The Little Red Book Read online

  "Problems of Strategy in China 's Revolutionary War" (December 1936), Selected Works, Vol. I. p. 188.

  24. CORRECTING MISTAKEN IDEAS

  Even if we achieve gigantic successes in our work, there is no reason whatsoever to feel conceited and arrogant. Modesty helps one to go forward, whereas conceit makes one lag behind. This is a truth we must always bear in mind.

  "Opening Address at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China " (September 15, 1956).

  With victory, certain moods may grow within the Party - arrogance, the airs of a self-styled hero, inertia and unwillingness to make progress, love of pleasure and distaste for continued hard living. With victory, the people will be grateful to us and the bourgeoisie will come forward to flatter us. It has been proved that the enemy cannot conquer us by force of arms. However, the flattery of the bourgeoisie may conquer the weak-willed in our ranks. There may be some Communists, who were not conquered by enemies with guns and were worthy of the name of heroes for standing up to these enemies, but who cannot withstand sugar-coated bullets; they will be defeated by sugar-coated bullets. We must guard against such a situation.

  "Report to the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China " (March 5, 1949), Selected Works, Vol. IV, p. 374.

  Many things may become baggage, may become encumbrances if we cling to them blindly and uncriticaliy. Let us take some illustrations. Having made mistakes, you may feel that, come what may, you are saddled with them and so become dispirited; if you have not made mistakes, you may feel that you are free from error and so become conceited. Lack of achievement in work may breed pessimism and depression, while achievement may breed pride and arrogance. A comrade with a short record of struggle may shirk responsibility on this account, while a veteran may become opinionated because of his long record of struggle. Worker and peasant comrades, because of pride in their class origin, may look down upon intellectuals, while intellectuals, because they have a certain amount of knowledge, may look down upon worker and peasant comrades. Any specialized skill may be capitalized on and so may lead to arrogance and contempt of others. Even one's age may become ground for conceit. The young, because they are bright and capable, may look down upon the old; and the old, because they are rich in experience, may look down upon the young. All such things become encumbrances or baggage if there is no critical awareness.

  "Our Study and the Current Situation" (April 12, 1944), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 173.*

  Some comrades in the army have become arrogant and high-handed in their behaviour towards the soldiers, the people, the government and the Party, always blaming the comrades doing local work but never themselyes, always seeing their own achievements but never their own shortcomings, and always welcoming flattery but never criticism… the army must endeavour to eradicate these faults.

  "Get Organized!" (November 29, 1943), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 159.*

  Hard work is like a load placed before us, challenging us to shoulder it. Some loads are light, some heavy. Some people prefer the light to the heavy; they pick the light and shove the heavy on to others. That is not a good attitude. Some comrades are diiferent; they leave ease and comfort to others and take the heavy loads themselves; they are the first to bear hardships the last to enjoy comforts. They are good comrades. We should all learn from their communist spirit.

  "On the Chungking Negotiations" (October 17, 1945), Selected Works, Vol. IV, p. 58.*

  There are not a few people who are irresponsible in their work, preferring the light to the heavy, shoving the heavy loads on to others and choosing the easy ones for themselves. At every turn they think of themselves before others. When they make some small contribution, they swell with pride and brag about it for fear that others will not know. They feel no warmth towards comrades and the people but are cold, indifferent and apathetic. In fact such people are not Communists, or at least cannot be counted as true Communists.

  "In Memory of Norman Bethune" (December 21, 1939), Selected Works, Vol. II, pp. 337-38.*

  Those who assert this kind of "independence" are usually wedded to the doctrine of "me first" and are generally wrong on the question of the relationship between the individual and the Party. Although in words they profess respect for the Party, in practice they put themselves first and the Party second. What are these people after? They are after fame and position and want to be in the limelight. Whenever they are put in charge of a branch of work, they assert their "independence". With this aim, they draw some people in, push others out and resort to boasting, flattery and touting among-the comrades, thus importing the vulgar style of the bourgeois political parties into the Communist Party. It is their dishonesty that causes them to come to grief. I believe we should do things honestly, for without an honest attitude it is absolutely impossible to accomplish anything in this world.

  "Rectify the Party's Style of Work" (February 1, 1942), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 44.

  They [Communists] must grasp the principle of subordinating the needs of the part to the needs of the whole. If a proposal appears feasible for a partial situation but not for the situation as a whole, then the part must give way to the whole. Conversely, if the proposal is not feasible for the part but is feasible in the light of the situation as a whole, again the part must give way to the whole. This is what is meant by considering the situation as a whole.

  "The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War" (October 1938), Selected Works, Vol. II, p. 201.

  Pleasure-seeking. In the Red Army there are also quite a few people whose individualism finds expression in pleasureseeking. They always hope that their unit will march into big cities. They want to go there not to work but to enjoy themselves. The last thing they want is to work in the Red areas where life is hard.

