Marxism-Leninism-Maoism or Revisionism?
--Com. Prachanda
[From: PROBLEMS & PROSPECTS OF REVOLUTION IN NEPAL, A Collection
of Articles by Com. Prachanda and Other Leaders of the CPN (Maoist)]
Through scientific research of social development, Marxism proved with irrefutable facts that the development of communism with establishment and consolidation of socialism shall end up modern capitalism in the process of ruthless and fierce struggle of the last and revolutionary class of history, the proletarian class. This thought of scientific socialism equipped the struggle of working class with an invincible powerful weapon. The research and its practical application shook the heaven of the capitalist class. The research of Marxism and struggle of working class have been a struggle of life and death against capitalist class and its stooges and various forms and non-proletarian class tendency. The capitalist class and its stooges have been vehemently attempting to save their paradise of plunder by making many conspiracy, sabotage, repression and intervention against proletarian class movement from inside and outside in order to uproot Marxism. They have been declaring thousands of time to disappoint the revolutionary proletarian class that Marxism has been ‘old’ and proved to be useless. But after every time they do it, this is a fact of the world's history that Marxism and proletarian class movement get more powerful, illuminating and extensive and strike their heads. The development of Marxism into Leninism and Maoism is its concrete evidence.
When Marxism-Leninism-Maoism turned victories the world over in principle, the capitalist and imperialist elements were compelled to support Marxism, though not sincerely, and betray the proletarian class and oppressed people. In this context, Lenin's statement that the dialectics of history is such that the ideological victory of Marxism compels the enemies to put on a mask of Marxism is quite ponderable. Lenin had proved with adequate proof that revisionism together with the development of imperialism breaks the national circle and turns international. Today the imperialism has captured the leadership of socialist system built by the sacrifice of millions of workers and distorted it and they have once again declared that Marxism has turned unsuccessful and are celebrating. But their celebration is, however, like a self-satisfaction of a man on death bed and it's being proved by the facts of history and worldwide sparkle of struggle, which can shake the world and worldwide economic crisis. The very facts on what is based the imperialist declaration that Marxism has been old have proved it irrefutable. The history has once again laid the responsibility on the shoulder of proletarian fighters to cut into pieces the webs of confusion of modern revisionists and been inspiring them to advance on the worldwide victory campaign. For this, it has been a task of primary significance for the revolutionary Marxist as a subjective preparation to expose revisionism and imperialism and show its real face, to the oppressed people and make them understand the reality.
What is revisionism? In fact, to make reforms in Marxism, which is unified with the cause of class struggle of proletariat and mould it to suit the non-proletarian interest is revisionism. The need of revisionism comes out of its class base in the modern society. The greater the number of non-proletarian, particularly petty bourgeois class in a particular place, the more propitious base there for revisionism. Indeed revisionism is capitalism and imperialism that have penetrated into the workers movement. Therefore, any attempt to weaken the struggle against revisionism under any pretext is revisionism in itself. It is impossible to present a wide analysis of revisionism and the struggle the revolutionary Marxists have been waging against it in this brief article. Here an attempt is made to briefly identify certain issues of revolutionary Marxism and the ways revisionism is manifested.
1. Class Struggle
One of the major scientific inventions of Marxism is to accept the role of class struggle as a driving force of history. All revolutionary Marxists from Marx, Engels say: to Lenin, Stalin and Mao are seen to have taken the cause of class struggle as a sequence of their activities and outlook. In this context, Marx-Engel say for about 40 years, we have been emphasizing on class struggle between capitalist class and proletarian class as a driving force of history, particularly as a great organizer of the modern social revolution; therefore, it's impossible to help the people who want to pull out the class struggle from the movement. Similarly Lenin says, the key to find out rule of law in this illus comment and endlessness. The key is the theory of class struggle. In the same way, Mao has greatly stressed on considering the class struggle as key.
One of the major features of revisionism is to give up, weaken or blunt the class struggle under various pretexts. As Lenin says in the field of politics revisionism, attempts to make reforms at foundations of Marxism or class struggle. In the past, the renegade Kautsky of Second International had rejected class struggle citing the fear of massive growth of technology and arms. Similarly, Khruschov and Gorbachov, under the pretext of changed world situation, have been applying fascist dictatorship in the place of proletarian dictatorship, pronouncing peaceful transition, peaceful coexistence and peaceful competition. In China, the Deng clique has declared that the class struggle has ended, has applied capitalist economic principles and been running fascist dictatorship. Thus it is evident universally that revisionists reject or weaken the class struggle under various pretexts and apply bourgeois dictatorship under the banner of class coordination. In our country also, several revisionist groups including the Jhapa clique that is called UML have been supporting the same Khruschov, Gorbachov and Deng cliques and weakening the class struggle. Here revisionism has been weakening the class struggle in various ways such as continuous emphasis on peaceful and legal movements, entering into Panchayat system* and misleading the people, postponing the militant struggle for the future, stress on unity, coalition and company with bourgeois and various reactionary and corrupt elements.
