Chapter 1: Why Communists Must Undertake Self Cultivation

In order to live, man must wage a struggle against nature and make use of nature to produce material values. At all times and under all conditions, his production of material things is social in character. It follows that when men engage in production at any stage of social development, they have to enter into certain relations of production with one another.

Pretty standard materialism, nicely expressed.

Every member of a class society exists as a member of a given class and lives in given conditions of class struggle. Man’s social being determines his consciousness.

I don't fully agree "Man’s social being determines his consciousness." because I'm not that much of a materialist, but the general point is taken. He then says, "In class society the ideology of the members of each class reflects a different position and different class interests.", and obviously things like class traitors exist.


Quotes “The German Ideology” by Marx & Engels that men are reformed in the process of revolution. That is to say, not by some self-improvement exercise, but by praxis.

"the revolution is necessary, therefore, not only the ruling class cannot be overthrown in any other way, but also because the class overthrowing it can only in a revolution succeed in ridding itself of all the muck of ages and become fitted to found society anew" – the revolution not only overthrows the bourgeoisie, it transforms the proletariat.


An immature revolutionary has to go through a long process of revolutionary tempering and self-cultivation, a long process of remoulding, before he cam become a mature and seasoned revolutionary who can grasp and skilfully apply the laws of revolution. For in the first place, a comparatively immature revolutionary, born and bred in the old society, carries with him the remnants of the various ideologies of that society (including its prejudices, habits and traditions), and in the second he has not been through a long period of revolutionary activity. Therefore he does not yet have a really thorough understanding of the enemy, of the people or of the laws of social development and revolutionary struggle.

This probably foreshadows/summarises a lot of what the book is gonna be about.


Work hard, study hard, transform yourself.


Some will make very rapid progress and some who used to lag behind will even forge ahead of others. Other Party members will advance very slowly. Still others will waver in the struggle and, instead of being pushed forward by revolutionary practice, will fall behind.


The Long March made some participants more enthusiastic, made others exhausted and they quit. People "differ in their attitude, stand and comprehension in relation to the revolutionary practice, and consequently they develop in different directions in the course of revolutionary practice"


Whether he joined the revolution long ago or just recently, every Communist who wants to become a good politically mature revolutionary must undergo a long period of tempering in revolutionary struggle, must steel himself in mass revolutionary struggles and all kinds of difficulties and hardships, must sum up the experience gained through practice, make great efforts in self-cultivation, raise his ideological level, heighten his ability and never loose sense of what is new. For only thus can he turn himself into a politically staunch revolutionary of high quality.

Just pulling this out because it's quotable.


Mencius, another feudal philosopher, said that no one had fulfilled a “great mission” and played a role in history without first undergoing a hard process of tempering, a process which “exercises his mind with suffering and toughens his sinews and bones with toil, exposes his body to hunger, subjects him to extreme poverty, thwarts his under-takings and thereby stimulates his mind, tempers his character and adds to his capacities”. Still more so must Communists give attention to tempering and cultivating themselves in revolutionary struggles, since they have the historically unprecedented “great mission” of changing the world.

😬


Our Communist self-cultivation is the kind essential to proletarian revolutionaries. It must not be divorced from revolutionary practice or from the actual revolutionary movements of the labouring masses, and especially of the proletarian masses.

From what I know about Liu Shaoqi, this point might recur. Theory alone is not enough; grow by practice.


The Mao quote in this chapter is about a dialectical theory-practice relationship.


Some people are broken by failure, but others are derailed by success (become complacent or arrogant). "Individual instances of this kind are not uncommon among our Party members. The existence of such a phenomenon in the Party calls for our comrades’ sharp attention."


"In past ages, before the proletarian revolutionaries appeared on the scene, practically all revolutionaries became corrupted and removedd with the achievement of victory. They lost their original revolutionary spirit and became obstacles to the further development of the revolution."

This is an interesting point. Revolutions have become tyrannical many many times in history. "once they themselves became the ruling class, these revolutionaries lost their revolutionary quality and turned round to oppress the exploited masses; this was the inexorable law."


But such can never be the case with the proletarian revolution and with the Communist Party. [lol, very optimistic of you comrade] The proletarian revolution is a revolution to abolish all exploitation, oppression and classes. The Communist Party represents the proletariat which is itself exploited but does not exploit others and which can therefore carry the revolution through to the end finally abolish all exploitation and sweep away all the corruption and rottenness in human society.

Reading this, I think, "Yeah that's the goal, but it isn't guaranteed. Arguably the more likely outcome is that the proletarian victors will become a ruling class". I hope the book goes on to address how to prevent that new class.

