary to continue revolution.
Second, the realization of a single communist system of ownership over the means of production by the whole people. In communist society, the communist system of ownership by the whole people will become the only economic substructure. The most advanced communist production relations, which are based on this ownership system, will guarantee that the productive forces will develop at the fastest rate in order to increase labor productivity at an ever-increasing pace. In order to realize communist ownership by the whole people, it is necessary to create the conditions in the socialist stage, gradually elevating socialist collective ownership to socialist state ownership and then from socialist state ownership to communist ownership by the whole people. The people’s commune created by the Chinese people is a suitable organizational form for facilitating this transition.
Third, the creation of a very abundant social product. When communist society is achieved, the social productive forces will have developed to a new level. People’s ability to conquer Nature will be tens of thousands of times higher than it is now. At that time, people will fully utilize all natural resources to serve human society and will create a very abundant social product to satisfy the needs of the whole society and all the laborers. At that time, commodity production will have stopped. Commodities and money, which are in the domain of the commodity economy, will finally be retired from the historical stage and transferred to the museum of history. In communist society, the level of development of the social productive forces cannot be compared with the present level of development of the contemporary productive forces. Therefore, if we are enthusiastic about the communist enterprise, we should be enthusiastic about the development of the social productive forces.
Fourth, the cultivation of a high degree of communist ideological consciousness and moral standards among the whole people. Communist society will thoroughly sweep away bourgeois thought and all concepts of self-interest. The whole people will consciously transform both themselves and the world with Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought. The whole world will assume a completely new appearance, and the new thought, new culture, new customs, and new habits of the proletariat will become common practice. Just as Chairman Mao pointed out, “When the world has reached a point at which the whole of mankind all consciously transforms itself and the world, then it is the communist era of the world.” 5 Of course, even at that time, there will still be contradictions between the advanced and the backward, between the correct and the erroneous, and between materialism and idealism, and struggle among people. But the nature and form of the struggle will be different from those of the class society.
Fifth, the adoption of the principle of “from each according to his ability and to each according to his need.” When communist society is achieved, because the means of production will all have been brought under a single communist system of ownership by the whole people and because the social product will be very abundant and people’s ideological consciousness will have been greatly elevated, the distribution of personal consumer goods will no longer be determined by people’s labor contribution to society but by their needs. Since the essential difference between mental and physical labor will be eliminated by then, every member of society will be able to exercise fully his physical and mental capacity in labor. This will inevitably lead to a profound change in the nature of labor. Labor will no longer be merely a means to earn a living, but will also be the primary necessity of people’s lives. At that time, people’s labor will no longer be for the purpose of getting certain remuneration, but will be conscious labor without remuneration and an important means of consciously transforming the subjective and objective world.
Sixth, the state will automatically wither away. With a thorough extinction of imperialism, capitalism, and exploitative systems throughout the whole world and with the extinction of classes and class disparities, the state as a means of class struggle will naturally disappear. Chairman Mao pointed out:
“When classes disappear, all means of class struggle, parties, and state machinery will gradually wither away as their historical missions are completed because they no longer have any function to perform and there is no longer any need for them. Human society will advance to a higher level.” 6
Chairman Mao instructed us a long time ago:
“Communism is a whole ideological system of the proletariat and is also a new social system. This ideological and social system is different from any other ideological system and any other social system. It is the most complete, most progressive, most revolutionary, and most rational system since the beginning of human history.” 7
Communist society is a society of boundless brilliance and boundless beauty. It is the most ideal society of mankind.
Pseudo-communism Is Genuine Capitalism
“The theoretical triumph of Marxism forces its enemies to disguise themselves as Marxists. Such is the dialectics of history.” 8 The Soviet revisionist renegade clique and swindlers like Liu Shaoch’i and Lin Piao are contemporary pseudo-Marxists. They use the label “communism” to engage in capitalist restoration.
