Volume 2, No. 3, March 2001

Lenin pointed out: "There are compromises and compromises. One must be able to analyse the situation and the concrete conditions of each compromise, or of each variety of compromise. One must learn to distinguish between a man who gave the bandits money and firearms in order to lessen the damage they can do and facilitate their capture and execution, and a man who gives bandits money and firearms in order to share in the loot."

Alongside the development of the workers’ movement in various countries after the victory of the October Revolution, the struggle within the international communist movement became more and more intensified. There were two erroneous trends of thought at that time. On the one hand, Right opportunists constituted the main danger; on the other hand, because the Communist Parties and Left organizations, which had just come into being in many countries, lacked experience in struggle, their comprehension of the tortuous and complex nature of the revolutionary road was incomplete and they were not good at learning from the experience of the Bolshevik Party in the light of the specific conditions of revolution in their own countries. While opposing the treacherous compromises of the Second International’s Right opportunists, they went to the other extreme and rejected compromise of any kind.

In his criticism of these two erroneous trends of thought, Lenin elucidated the unity between steadfastness in revolutionary principles and flexibility of tactics in struggle. To obtain a profound understanding of this important Leninist thesis is of very great practical significance in thoroughly exposing the treacherous compromises made by Khrushchov, Brezhnev and other renegades, distinguishing the necessary compromises between revolutionary countries and imperialist countries from the collusion and compromise between Soviet revisionism and U.S. imperialism and upholding Chairman Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line.

Policy and tactics are the life of the Party. In the course of attaining its long-term strategic goal, the proletariat always attaches great importance to its tactics in struggle. While adhering to proletarian revolutionary principles, it does not rule out necessary flexibility. This is the dialectical unity of principle and flexibility. That the proletariat employs various flexible tactics is, in the last analysis, aimed at realizing its long-term strategic goal. The first kind of compromise mentioned in this instruction of Lenin’s is the very embodiment of paying attention to flexibility tactically on the basis of upholding revolutionary principles. Obviously, the aim of entering into such a necessary compromise is to "facilitate their [the bandits’] capture and execution." This compromise, therefore, serves only as a tactical means. If principle is not integrated with flexibility, it would not be helpful in wiping out the "bandits." The other category of compromise which is just the opposite is purely a capitulationist one aimed at sharing in the loot with the bandits. This is not upholding principles but bartering away principles and selling out the fundamental interests of the proletariat.

The enemies of the revolutionary forces are definitely not monolithic. Their class nature determines that they contend as well as collude with one another. Their collusion serves the purpose of more intensified contention. Contention is absolute and protracted, whereas collusion is relative and temporary. Such being the case, the revolutionary forces can make use of their contradictions. As Lenin pointed out: "To refuse beforehand to manoeuvre, to utilize the conflict of interests (even though temporary) among one’s enemies, to refuse to temporize and compromise with possible (even though temporary, unstable, vacillating and conditional) allies is not this ridiculous in the extreme?" Chairman Mao also criticized the wrong practice of striking with two "fists" in two directions at the same time. In a certain period of time, there are always main and secondary enemies. In order to isolate the main enemy to the greatest possible extent and concentrate all forces to strike at it, the revolutionary forces enter into certain necessary compromises with some other enemies at a given time. Not only is this possible but there has been no lack of precedent in the history of revolution. "Make use of contradictions, win over the many, oppose the few and crush our enemies one by one." This is a tactical principle which the Chinese Communist Party has consistently employed in its protracted revolutionary struggle. Needless to say, when making necessary compromises with opponents, the revolutionaries must take care to lead the opponents instead of being led by the nose and to wage struggles on just grounds, to our advantage and with restraint and achieve alliance through struggle. Only thus can they avoid forfeiting the revolutionary principles and ensure the victorious advance of the revolutionary cause.