He then talks about purity ("preserving the purity of the Party and the state apparatus", "always preserve their pure proletarian revolutionary character so that they will not fall into the rut of earlier revolutionaries who removedd in the hour of success"), but the key question is HOW, how to preserve this purity.

Chapter 2: Be Worthy Pupils of Marx and Lenin

Party membership is open to anyone who "who accepts the Programme and Constitution of the Party organizations, pays membership dues and works in one of the Party organizations". (My thought: the tricky point here is "accepts the Programme and Constitution" – a party would have to write one that's broad enough to allow flexibility, yet specific enough to exclude right-wing/reactionary/anti-revolutionary tendencies. It's about specifying what are the real hallmarks of the party?)


Engels said Marx's mission was to overthrow capitalism. This is interesting because some people think of Marx as a theoretician.


Liu Shaoqi quotes Engels on Marx and Stalin on Lenin and the gist of it is "Be a fighter, be a man of action." Stalin on Lenin: "Never refuse to do the little things, for from the little things are built the big things – that is one of Ilyich's important behests." – This is reminiscent of the line in Combat Liberalism: "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."


An emerging theme is that Marxists should unify theory and practice.


Don't adulate the heroic names so much that they become unattainable. They were very small on the scale of things.


Every Communist should keep his feet on the ground, seek the truth from the facts, work hard at tempering himself, work conscientiously at self-cultivation and do his best to improve his own thinking and quality. He should not regard the thinking and qualities of such great revolutionaries as the founders of Marxism-Leninism as beyond his reach, give up and be afraid to advance.


  • People who, "Although they read Marxist-Leninist literature, they are unable to use its principles and conclusions as a guide to action and apply them to concrete, practical problems in real life". Dogmatists who "could only babble Marxist-Leninist phraseology". They become arrogant. "Those people had no sincere desire to study Marxism-Leninism or fight for the realization of communism - they were just careerists in the Party, termites in the communist movement."
  • People who study hard, "conscientiously carry on self-cultivation and examine themselves to see if their handling of affairs, their dealings with people and their own behaviour conform to the spirit of Marxism-Leninism". "They are well read in Marxism-Leninism but at the same time they make a special effort to investigate and analyse living reality, to study the characteristics of their own time and all aspects of the situation facing the proletariat of their own country, and to integrate the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the revolution in their own country."

Studying the characteristics of your own time and conditions implies we should spend time studying contemporary polls, news, debates, current affairs. Study that and study classic theory and unite them. And do practice of course.


Don't expect applause, adulation, respect. Ironically you get it this way ("Yet such a person will enjoy the considered respect and support of the mass of the Party members just because he acts in this way"). This is also a life-lesson I learned just in life.

Chap 3: The Self-Cultivation of Communists and the Revolutionary Practice of the Masses

Self-cultivation in: ideological firmness, morality, upholding unity, work ethic, close ties with the masses, scientific knowledge.

Different people will be better or worse at these.

"need for help and criticism among friends"

It's not about having good intentions; it's about struggling in practical work. ("This is the method of self-cultivation for us communists. It is entirely different from those methods of self-cultivation which are idealistic and divorced from the revolutionary practice of the masses.")

Liu Shaoqi says that the self-cultivation is about engaging with the struggle with the masses, and I want to emphasise to YOU that that means the struggle in YOUR country in 2023.

"In order to persevere in this Marxist-Leninist method of cultivation, we must resolutely oppose and thoroughly eradicate one of the worst vices bequeathed to us by the old society in the field of education and study, namely, the separation of theory from practice." – that's so cool. It's almost saying that materialism means undoing the theory-practice distinction.

Hypocrisy, acting different from your theories. And this can become a racket, where you gain status by professing/teaching fine beliefs. ("This is typical of the attitude of the exploiting classes of the old society towards the sages they worship.") Some Marxists might dream of becoming famous as successful party members or teachers (or youtubers).

He warns against "the idea that your thoughts, words, deeds and life do not necessarily have to be guided by Marxist-Leninist principles"

Study theory for the sake of the victory of the revolution.


Mao:

“The great strength of Marxism-Leninism lies precisely in its integration with the concrete revolutionary practice of all countries. For the Chinese Communist Party, it is a matter of learning to apply the theory of Marxism-Leninism to the specific circumstances of China. For the Chinese Communists who are part of the great Chinese nation, flesh of its flesh and blood of its blood, any talk about Marxism in isolation from China's characteristics is merely Marxism in the abstract, Marxism in a vacuum. Hence to apply Marxism concretely in China so that its every manifestation has an indubitable Chinese character, i.e., to apply Marxism in the light of China's specific characteristics, becomes a problem which it is urgent for the whole Party to understand and solve. Foreign stereotypes must be abolished, there must be less singing of empty, abstract tunes, and dogmatism must be laid to rest; they must be replaced by the fresh, lively Chinese style and spirit which the common people of China love.”