The pseudo-communism of the Soviet revisionist renegade clique is a typical representative of all sorts of contemporary pseudo-communism . They start from such reactionary positions as “productivity first” and “human nature” and foolishly say that “communism is the most humane and benevolent ideological system,” is “all for the people and all for people’s happiness,” and is a good dish of “beef with beans.” They never mention the thorough extinction of all classes, class disparities, and the bourgeois legal rights reflecting these disparities. They completely empty the revolutionary content of scientific communism. This brand of communism is not only false, but also very reactionary. This is “communism” centered on the decaying bourgeois outlook. This is “communism” modeled on the bourgeois life style. This is pseudo-communism and genuine capitalism.
In China, the Lin Piao clique of renegades also strove to advocate pseudo-communism . They foolishly said that communism was “public propertyism,” that “‘property’ is the word to be stressed on the banner,” and that communism was to make “everyone rich.” The renegade clique never talked about eliminating the landlord and the bourgeoisie; all they cared about were the words “public” and “property.” What class’s “public” was it? What class’s “property” was it? It is obvious. Their so-called “public” was what Confucius and his kind advocated: “When the great Tao prevails in the world, a public spirit will rule all under Heaven.” Hence, it was the slave owner’s “public,” the landlord’s “public,” and the bourgeoisie’s “public”. The so-called “property” was the slave owner’s “property,” the landlord’s “property,” and the bourgeoisie’s “property.” Getting rich could only mean that the handful of exploitative classes would become millionaires. Had the renegades succeeded in carrying out their conspiracies, the proletariat and the broad masses of laborers would have once again lost all the means of production and would once again have been reduced to slaves in the abyss of hardship and suffering. This is what has happened in the Soviet Union. The Soviet revisionist renegade clique has already expropriated the wealth created jointly by the proletariat and the broad masses of laborers. It has become the “public property” of a handful of bureaucratic monopoly bourgeoisie. The broad masses of people of the Soviet Union are once again leading the miserable life of the czarist period and are trapped in an abyss of agony. Chairman Mao pointed out incisively, “Today’s Soviet Union is a bourgeois dictatorship, a big bourgeois dictatorship, German fascist dictatorship, and Hitler-style dictatorship.” 9 Therefore, it is evident that the “public propertyism” advocated by the Lin Piao clique contradicts the scientific communism of Marxism and is the same type of stuff as the pseudo-communism of Soviet revisionism.
The history of the communist movement clearly shows: communism is irresistible. No matter how the reactionary tries to obstruct the forward movement of the wheel of history, communism will finally win a thorough victory in the whole world.
The Realization of Communism Is a Profound Social Revolution
Uphold the Idea That Continuing Revolution under Proletarian Dictatorship Is the Only Path for Realizing Communism
In the transformation from socialist society to communist society, the proletariat must thoroughly defeat the bourgeoisie and its ideology and eliminate all classes and class disparities. Therefore, whether in production relations or in the superstructure, this transformation is a great stride in quality and is a series of profound social revolutions.
State power under proletarian dictatorship, “To the victorious people, is as indispensable as cloth and cereals. This is a very good thing, a magic weapon that protects us, an inherited magic weapon. This magic weapon should never be discarded before foreign imperialism and domestic classes have been thoroughly eliminated.” 10
On the basis of the fundamental principles of Marxism, Chairman Mao summed up the historical experience of proletarian dictatorship and put forth the theory of continuing revolution under proletarian dictatorship. Following the theory of continuing revolution under proletarian dictatorship requires that we be good at applying the standpoint, concept, and methodology of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought in observing and analyzing socialist society and that we adhere to the Party’s General Line for the whole historical stage of socialism as the key link for further strengthening the proletariat’s total dictatorship over the bourgeoisie in the political, economic, ideological, cultural, and educational spheres. This is the basic guarantee for building socialism and making the transition to communism.