Lenin cited many historical instances of the revolutionary social-democratic party in his "Left-Wing" Communism, an Infantile Disorder to illustrate the necessity of temporary compromises under the condition that revolutionary principles were not abandoned. An outstanding example was the Brest-Litovsk Treaty concluded by the Soviet Republic led by Lenin with German imperialism in 1918. After the victory of the October Socialist Revolution, the new-born Soviet regime was faced with the threat of aggression by an armed-to-the-teeth German imperialism. To consolidate Soviet power, it was imperative to end the war immediately. After making a comprehensive and profound analysis of the situation, Lenin pointed out that signing a peace treaty with German imperialism was not "surrendering" to imperialism but winning a respite for the young Soviet regime to build up a new army which would learn and make preparations for fighting the enemies in all seriousness and in earnest. Lenin led the whole Party in smashing the Trotsky and Bukharin anti-Party clique’s plot to wreck the peace talks and strangle the Soviet regime in the cradle. Thanks to the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, the Bolshevik Party won the time to consolidate the Soviet regime, build the workers’ and peasants’ Red Army and rally the revolutionary forces, thereby laying the groundwork for victory in the civil war that was to break out. Lenin’s thinking and practice in integrating steadfastness in revolutionary principles with flexibility in revolutionary tactics constituted an invaluable experience for the proletarian political parties the world over.

Chairman Mao, the great leader of the Chinese people, has inherited, defended and developed the great strategic and tactical thinking of Marxism-Leninism. In August 1945, he went to Chungking in person for talks with Chiang Kai-shek, setting an example of a high degree of unity between steadfastness in revolutionary principles and flexibility in revolutionary tactics. In the light of the historical lessons at home and abroad learnt at the cost of bloodshed, Chairman Mao pointed out during the negotiations: "The arms of the people, every gun and every bullet, must all be kept, must not be handed over." In this way, the Chinese Communist Party protected the fundamental interests of the nation and gained for itself full initiative, won the sympathy and support of the progressive forces at home and abroad and bared Chiang Kai-shek’s plot to unleash a civil war, thus creating favourable conditions for seizing victory in the Chinese revolution.

In "Left-Wing" Communism, an Infantile Disorder, Lenin incisively stated that it was essential to oppose two erroneous tendencies if steadfastness in revolutionary principles and flexibility of tactics in struggle were to be integrated. He pointed out that Right opportunism "was the principal enemy of Bolshevism within the working-class movement. It remains the principal enemy internationally too" and that it was necessary to devote the "most attention" to it. While criticizing this tendency, Lenin also noted that there was another tendency, that of "petty-bourgeois revolutionism" or "Left-wing" infantile disorder. Lenin’s thesis on taking note of one tendency covering another is also of great importance to our correct use of Marxist-Leninist tactical principles of struggle. In both international and domestic struggles today, tendencies may still occur similar to those of the past, namely, when there was an alliance with the bourgeoisie, necessary struggles were forgotten, and when there was a split with the bourgeoisie, the possibility of an alliance under given conditions was forgotten. Therefore, in combining steadfastness in revolutionary principles with flexibility of tactics in struggle, we must always remain sober-minded so as to ensure the victorious advance of the revolution along Chairman Mao’s Marxist-Leninist line.

Lenin also pointed out in this work that one must direct "the full edge of merciless exposure and relentless war" against treacherous compromises, "and not allow the past masters at ‘practical’ Socialism and the parliamentary Jesuits to dodge and wriggle out of responsibility by disquisitions on ‘compromises in general."’ Lenin’s criticism of revisionism is our sharp weapon for repudiating Khrushchov, Brezhnev and their like today.

The two fundamentally different types of compromises reflect two fundamentally different lines. "Our policy is to protect the fundamental interests of the people." The fruits of victory won by the people must be defended by fighting and never be given up lightly. The treacherous compromises made by all Right opportunists were nothing but sharing in the loot with bandits at the expense of the greatest interests of the overwhelming majority of the masses. Hence the basic criterion for distinguishing between revolutionary and counter-revolutionary compromises is protecting or selling out the people’s fundamental interests.

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