(replace 'China' with your own country)

Chap 4: The Unity of Theoretical Study and Ideological Self-Cultivation

Unify theory and practice. That's a core theme of the book.

Marxism-Leninism is the interests of the working class. "Marxism-Leninism is the science of proletarian revolution... It can be thoroughly understood and mastered only by those who... have made the ideals of the proletariat their own"

"The science of Marxism-Leninism is of little of no use to anyone who is not a genuine revolutionary, who is not a proletarian revolutionary to the core, who does not want to bring about socialism and communism throughout the world and emancipate all mankind, to anyone who does not want revolution or is unwilling to carry it through to the end and wants to stop half-way."

Party members from the working class sometimes grasp this more intuitively than well-read non-working-class people. "For example, the section in Capital concerning surplus value is difficult for some Party members, but not for those from the working class. The reason is that in the process of production and of struggle against the capitalists, the workers come to know all too well how the capitalists calculate wages and working hours, exploit the workers for profit and oppress them."

Having said that, even people from the working class have to "study Marxist-Leninist theory modestly and diligently" and "we should add that no Party member can maintain a proletarian stand and express a proletarian ideology concretely in every revolutionary struggle unless he studies the theory and method of Marxism-Leninism diligently and guides his thinking and action accordingly."

Prior prejudices and selfish interests block people from becoming a person with proletarian/Marxist motivations. Some root them out and some don't. "When they handle practical problems in the course of revolutionary struggle, the habits and prejudices which they have brought with them from the old society and their individualistic calculations led them to think in terms of personal gain or loss"

Fighting bravely is not enough. The right class background is not enough. Ideological study is also necessary. You need firmness, but also the ideology-guided wisdom to know what to do.

Being familiar with theory, and being firmly pro-prole, you will be able to answer questions such "as the question of whom to rely upon, whom to unite with and whom to overthrow, the question of who are our direct allies, who is the main enemy and who are the secondary enemies, the question of rallying all possible allies, including even secondary enemies under certain conditions, to defeat the main enemy, and the question of making timely changes in strategy and tactics to meet changing situations".

Take the current situation of the Russo-Ukrainian war – the left is confused about who to support and who to oppose.

"national united front against Japan" – A United Front is a concept the person reading this should learn and understand. It means a temporary alliance for limited aims for definite action. It actually means united with people you don't agree with on certain things. For example, communists might unite with SocDems on some environmental thing. It's the opposite of squabbling and cancelling, what Liu Shaoqi calls "'closed-doorism' and sectarianism". The fact that it's a limited alliance for limited aims is what he's talking about when he says "certain comrades went to the other extreme, maintaining that since the Kuomintang had joined in the resistance to Japan, there was hardly any distinction between it and the Communist Party". He calls the cancel-culture refusal to unite with anyone a left (ultra-left) mistake, and the overfriendliness ("appeasement and capitulation") a right mistake.

"certain comrades did not understand that the contradiction between the Chinese nation and Japanese imperialism had become the principal one while the contradictions among the different classes and political groups within the country had become secondary." – that's interesting. It's saying that you unite with whoever is with you on the main issue of the hour.

"The proletariat cannot just emancipate itself alone; it must fight for the emancipation of all the working people, the emancipation of the nation and of all mankind, for only thus can it fully emancipate itself."

"The proletariat must rid the whole of human society of exploitation, oppression and class struggle once and for all, for only thus can it genuinely and finally emancipate itself. Hence a firm proletarian stand must be sharply differentiated from ‘closed-doorism’ and sectarianism. In waging struggles the proletariat and its political party must establish close ties with the masses of working people, form revolutionary alliances with other revolutionary classes and parties and lead the working masses and all their allies forward together; they must represent the interests of more than 90% of the population of the country."

Make clear delineations between the proletarian-communists and all other groups, even when you form a united front with them.

"In every stage of the development of the revolutionary struggle they must combine the interests of the part with the interests of the whole and immediate interests with long-term interests."

Lenin quote from 'What Is To Be Done?' that class consciousness means seeing the issues of the day in as manifestations of bourgeois or proletarian interests

Lenin: “The Social-Democrat's ideal should not be a trade-union secretary, but a tribune of the people, able to react to every manifestation of tyranny and oppression, no matter where it takes place, no matter what stratum of class of people it affects; he must be able to generalize all these manifestations to produce a single picture of police violence and capitalist exploitation” – this is a great quote, he even drags the pigs. The political form of communism is the dictatorship of the proletariat by direct means.