  "On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party" (December 1929), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 113.

  We must oppose the tendency towards selfish departmentalism by which the interests of one's own unit are looked after to the exclusion of those of others. Whoever is indifferent to the difficulties of others, refuses to transfer cadres to other units on request, or releases only the inferior ones, "using the neighbour's field as an outlet for his overflow", and does not give the slightest consideration to other departments, localities or people - such a person is a selfish departmentalist who has entirely lost the spirit of communism. Lack of consideration for the whole and complete indifference to other departments, localities and people are characteristics of a selfish departmentalist. We must intensify our efforts to educate such persons and to make them understand that selfish departmentalism is a sectarian tendency which will become very dangerous, if allowed to develop.

  "Rectify the Party's Style of Work" (February 1, 1942), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 46.

  Liberalism manifests itself in various ways.

  To let things slide for the sake of peace and friendship when a person has clearly gone wrong, and refrain from principled argument because he is an old acquaintance, a fellow townsman, a schoolmate, a close friend, a loved one, an old colleague or old subordinate. Or to touch on the matter lightly instead of going into it thoroughly, so as to keep on good terms. The result is that both the organization and the individual are harmed. This is one type of liberalism.

  To indulge in irresponsible criticism in private instead of actively putting forward one's suggestions to the organization. To say nothing to people to their faces but to gossip behind their backs, or to say nothing at a meeting but to gossip afterwards. To show no regard at all for the principles of collective life but to follow one's own inclination. This is a second type.

  To let things drift if they do not affect one personally; to say as little as possible while knowing perfectly well what is wrong, to be worldly wise and play safe and seek only to avoid blame. This is a third type.

  Not to obey orders but to give pride of place to one's own opinions. To demand special consideration from the organiza
tion but to reject its discipline. This is a fourth type.

  To indulge in personal attacks, pick quarrels, vent personal spite or seek revenge instead of entering into an argument and struggling against incorrect views for the sake of unity or progress or getting the work done properly. This is a fifth type.

  To hear incorrect views without rebutting them and even to hear counter-revolutionary remarks without reporting them, but instead to take them calmly as if nothing had happened. This is a sixth type.

  To be among the masses and fail to conduct propaganda and agitation or speak at meetings or conduct investigations and inquiries among them, and instead to be indifferent to them and show no concern for their well-being, forgetting that one is a CoMmunist and behaving as if one were an ordinary non-Communist. This is a seventh type.

  To see someone harming the interests of the masses and yet not feel indignant, or dissuade or stop him or reason with him, but to allow him to continue. This is an eighth type.

  To work half-heartedly without a definite plan or direction; to work perfunctorily and muddle along - "So long as one remains a monk, one goes on tolling the bell." This is a ninth type.

  To regard oneself as having rendered great service to the revolution, to pride oneself on being a veteran, to disdain minor assignments while being quite unequal to major tasks, to be slipshod in work and slack in study. This is a tenth type.

  To be aware of one's own mistakes and yet make no attempt to correct them, taking a liberal attitude towards oneself. This is an eleventh type.

  "Combat Liberalism" (September 7, 1937), Selected Works, Vol. II, pp. 31-32.

  Liberalism is extreme]y harmful in a revolutionary collective. It is a corrosive which eats away unity, undermines cohesion, causes apathy and creates dissension. It robs the revolutionary ranks of compact organization and strict discipline, prevents policies from being carried through and alienates the Party organizations from the masses which the Party leads. It is an extremely bad tendency.

  Ibid ., p. 32.

  People who are liberals look upon the principles of Marxism as abstract dogma. They approve of Marxism, but are not prepared to practise it or to practise it in full; they are not prepared to replace their liberalism by Marxism. These people have their Marxism, but they have their liberalism as well - they talk Marxism but practise liberalism; they apply Marxism to others but liberalism to themselves. They keep both kinds of goods in stock and find a use for each. This is how the minds of certain people work.

  Ibid., pp. 32-33

  The people's state protects the people. Only when the people have such a state can they educate and remould themselves by democratic methods on a country-wide scale, with everyone taking part, and shake off the influence of domestic and foreign reactionaries (which is still very strong, will survive for a long time and cannot be quickly destroyed), rid themselves of the bad habits and ideas acquired in the old society, not allow themselves to be led astray by the reactionaries, and continue to advance - to advance towards a socialist and communist society.

  "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship" (June 30, 1949). Selected Works, Vol. IV, p. 418.*

  It is not hard for one to do a bit of good. What is hard is to do good all one's life and never do anything bad, to act consistently in the interests of the broad masses, the young people and the revolution, and to engage in arduous struggle for decades on end. That is the hardest thing of all!