Whether or not proletarian dictatorship is firmly upheld and whether or not continuing revolution under proletarian dictatorship is firmly upheld are important indicators of whether we are developing toward communism or retrogressing toward capitalism. The Soviet revisionist renegade clique tries hard to distort the theory of Marxist scientific communism, claiming that no revolution, class struggle, or proletarian dictatorship are necessary in the transition from socialism to communism. They foolishly say that “there are no antagonistic classes in socialist society. Therefore, the realization of the transition from socialism to communism does not have to go through social revolution or class antagonism.” Although this renegade clique also advocates the realization of communism, it is merely a smoke screen to deceive the people, sabotage proletarian dictatorship, and restore capitalism. It is through the negation of the basic Marxist theory about the existence of classes, class contradictions, and class struggle that the Soviet revisionist renegade clique abolishes proletarian dictatorship, ceases continuing revolution under proletarian dictatorship, mobilizes the bourgeoisie to attack the proletariat, changes proletarian dictatorship into bourgeois dictatorship, and changes the socialist system into the capitalist system.
Only by adhering to continuing revolution under proletarian dictatorship can proletarian dictatorship be consolidated, the restoration of capitalism be prevented, socialism be built, and all the conditions necessary for the realization of communism be created. To thoroughly implement continuing revolution under proletarian dictatorship is a necessary road for realizing communism.
Hold Firmly to Proletarian Internationalism and Support World Revolution
The era we are in is the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. Chairman Mao pointed out, “Since the birth of this monster of imperialism, things in the world are joined together and can no longer be separated.” 11 To realize communism, we must thoroughly eliminate imperialism, capitalism, and all systems in which man exploits man, so that the whole of mankind can be thoroughly liberated. Therefore, the seizure of political power in one country or several countries and the establishment of a socialist society by the proletariat do not mean the end of revolution. Only by liberating the whole of mankind can the proletariat finally liberate itself. This is because capital is an international force. As long as imperialism, capitalism, and exploitative systems still exist, imperialism and social imperialism will certainly use the two reactionary methods of armed intervention and peaceful fragmentation to oppose the socialist countries. Under these conditions, the socialist state will always face the threats of aggression and sabotage from imperialism and social imperialism. Since capital is an international force, the proletarian enterprise cannot but be an international enterprise. When the Russian proletariat seized political power in the October Revolution and was unfolding the socialist revolution and socialist construction, Lenin clearly and precisely pointed out, “Only by relying on the common efforts of the workers of various countries and throughout the whole world can there be a final victory.” 12 In his struggle with Trotsky, Stalin firmly adhered to, and defended, Leninism. But, the Khrushchev-Brezhnev renegade clique repeatedly claimed that in the Soviet Union, “socialism has achieved not only a complete victory, but a thorough victory.” This is a downright betrayal of Leninism. Domestically, the purpose of the ridiculous claims of this renegade clique was to overlook the acute struggles between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and conceal their conspiracy to restore capitalism internally. Abroad, it was to spread the illusion that the aggressive nature of imperialism has changed and conceal their ugly countenance in their struggle for hegemony with the other “superpower.”
Against the distortion and betrayal of Leninism by modern revisionism,
Chairman Mao carries on, expounds, and extends Leninism. Chairman Mao pointed out:
“We have already attained a great victory. But the defeated classes will still struggle. These people still exist. This class still exists. Therefore, we cannot talk about a final victory. We may not be able to say this for several decades. We cannot lose our vigilance. According to the viewpoint of Leninism, the final victory in one socialist country requires not only the efforts of its own proletariat and its broad masses of people, but must also wait for the victory of world revolution, the elimination of systems in which man exploits man, and the liberation of the whole of mankind. Therefore, to talk lightly about a final victory in our revolution is erroneous and inconsistent with Leninism. It is also contrary to the facts.” 13
To attain a final victory in the socialist revolution and to realize communism in the whole world, the proletariat of various countries is holding high the banner of proletarian internationalism, supporting each other, struggling together, and advancing courageously along the Marxist general line of international communism.