Thought is necessary as well as experience. He quotes Mao 'On Practice' about this.

"If only we study this theory, apply it and master it in close conjunction with revolutionary practice, we shall be able to understand the inner connections of the changes taking place all around us and to know how and in what direction the various classes are now moving and will soon move, and we shall be able to determine our line of action and have confidence in the future of the revolutionary movement."

Lenin's statement, "Without revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement."

Marxism emphasises the importance of theory

Chap 5: The Cause of Communism is the Greatest and Most Arduous Undertaking in Human History

Ideological self-cultivation means use proletarian ideology to combat whatever non-proletarian and individualist ideas you have.

Class struggle in society leads to clashing ideas existing in your mind.

Sometimes the individualist ideas win out and a person leaves the movement.

Examine your own ideas to see if they're proletarian or individualist. Nip errors in the bud.

A communist society will be free of exploitative relations.

This is too utopian, IMO: "all humanity will consist of unselfish, intelligent, highly cultured and skilled communist workers; mutual assistance and affection will prevail among men and there will be no such irrationalities as mutual suspicion and deception, mutual injury, mutual slaughter and war. It will of course be the best, the most beautiful and the most advanced society in human history... bring humanity into a world of happiness, radiating with beauty, such as it has never known before"

There are many/powerful enemies to struggle against to achieve it.

The greatest of goals – the greatest of struggles.

Struggle using the laws of social development, the laws of historical materialism. ("The reason is that the historical laws of social development make the progress of human society towards communism inevitable; that latent in the proletariat and the other exploited and oppressed masses of the world lie extremely powerful revolutionary energies which, once mobilized, united and organized, can triumph over all the reactionary forces of the exploiting classes and imperialism; and that the Communist Party and the proletariat are the new and rising forces and whatever is new and rising is invincible.")

"we should also realize that the international reaction and the exploiting classes are yet stronger than we are, that they are temporarily superior in many fields and that only by protracted, torturous and bitter struggles can we defeat them." – this is a really relevant point in 2023. I sometimes think comrades underestimate how well-organised, motivated, technologically capable, well-funded, and all-round powerful the USA and the neoliberal world order is.

Ruling classes have existed for thousands of years and maintain their ruling position by keeping the exploited masses and the colonial peoples backward, unorganized and divided.

Struggle not only against the exploiting classes but also against their long-standing influence among the masses and the backward ideas and other backward phenomena found among the masses. "If the masses were all politically conscious, united, free from the influence of the exploiting classes and free from backwardness, as some people imagine them to be, what would be so difficult about the revolution?"

This influence lingers after the ruling class is overthrown (e.g. in China in 2023, 74 years after the revolution). This is different from bourgeois revolutions, which "are largely completed with the seizure of state power. But for the proletariat, victory and political emancipation are only the beginning of the revolution, and a tremendous amount of work remains to be done after the victory, after the seizure of state power."

Lenin quote about how small commodity producers (i.e. small business owners or petty boourgeoisie) have a lingering influence. ("The abolition of classes means not only driving out landlords and capitalists – that we accomplished with comparative ease – it also means abolishing the small commodity producers, and they cannot be driven out, or crushed; we must live in harmony with them.... They encircle the proletariat on every side with a petty-bourgeois atmosphere, which permeates and corrupts the proletariat and causes constant relapses among the proletariat into petty-bourgeois spinelessness, disunity, individualism, alternate moods of exaltation and dejection..... The force of habit of millions and tens of millions is a most terrible force")

Lenin says the petty bourgeoisie have more psychological influence than the centralised haute bourgeoisie because they're greater in number.

Lenin: the bourgeoisie’s resist harder after they’re overthrown. They have the power of international capital, in their international networks, and also in the force of habit. “For all these reasons the dictatorship of the proletariat is essential”

"The cause of communism is needed a "hundred years' task", as the saying goes, and it defiantly cannot be accomplished at one stroke." – Xi Jinping's regime takes this somewhat literally, has goals for 2049.

"China is still [this was written in 1939] in the stage of the bourgeois-democratic revolution" must defeat imperialism and its feudal and comprador allies. "Then, after the victory of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, it will still be necessary to make the socialist revolution and to carry on socialist transformation and socialist construction for a long period, and only so will the gradual transition to communist society be possible."

"Since the communist cause is so great and arduous an undertaking, some people who seek social progress are still sceptical and not convinced that communism can be realized." – this sort of discouragement (discouragement based on thinking the goal is impossible) is common to all human endeavours. The solution is incrementalism (according to me, not Liu Shaoqi)

"We communists should be men of the boldest vision and revolutionary determination." to avoid such discouragement

"how truly great is a leader who fights for the triumph of communism and the cause of the emancipation of mankind and how paltry is one who fights for the cause of the exploiting classes."