  "Message of Greetings on the 60th Birthday of Comrade Wu Yu-chang" (January 15, 1940).

  25. UNITY

  The unification of our country, the unity of our people and the unity of our various nationalities - these are the basic guarantees of the sure triumph of our cause.

  On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People (February 27, 1957). 1st pocket ed., pp. 1-2.

  It is only through the unity of the Communist Party that the unity of the whole class and the whole nation can be achieved, and it is only through the unity of the whole class and the whole nation that the enemy can be defeated and the national and democratic revolution accomplished.

  "Win the Masses in Their Millions for the Anti-Japanese National United Front" (May 7, 1937), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 292.*

  We shall solidly unite all the forces of our Party on democratic centralist principles of organization and discipline. We shall unite with any comrade if he abides by the Party's Programme, Constitution and decisions.

  "On Coalition Government" (April 24, 1945), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 317.*

  This democratic method of resolving contradictions among the people was epitomized in 1942 in the formula "unity, criticism, unity". To elaborate, it means starting from the desire for unity, resolving contradictions through criticism or struggle and arriving at a new unity on a new basis. In our experience this is the correct method of resolving contradictions among the people.

  On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People (February 27, 1957), 1st pocket ed., p. 12.

  This [our] army has achieved remarkable unity in its own ranks and with those outside its ranks. Internally, there is unity between ofEicers and men, between the higher and lower ranks, and between military work, political work and rear service work; and externally, there is unity between Ihe army and the people, between the army and government organizations, and between our army and the friendly armies. It is imperative to overcome anything that impairs this unity.

  "On Coalition Government" (April 24, 1945), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 264.*

  26. DISCIPLINE

  Within the ranks of the people, democracy is correlative with centralism and freedom with discipline. They are the two opposites of a single entity, contradictory as well as united, and we should not one-sidedly emphasize one to the denial of the other. Within the ranks of the people, we cannot do without freedom, nor can we do without discipline; we cannot do without democracy, nor can we do without centralism. This unity of democracy and centralism, of freedom and discipline, constitutes our democratic centralism. Under this system, the people enjoy extensive democracy and freedom, but at the same time they have to keep within the bounds of socialist discipline.

  On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People (February 27, 1957), 1st pocket ed., pp. 10-11.

  We must affirm anew the discipline of the Party, namely:

  (1) the individual is subordinate to the organization;

  (2) the minority is subordinate to the majority;

  (3) the lower level is subordinate to the higher level; and

  (4) the entire membership is subordinate to the Central Committee.

  Whoever violates these articles of discipline disrupts Party unity.

  "The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War" (October 1938), Selected Works, Vol. II, pp. 203-04.*

  One requirement of Party discipline is that the minority should submit to the majority. If the view of the minority has been rejected, it must support the decision passed by the majority. If necessary, it can bring up the matter for reconsideration at the next meeting, but apart from that it must not act against the decision in any way.

  "On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party" (December 1929), Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 110.

  The Three Main Rules of Discipline are as follows:

  (1) Obey orders in all your actions.

  (2) Do not take a single needle

  piece of thread from the masses.

  (3) Turn in everything captured.

  The Eight Points for Attention are as follows:

  (1) Speak politely.

  (2) Pay fairly for what you buy.

  (3) Return everything you borrow.

  (4) Pay for anything you damage.

  (5) Do not hit or swear at people.

  (6) Do not damage crops.

  (7) Do not take liberties with women.

  (8) Do not ill-treat captives.

  "On the Reissue of the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention - Instruction of the Gene
ral Headquarters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army" (October 10, 1947), Selected Military Writings, 2nd ed., p. 343.

  They [all officers and soldiers of our army] must heighten their sense of discipline and resolutely carry out orders, carry out our policy, carry out the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention - with army and people united, army and government united, officers and soldiers united, and the whole army united - and permit no breach of discipline.

  "Manifesto of the Chinese People's Liberation Army" (October 1947), Selected Military Writings, 2nd ed., p. 340.

  27. CRITICISM AND SELF-CRITICISM

  The Communist Party does not fear criticism because we are Marxists, the truth is on our side, and the basic masses, the workers and peasants, are on our side.

  Speech at the Chinese Communist Party's National Conference on Propaganda Work (March 12, 1957), 1st pocket ed., p. 14.

  Thoroughgoing materialists are fearless; we hope that all our fellow fighters will courageously shoulder their responsibilities and overcome all difficulties, fearing no setbacks or gibes, nor hesitating to criticize us Communists and give us their suggestions. "He who is not afraid of death by a thousand cuts dares to unhorse the emperor" - this is the indomitable spirit needed in our struggle to build socialism and communism.

  Ibid ., p. 16.

  We have the Marxist-Leninist weapon of criticism and self-criticism. We can get tid of a bad style and keep the good.