Mao Zedong, “Reform Our Study,” in Selected Readings, pp. 198-207.
(Note: Each study session will include readings, a summary of key points that can serve as a guide to the reading and discussion, followed by questions which can be used to organize group discussion or to focus individual study. UNITY encourages individuals and groups to send us the results of their study and discussion.)
The first session of the study series is an introduction on what is Marxist-Leninist theory and how we should go about studying it. There is relatively little reading in this session; the focus should be on group discussion on why each participant wants to study Marxism-Leninism and reaching a common approach towards the study, which should carry us throughout the entire study series. (If you are studying on your own, you should think about these same points.)
Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought is the theory of the proletarian revolution. It is the guide to making revolution and is essential in making the socialist revolution.
Marxism-Leninism is a scientific theory, for it uncovers the basic laws governing the development of human society, in particular, capitalist society. As such it is a vital weapon in the hands of the working class in its struggle to free itself and all oppressed peoples from capitalism.
Lenin the great leader of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution, once wrote that Marxism:
. . .for the first time transformed socialism from a Utopia into a science, established a firm basis for this science and indicated the road along which to proceed in developing and elaborating this science further in all its details. It uncovered the essence of modern capitalist economy, explaining how the hiring of tabor, the purchase of labor power, masks the enslavement of millions of propertyless people by a small group of capitalists, the owners of the land, factories, mines, etc. It showed how the entire development of modern capitalism tends towards the crushing of small enterprises by large ones, creating conditions which make possible and necessary the establishment of a socialist order of society. It taught one to distinguish – under the veil of established customs, political intrigue, tricky laws and tangled teachings–the class struggle, the struggle of propertied classes of all sorts with the propertyless masses, with the proletariat, which leads all the propertyless masses. It made the real task of the revolutionary socialist party clear: not the concoction of plans for the reorganization of society, not sermons to the capitalists and their henchmen about improving the conditions of the workers, not the organization of conspiracies, but the organization of the class struggle of the proletariat and the leadership of this struggle, the final aim of which is – the capture of political power by the proletariat and the organization of socialist society. (Our Programme, 1899.)
What Lenin wrote more than 60 years ago is still valid today: the theory of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought is indispensible for attaining socialism in the U.S., which will abolish the private ownership of the means of production and replace it with public ownership and the rule of the working class over society.
The founder of Marxism was Karl Marx (1818-1883) and his close associate Friedrich Engels (1820-1895). Together the two of them, basing themselves on the latest discoveries of modern science, the study of human history and contemporary society, and participation in the revolutionary movements of the time, developed the theory of scientific socialism, or what is now known as communism. They showed that the capitalists’ drive for profits divided society into classes, the exploiter and the exploited, resulting in poverty and suffering for the masses. They showed, though, that the contradictions of capitalist society would inevitably lead to its overthrow and the establishment of the rule of the working class and eventually the end of classes altogether.
Through the 19th century, Marxism became adopted as the guiding theory for the socialist movement throughout Europe. After the death of Marx, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924) further developed Marxism and led the first successful socialist revolution in history in Russia. Lenin creatively applied the basic principles and approach of Marxism to the conditions in Russia and the world, and, in particular, he analyzed the development of imperialism, the role of the communist party in the revolution and the relationship of the oppressed nations and peoples to the proletarian revolution. Lenin also elaborated on the construction of socialism and the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Due to his great contributions to Marxism, proletarian revolutionaries added Lenin’s name to scientific socialism, hence Marxism-Leninism.
Mao Zedong (1893-1976) at the head of the Communist Party of China led the Chinese people first to overthrow the rule of imperialism and reaction and then on to build socialism. The Chinese Revolution of 1949 stands with the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 as one of the great revolutions of the 20th century. Mao applied Marxism-Leninism to the concrete conditions of China, a backward, semi-feudal and semi-colonial country. Mao not only guided the construction of the new society in China, but led the ideological struggle against the revisionism of Khrushchev. Mao’s thought has become an indispensible part of the revolutionary theory of modern communism.
Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought is the product of the great revolutionary leaders, but also of the millions of working and oppressed peoples of all the countries of the world who have struggled for liberation over the past 150 years. It is a science that is being constantly enriched with the experiences of the ongoing revolution.
We study Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought to use it, and as we do so, we further develop and elaborate it. “Marxism is not a dogma but a guide to action.”
We study Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought precisely to use it. There is no room for “book worship” or abstract study. We study revolutionary theory not to memorize its letter, but rather its essence, the stand, viewpoint and method of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought. Mao Zedong, for instance, did not take the books and essays of Marx or Lenin as blueprints, but rather used their basic truths and outlook to solve the problems of the Chinese revolution. In such a way, we should study Marxism-Leninism, by trying to integrate it with the concrete practice of the revolution in this country.
The first reading, Mao’s Reform Our Study, presents some good ideas on how we should approach studying Marxism-Leninism.
1. Each person in the study group should present why he/she wants to study Marxism-Leninism.
2. Why does Mao emphasize the integration of theory and practice, the universal truths of Marxism-Leninism and the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution?
3. What can we learn from Mao’s article regarding how we should study revolutionary theory? What is the relevance of theory to the revolution in the U.S.?