"We Communist Party members must have the highest goals in our struggle and the highest ideals, while at the same time we must have a practical spirit and do real practical work." – there's that theory-practice dialectical again that we saw in the last chapter – "If all a person has is great and lofty ideas without having a practical spirit or doing real practical work, he is not a good Party member but only a dreamer, a prattler or a pedant. On the other hand, whoever is interested only in practical work but lacks great and lofty communist ideals is not a good Communist either, but just a routine plodder. Only by combining the great and lofty ideals of communism with real practical work and practical spirit can one be a good Communist. This standard for a good Communist has often been stressed by Comrade Mao Zedong, the leader of our Party."

"The communist ideal is beautiful, while the reality of the existing capitalist world is ugly."

"In order to change the world we must not divorce ourselves from reality, disregard it or escape from it, nor must we surrender to ugly reality." – this is so great. It sees man as a being in the world, but not like a stone is because he also has will.

"Here we should criticize those young comrades who frequently make the mistake of wanting to escape from or disregarding reality. It is good that they have lofty ideals, but they often complain about their place of work and the kind of work they are given. They are always looking for some "ideal" place or job so that they can "change the world" with ease. But no such place and no such job exist, except in their dreams." – pragmatism

"The cause of communism is our life work. Throughout our lives, our every activity is exclusively devoted to it and to nothing else."

Chap 6: A Party Member's Personal Interests Must be Unconditionally Subordinated to the Interests of the Party

"Personal interests must be subordinated to the Party's interests, the interests of the local Party organization to those of the entire Party, the interests of the part to those of the whole, and temporary to long-term interests. This is a Marxist-Leninist principle which must be followed by every Communist." – the biggest goal takes priority

The Party should have no interests outside of the proletariat's interests. (It is very questionable that Parties have lived up to this.)

When the proles are emancipated, everyone is.

Mao: "selfishness, slacking, corruption, seeking the limelight are most contemptible, while selflessness, working with all one's energy, whole hearted devotion to public duty, and quiet hard work will command respect."

"Unhesitating readiness to sacrifice personal interests and even one's life, for the Party and for the proletariat and for the emancipation of the nation and of all mankind"

"Members of our Party should not have personal aims which are independent of the Party interests. Their personal aims must harmonize with the Party's interests. If the aim they set for themselves is to study Marxist-Leninist theory, to develop their ability in work, to establish revolutionary organizations and to lead the masses in successful revolutionary struggles – if their aim is more is to do more for the Party – then this personal aim harmonizes with the interests of the Party. The Party needs many such members and cadres. Apart from this aim, Party members should have no independent personal motives such as attaining position of fame, or playing the individual hero; otherwise they will depart from the interests of the Party and may even become careerists within the Party." – sorry for the long quote but it's all good, sums up the chapter

The good cadre "compares himself with others not with respect to the material enjoyment but to the amount of work done for the revolution and the spirit of hard endurance in the struggle"

Revolutionary courage

"Having done nothing to give himself a guilty conscience, he can lay bare and courageously correct his mistakes and short comings... Because he has the courage of righteous conviction, he never fears the truth" – people who are not insecure can admit their faults

"He seeks the truth from the facts, and he tests all theories and distinguishes what is true from what is false in revolutionary practice." – seeking truth from facts is a thing Chinese communist texts always talk about. It's not good English, IMO. Philosophical pragmatism is what they mean: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pragmatism/

"Because he has no private axe to grind, nothing to conceal from the Party and nothing he cannot tell others, he has no problems of personal gain or loss and no personal anxieties other than for the interests of the Party and the revolution." – without attachments you don't have anxieties

"His work bears examination and he is not afraid having it checked. He does not fear criticism and at the same time is able to criticize others with courage and sincerity."

"For the sake of the Party and the revolution he can be most forbearing and tolerant towards comrades and can suffer wrong in the general interest, even enduring misunderstanding and humiliation without bitterness if the occasion so demands" – this is poignant considering what happened to Liu Shaoqi!

Working towards the emancipation of mankind is, assessed in terms of ordinary morality, better than working towards your own self-interest or some other smaller aim.

"As we Communists see it, nothing can be more worthless or indefensible than to sacrifice oneself in the interests of an individual or a small minority. But it is the worthiest and most just thing in the world to sacrifice oneself for the Party, for the proletariat, for the emancipation of the nation and all mankind, for social progress and for the highest interests of the overwhelming majority of the people."