2. Party
What is a Communist Party and how it should be? Revolutionary Marxists like Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao are found to have viewed it as a militant, disciplined and class conscious vanguard of the proletariat and practiced accordingly. Revolutionary Marxism has been always stressing the fact that this kind of Party should be run by carrying out ideological political and practical struggle against all sorts of non-proletarian tendencies and characters. In this context, Marx-Engels say: if people of different class desire to join the proletarian movement, the very first condition for them should be that they do not come with bourgeois and petty bourgeois biases with them but that they assimilate proletarian outlook heartily and sincerely. They continue: but if the leadership of the Party goes into hands of these kinds of people in this or that way, the Party gets sterilized directly and its proletarian spirit collapses. Lenin has formulated an extensive, deep and concrete theory on the Party of the proletariat. Lenin launched Bolshevism by unleashing a ruthless, uncompromising and life and death struggle against the opportunists inside his own Party, who created hurdles in founding the Party as militant and disciplined vanguard of the proletarian class. Mao had always given emphasis on building a Communist Party based on revolutionary working style guided by Marxist- Leninist principle and line.
Revisionists are found to be emphasizing on building a loose and broad party by means of coalition with even non-proletarian elements of various types, which ends the role of the Party as a leader of proletarian class. In this context, Khruschov- Gorbachov's theory of the Party of the entire people is noteworthy. Revisionism attempts to develop the Party into a crowd of ideology less and selfish elements. By doing so, they are on the one hand, betraying against the cause of proletariat and on the other, some cunning leaders misguide the people and make them ladders for fulfilling their vested personal interests. As these revisionist elements need larger crowds or voters for the parliament, they carelessly trade on their principle not to let the so-called Party split, whereas the revolutionary Marxists are always prepared for split many times, if needed for the defense of principle. However, it does not mean that split is right but fighting unflinchingly against the elements, who betray the cause of proletariat and rebel against them, if necessary, is absolutely correct. Lenin's view in this regard should be taken seriously. In the world, no social democratic party has been ever maintained, particularly during the period of bourgeois revolution, without any fierce struggle and several splits with bourgeois fellow travellers.
What is to be noted is the fact that revolutionary Marxists attach great importance to fierce struggle against all kinds of non-proletarian tendencies in order to develop the Party as a vanguard of the proletariat whereas revisionists emphasize to develop it as a common platform of various non-proletarian tendencies. Revolutionary Marxists consider the two-line struggle of the Party as its dynamism of it and source of life-blood whereas revisionists temporarily settle it through non-ideological compromise and develop the Party as a motionless and lifeless crowd. The revolutionary Marxists hold dialectical outlook in regard to the development of the Party whereas revisionists do hold the metaphysical view. Thus, the revolutionary Marxists serve the cause of proletarian class whereas revisionists serve that of capitalist and imperialist elements.
3. Forms of Struggle
Fundamentally, there is a difference in the outlooks between revolutionary Marxists and revisionists in methods of struggle, too. Marxism- Leninism- Maoism stresses the fact that continuous dissemination the necessity of violent revolution as a universal law of revolution among the people must not be abandoned at any cost. The genuine revolutionaries lay emphasis on the struggles to violate prevailing laws and system as a pre-condition for preparing the people for revolution. Lenin say: "the need of organized dissemination of concept of this very violent revolution among the people is the essence of all teachings of Marx and Engels. Lenin has given stress on continuous struggle against the elements who prevent or try to prevent the dissemination of violent revolution, the essence of all teachings of Marx and Engels, from being taken to the people. Stalin has said: if somebody thinks that this kind of revolution can be accomplished peacefully, within bourgeois democracy conducive to bourgeois rule, it means that he has gone mentally bankrupt and lost common human sense, or has abandoned proletarian revolution fully and blatantly. On it Mao states: the lesson we get from the experiences of class struggle in the imperialist era is that it is only with the power of guns that the working class and toiling masses of the people can defeat the armed capitalists and feudal. Therefore we can say that the whole world can be changed only with the guns. Thus, it is crystal clear like broad daylight that the revolutionary Marxists give priority to revolutionary forms of struggle with an objective of preparing the people for revolt right from the beginning.
But as far as revisionists are concerned, they always emphasize peaceful and legal forms of struggle. Modern revisionists, who are familiar with the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, externally show that they have accepted the need of violent revolution for the future or strategically but reject it tactically. Immediately revisionists are not ready at all to go out of peaceful and legal movement but show as if they accept the necessity of violent revolution for the future. In Nepal, the revisionists including UML have been applying the same method.
One point to be seriously considered is that in this era, which is the era of proletarian revolution, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism teaches us that proletarian revolutionaries should continuously educate and train the people with militant spirit so that they are not unarmed at the time of bourgeois, imperialist attacks. For this, it is essential to stress revolutionary forms of struggle in accordance with power and position, which directly hit at the present regime, help in moving forward by violating the prevailing laws and system and can prepare basis for countrywide revolt in a conducive situation in the future. Right here revisionists of our country serve the reactionaries by confining the struggle in a legal and peaceful circle and keeping the people unarmed at the time of need.
(June 1990)