Volume 1, No. 3, May 2000

Chairman Mao’s great work On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People is a powerful ideological weapon in guiding the proletariat and other revolutionary people in undertaking socialist revolution and construction, consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat and preventing capitalist restoration. In this work, Chairman has profoundly analysed the basic contradictions in socialist society and pointed out that, after achieving basic victory in the socialist transformation of the ownership of the means of production, there still are classes, class contradictions and class struggle, and there are two different types of contradictions—those between ourselves and the enemy and those among the people themselves. He has also laid down a whole series of theories, principles and policies for correctly handling these contradictions. In the present movement of studying the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and in the light of the reality in the struggle between the two classes, the two roads and the two lines, it is of great practical significance for us to restudy this work of Chairman Mao’s in deepening our criticism of the revisionist line of Liu Shao-chi and Lin Piao, enhancing our consciousness in implementing the Party’s basic line, and doing all kinds of work well by persisting in taking class struggle as the key link.

Chairman Mao pointed out in On Contradition : "There are many contradictions in the process of development of a complex thing, and one of them is necessarily the principal contradiction whose existence and development determine or influence the existence and development of the other contradictions." In leading the new democratic revolution and the socialist revolution, Chairman Mao has repeatedly educated the entire Party in correctly understanding and resolving the principal contradiction in each revolutionary period. As early as March 1949 at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chairman Mao explicitly pointed out that after the proletariat had seized political power throughout the country, the principal contradiction at home was "the contradiction between the working class and the bourgeoisie." He made a profound analysis of the content and form of the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, and laid down for our Party a complete line and a series of policies for the transition from the new democratic revolution to the socialist revolution. Starting from this principal contradiction in the period of socialist revolution, Chairman Mao himself formulated the Party’s general line for the transition period. Illuminated by this general line, we achieved great victories in the socialist transformation of agriculture, handicrafts and capitalist industry and commerce across the country in only a few years, turning the individual economy into collective economy and capitalist private ownership into socialist public ownership.

After basic victory in the socialist transformation of the ownership of the means of production had been won, China’s socialist revolution and proletarian dictatorship were confronted with new problems. What was the principal contradiction at home? Were there still classes, class contradictions and class struggle? Was it necessary to consolidate the dictatorship of the proletariat and continue the socialist revolution? All these were major issues related to the future of the revolution and the destiny of the country. By adhering to the principle of integrating the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, Chairman Mao summarized in a deep-going way the historical experience of the dictatorship of the proletariat from both the positive and negative sides and for the first time gave a scientific and systematic answer to these questions. In On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People, Chairman Mao pointed out: "In China, although in the main socialist transformation has been completed with respect to the system of ownership . . . . there are still remnants of the overthrown landlord and comprador classes, there is still a bourgeoisie, and the remoulding of the petty bourgeoisie has only just started. The class struggle is by no means over. The class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the class struggle between the different political forces, and the class struggle in the ideological field between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie will continue to be long and tortuous and at times will even become very acute. The proletariat seeks to transform the world according to its own world outlook, and so does the bourgeoisie. In this respect, the question of which will win out, socialism or capitalism, is still not really settled." This passage tells us clearly that it is entirely wrong to think that classes have been eliminated after basic victory has been won in the socialist transformation of the ownership of the means of production. It also tells us that in the historical period of socialism, classes, class contradictions and class struggle will exist for a long time, and that the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie remains the principal contradiction in socialist society. The reality of China’s class struggle, and the fact that the Soviet revisionist renegade clique has restored capitalism in the Soviet Union all eloquently testify to the correctness of Chairman Mao’s wise conclusion.

Chairman Mao’s analysis of classes, class contradictions and class struggle in socialist society is based on the fundamental principles of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. He pointed out in the same work: "The basic contradictions in socialist society are still those between the relations of production and the productive forces and between the superstructure and the economic base." "Socialist relations of production have been established and are in harmony with the growth of the productive forces, but they are still far from perfect, and this imperfection stands in contradiction to the growth of the productive forces. Apart from harmony as well as contradiction between the relations of production and the developing productive forces, there is harmony as, well as contradiction between the superstructure and the economic base." "We must continue to resolve all such contradictions in the light of our specific conditions." Here Chairman Mao explains that the law of the unity of opposites, the basic law which exists universally in nature, in human society and in man’s ideology, is also the basic law in socialist society. This fundamentally negates the following erroneous viewpoints: there is complete harmony and no contradictions between the relations of production and the productive forces and between the superstructure and the economic base in socialist society; there is no need to continue the revolution with respect to the relations of production and the superstructure, and the main task is to develop the productive forces after the socialist transformation of the ownership of the means of production has in the main been completed; and class struggle is not the powerful motive force in pushing socialist society forward. Chairman Mao’s scientific conclusion lights up the broad road for the proletariat and other revolutionary people to continue the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat.

This work by Chairman Mao further laid down the theoretical basis for our Party’s basic line. In 1962, Chairman Mao once again brought up the question of class struggle and put forward in complete form our Party’s basic line in the entire historical period of socialism: "Socialist society covers a considerably long historical period. In the historical period of socialism, there are still classes, class contradictions and class struggle, there is the struggle between the socialist road and the capitalist road, and there is the danger of capitalist restoration. We must recognise the protracted and complex nature of this struggle. We must heighten our vigilance. We must conduct socialist education. We must correctly understand and handle class contradictions and class struggle, distinguish the contradictions between ourselves and the enemy, from those among the people and handle them correctly. Otherwise a socialist country like ours will turn into its opposite and degenerate, and capitalist restoration will take place. From now on we must remind ourselves of this every year, every month and every day so that we can retain a rather sober understanding of this problem and have a Marxist-Leninist line." The Party’s basic line is the lifeline of our Party and state. We will advance from victory to new victory so long as we march along this line.

"Marxism, too, has developed through struggle." (Mao Tsetung: On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People.) Chairman Mao’s theories on classes and class struggle in the historical period of socialism and on continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat have developed through protracted struggles against revisionist theories against the theory of productive forces and the theory of the dying out of class struggle advocated by Liu Shao-chi and Lin Piao. Prior to the basic completion of the socialist transformation of the ownership of the means of production, Liu Shao-chi preached the fallacy of "mechanization before co-operation" in a vain attempt to stem the surging high tide of the socialist transformation of agriculture. After the basic completion of the socialist transformation, both Liu Shao-chi and Lin Piao opposed Chairman Mao’s thesis that classes, class contradictions and class struggle exist in socialist society, opposed the Party’s basic line in the historical period of socialism and opposed continued revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat.

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