"Indeed, countless members of the Communist Party have looked death calmly in the face and made the ultimate sacrifice without the slightest hesitation. Most Communists consider it a matter of course to die for the sake of the cause, to lay down their lives for justice, when that is necessary. This does not stem from any revolutionary fanaticism or hunger for fame but from their scientific understanding of social development and their deep political consciousness."

"One must never regard the communist Party as a narrow clique, like the guild perusing the interests of its members. Anyone who does so is no Communist." – this is an ideal that Parties have deviated from in reality

"Party members do have their personal problems to attend to, and, moreover, they should develop themselves according to their individual inclinations and aptitudes. Therefore, so long as the interests of the Party are not violated, a Party member can have his private and family life and develop his individual inclinations and aptitudes." – thank the gods he said this, it was getting a bit intense and fanatical there

The Party should provide assistance to members too (not just members helping the Party). It should assist them in developing their abilities, getting an education, etc.

Chap 7: Examples of Wrong Ideology in the Party

Some cadres have the right set of interests (proletarian liberation) and the right ideas. Some do not.

"For example, some comrades of peasant background used to think that communism meant "expropriation of local tyrants and distribution of the land". When they first joined, they had no understanding of the real meaning of communism. Today, quite a number of people join the Party chiefly because it is resolute in resisting Japan and advocates the Anti-Japanese National United Front. Others join our ranks because they admire the communist Party for its good reputation or because they realize in a vague way that it can save China. Still others are seeking a future for themselves, chiefly because they have no other way out - they have no fixed occupation, are out of work, lack the means of study, or want to escape from family bondage or forced marriage, etc. A few even join because they count on the Party to get their taxes reduced, or because they hope to "make their mark" some day, or because their relatives or friends have brought them in, etc. Naturally, such comrades do not have a clear-cut and stable communist world outlook, do not understand the greatness of the communist cause and the difficulties besetting it, and lack a firm proletarian stand point. Naturally too, some of them will waver or change somewhat in certain circumstances at certain critical turning points."

It's better that someone comes to the Party with mistaken ideas, which can be corrected by the Party, than not coming at all.

Joining requires accepting the Party’s Programme and Constitution, not understanding it fully.

Anyone can leave the Party if they wish (I believe this is still the case with the CPC in 2023). "It will do nothing against him unless he gives away Party secrets or engages in wrecking activities against the Party after he leaves. As for careerists and spies who have wormed their way into the Party, of course they have to be expelled. Only thus can we preserve the purity of our Party."

"Fairly strong individualism and selfishness are still to be found in some members of our Party." they seek gain ". "when it comes to work, they like to compare themselves with those who are less capable. When there hard hardships to beat they make themselves scarce. In times of danger they want to run away. When it comes to orderlies they always want more. Their living quarters must be of the best." Dog-eat-dog attitude. These people will rebel against discipline and be disrespectful. This is similar to the deviation he lists as the deviation of being too imbued with the ideology of the ruling class. "They are jealous of those more capable than themselves. They always try to pull down those who are moving ahead of them. They cannot bear playing second fiddle and think only of themselves and never of others. When other comrades are suffering difficulties of setbacks, they gloat or secretly rejoice and have no comradely sympathy at all."

"Departmentalism within the Party arises chiefly because some comrades only see the interest of the part, i.e., the work of their own department of locality, and fail to see the interests of the whole... Not all comrades who make the mistake of departmentalism are necessarily prompted by individualism, but people with an individualist ideology usually make the mistake of departmentalism."

"Conceit, the idea of individualistic heroism, ostentatiousness, etc., are still to be found, to a greater or lesser extent, in the minds of quite a few Party comrades." They "lack a democratic style of work", are "unwilling to immerse themselves in hard work or do routine or technical jobs". They "do not accept even well-grounded opinions and criticisms. They can bear promotion but not demotion, they can bear fair weather but not foul, and they cannot bear being misunderstood or wronged."

"Communists must not be in the least complacent or arrogant. Granted that some comrades are very capable, have done some good work and have to their credit considerable achievements which may be reckoned ‘great’ and on which they might well preen themselves (for example, our army comrades who have led thousands and tens of thousands of men in battle and won victories, or the leaders of our Party and mass work in various places who have brought about fairly significant changes in the situation). Yet after all, how great are these achievements compared with the communist cause as a whole?"

"Yes, we need countless communist heroes and many mass leaders of great prestige in our Party and in the communist movement. At present we really have too few of them and have yet to train and temper large numbers of good communist revolutionary leaders and heroes in all fields. This is indeed very important for our cause and must not be neglected. Whoever takes it lightly is ignorant of how to advance the cause of communism. Its advancement requires that we should greatly enhance the revolutionary spirit of enterprise among our Party members and bring their vitality into full play. We have to admit that so far we have not done enough in this respect. This is shown, for instance, by the fact that some Party members do not study hard and have little interest in politics and theory."