In the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution, part of the capitalist system has already entered the museum (in socialist states); the moribund rest, like a setting sun dangling precariously on a western hill, is struggling for its last breath and will soon to enter the museum. It is the communist doctrine and its social system which are sweeping over the world like ten thousand thunderbolts striking at the same time, powerful as towering mountains and mighty as billowing oceans, and it shall ever retain its youth and vitality. Marxist political economy uses the objective law of human societal development to analyze the process of movement of the production relations of various social forms and arrives at the scientific conclusion that the capitalist system will surely perish and that the socialist and communist systems will surely win out. It points out the general tendency of historical development and is a powerful ideological weapon for the proletariat in making revolution.
The characteristic of the present international situation is that “the world is in a big mess.” This “mess” is a reflection of the intensification of various basic contradictions in the contemporary world. It accelerates the disintegration and decline of corrupt reactionary power and promotes the awakening and strengthening of the newly emerging people’s power. In the situation of “a big mess,” rapid and drastic dissolution and reorganization occur after a prolonged period of contest and struggle among the various political forces of the world. A number of Asian, African, and Latin American countries have obtained independence one after another and play an increasing role in international affairs. The socialist camp that existed briefly after the war no longer exists because the Soviet Union, once a socialist state, has become a social-imperialist state. Owing to the law of uneven development in capitalism, the Western imperialist bloc is also disintegrating. Looking at it from 360 the changes in international relations, there are three related, and yet opposed, aspects and three worlds in the contemporary world. American imperialism and Soviet revisionism are the First World. These two superpowers vainly attempt to dominate the world and are the biggest international exploiters, aggressors, and source of new world wars. They possess large amounts of nuclear weapons and are engaged in a heated arm ament race. Externally, they station large numbers of soldiers, maintain large numbers of military bases, continuously control, sabotage, interfere with, and invade other countries, and exploit other countries economically. When it comes to bullying other people, Soviet revisionist imperialism, waving the socialist banner, is even more malicious. The developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and other countries are the Third World. They are oppressed and exploited by colonialism and imperialism. They are the revolutionary motive power that pushes the wheel of history forward and are a major impetus in opposing colonialism, imperialism, and especially the superpowers. The developed countries between the First and Third Worlds are the Second World. Their conditions are complex. Some of them still maintain some forms of colonial relations with the countries in the Third World. At the same time, all these developed countries are subject to some extent to control, threats, and unfair treatment from this or that superpower. They have a varying desire to free themselves from the enslavement and control of the superpowers and to defend their national independence and the integrity of their sovereignty. China is a socialist state and is also a developing country. China belongs to the Third World. The Chinese people have consistently followed Chairman Mao’s teachings, resolutely supported the struggle of the oppressed people and nations to fight for and defend national independence, and opposed colonialism, imperialism and hegemony. They stand with the people of the Third World and the whole world to push the wheel of history forward.
History develops through struggle. The world pushes forward amidst instability. The dawn of a new world in which there will be no imperialism, no capitalism, and no exploitative systems is just ahead of us. The great Chairman Mao teaches us, “The future is bright but the road is treacherous.” 14 Let us raise high the victorious banner of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought, unite with the world’s proletariat and the oppressed people and nations of the world, be determined, fear no sacrifice, and overcome all difficulties to win a victory!
Major Study References
Marx and Engels, Communist Manifesto.
Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program.
Lenin, State and Revolution. Chapter 5.
Chairman Mao, “On New Democracy.”
Review Problems
- What are the relationships and differences between the communist society and the socialist society? What is the crux of pseudo-communism?
- What conditions must be created to realize communism? Why do we say that the realization of communism is a profound social revolution?
- How does a revolutionary warrior establish a vast communist ideal and fight for communism all his life?
14 Footnotes