"Only those who are entirely selfless and devoted to the Party.... can win the trust of the Party and the confidence and support of the rank and file, and so become leaders and heroes"

The point that leaders and heroes only do a small part of the work and it's collective work of millions, I know he's not talking about historiography but historians would do well to bear this in mind.

"Big or small, it is all part of the great cause. Therefore, if only we do our part of the work well, we can consider that we have done our duty. Naturally we should try our best to do more, but if we cannot and can only do a little, that is also useful and just as honourable."

"The proper attitude for a Communist is to do whatever work the Party requires of him and do it happily and well, whether it suits his inclinations of not." – lots of scientists, engineers, etc. are required. Cooks, cleaners too.

Assign work to members based on their abilities and aptitudes. "However, no Communist must refuse a Party assignment on the grounds of personal preference." – that's a little bit authoritarian, but not THAT authoritarian.

Selfish people under the sway of bourgeois ideology "love to join in any unprincipled dispute that may occur in the Party and take great interest in unprincipled quarrels." Compare Stalin regarding arguments of principle: "We may, and should, compromise with opponents in the Party on questions of current policy, on purely practical questions, but if these questions are connected with differences over principle then no compromise is possible; no “middle course” can save the situation. There is and there can be no “middle course” in questions of principle. Either one set of principles or another must lie at the basis of the work of the Party. A “middle course” on questions of principle is a “course” of confusion, a “course” of concealing differences, a “course” towards the intellectual death of the Party."

"in matters of principle they never gloss over and accommodate, let alone encourage mistakes (to accommodate or even to encourage others' mistakes does not betoken genuine affection for one's comrades)"

"they do not give way on matters of principle… They oppose all unprincipled struggles; they do not let themselves become involved in such struggles and are not swayed or affected by irresponsible or casual criticism made behind their backs as to depart from principle, become incapable of thinking calmly or lose their composure." – this is relevant to online discourse, where a lot of discourse (I would even say the majority) is unprincipled struggle.

"Pettiness, fussing over trifles and ignoring the general interest are faults still prevalent among some Party members." – massively prevalent online too

Some people equivocate until they see which position will serve their self-interest. Then they take a side.

"Finally, the ideology of some of our Party comrades often reflects the impetuosity and vacillation of the petty-bourgeoisie and the destructiveness of the lumpen-proletariat and certain bankrupt peasants, but I shall not go into this question here."

Proletarian (selfless) and non-proletarian (selfish) values struggle back-and-forth within the Party and within each person.

All exploiters play win-lose games. "Exploiters always harm and ruin other people as a necessary precondition for their own expansion; their happiness is founded on the suffering of others." Exploiters, and people filled with their ideology, can't be trusted: they might be helpful for a while but will stab you in the back.

Proletarian ideology is win-win, mutual aid.

Good communists "are absolutely opposed to privileges of any kind for anyone, consider it impermissible to think in terms of privilege for themselves, and would deem it unthinkable and even a disgrace, to occupy a privileged position among the people."

Criticise the mistakes and shortcomings of your comrades sincerely and kindly. "They do everything possible to help comrades overcome weaknesses and correct mistakes"

Chap 8: The Source of Wrong Ideology in Our Party

"Now when a family acquires an ugly son-in-law or daughter-in-law, it can not always keep him or her away from the guests." – yeah don't let your children marry uggos

People who come and look at the Party will see its flaws as well as its good examples.

People join the Party and it doesn't live up to their dreams. Danger of discouragement. (Thinking of my life, I've gone into cities, jobs, relationships, expecting it to fulfill my dreams and then wound up disappointed.)

Listen to the dissatisfactions of these people; some of them might be remedies and you can prevent the next person from having the same bad experience.

"it is so strange that certain members bring some of the filth of the old society with them into our Party of reflect it there? Is it so strange that a person that has just crawled out of the mud is covered with slime? Of course not. It is only to be expected."

Stalin said tension within the party comes from "firstly the pressure exerted by the bourgeoisie and bourgeois ideology on the proletariat and its party" (this can affect the proles who are not firm), and secondly the fact that the proletariat has three strata: 1 the core proletariat, 2 newcomers from other classes (e.g. petty bourgeoisie, intelligentsia), 3 labour aristocracy. 2 tends towards anarchism, semi-anarchism and ultra-leftism. 3 tends towards reformism and compromise with the bourgeoisie.

Chap 9: Attitudes Towards Wrong Ideology in the Party and Towards Inner-Party Struggle

View issues as interrelated, part of a comprehensive system, instead of focusing on one little issue in isolation. This is a new point in the book. It's very relevant today: I often see people flip out over some very specific issue, make it their hill-to-die-on. People who "fail to view problems comprehensively and objectively in accordance with the laws of the development and interrelationship of objective phenomena, and both take a one-sided, subjective view of problems. Hence, they are unable to arrive at correct conclusions or chart the right course for our actions."

"divergences and controversies are bound to become especially acute at turning points in the revolution, or when the struggle grows in intensity and hardship mount"

"People of one kind do not or will not see shortcomings, mistakes and other undesirable phenomena in our Party, but blindly believe that there is scarcely anything wrong in it; hence they relax their vigilance and slacken their struggle their struggle against these phenomena." – Western leftists talking about the CPC lololol

Some people are too rosy, some are too negative. Take heart but be realistic about problems.

"One attitude is that of alien class and hostile elements who have wormed their way into our Party. A second attitude is that of Party members who lack a firm proletarian stand and have a wrong way of thinking. A third is that of Party members who firmly uphold the principles of Marxism-Leninism."

Bourgeois-minded people are the worst and actively work for the Party's failure from within.

People with some wrong views "consider the existence of certain short comings and mistakes in the Party to be to their advantage and therefore, whether intentionally or unintentionally, aggravate these failings and exploit them" – an example would be careerists, like when the Party does have high-status and high pay for some positions, they see that as an opportunity.

Some people with wrong views just do nothing, let problems slide by. "They fear inner-Party struggle and self-criticism"

"The attitude of some Party members towards these shortcomings and mistakes and towards those comrades who have incorrect ideas is one of “bitter hatred and gall”. They lightly sever all relations with comrades who have committed some mistake and whom they attempt to expel from the Party outright." – cancel culture, American wrecker shit.

Another hazard: making a dogma of the idea of struggle, making little things into a matter of principle that must be struggled over, making the struggles unnecessarily bitter. Mao probably did this, including to Liu Shaoqi.

"They do not carry on inner-Party struggle properly and specifically in accordance with the objective needs and objective laws of development, but instead “struggle” mechanically, subjectively and violently, regardless of the consequences. This is the attitude taken by Party members who do not understand the source of inner-Party contradictions, who lack skill in dealing with inner-Party differences and who have a mechanical conception of inner-Party struggle. For a time, this extreme attitude towards inner-Party struggle was exploited by the “Left” opportunists in the Party. They intensified mechanical and excessive struggles to the point of deliberately hunting for “targets of struggle” within the Party, deliberately creating inner-Party struggles, punishing comrades by abusing Party disciplinary measures and even employing against them measures applicable to struggles outside the Party" – this is just such a good description of cancel culture and the failures of the Western 21st century left. Nails it.

Get to know the right and wrong viewpoints that exist in the party. If nobody's right, introduce the right view. "After sober analysis and consideration, decide on a clear-cut attitude and take a correct stand."

"Do not take a liberalistic attitude or flinch from any necessary inner-Party struggle. Carry on an irreconcilable struggle in the Party against ideas and views which are wrong in principle and against all other undesirable phenomena, so that we can constantly move to overcome them; they should never be allowed to develop unchecked to the detriment of the Party and the revolution." – this is the same as what Stalin and Mao say

"vigorously support all correct views and opinions"

"Properly combine irreconcilability and clarity in matters of principle with flexibility and patient persuasion in methods of struggle; in the course of prolonged struggles, educate, criticize, temper and remould comrades who have committed errors but who are not incorrigible."

"Do not become “struggle addicts”." – so many good lines here I'm gonna use to dunk on Americans

"Strengthen the unity and discipline of the Party and enhance its prestige through inner-Party struggle. Organizational penalties, ranging all the way to expulsion, should be applied to the incorrigible elements of the Party. We should regard it as our supreme duty to safeguard the Party’s unity, preserve the purity of its ideology and consolidate its organization."

Enemies will try to exploit any of these weaknesses and flaws, so fix them.

In struggle sessions, if a Party member is venting his feelings instead of striving for the unity and purity of the movement, that is a bad sign.

Those who resist criticism and become obstinate - it may be necessary to take disciplinary action against them. "But if these comrades do not cling to their mistakes but are willing to correct them and give up their previous point of view after sober discussion, persuasion and criticism, or if they coolly ponder over their mistakes or soberly discuss them with other comrades, we should welcome every small sign of progress"

"We often do not have enough really responsible and sincere criticism and self-criticism... more particularly we do not have enough criticism from below and self-criticism, both of which would be greatly encouraged" – https://language.chinadaily.com.cn/19thcpcnationalcongress/2017-11/06/content_34191468_2.htm: according to the rules of the CPC, any full member has the right to "Offer well-founded criticism at Party meetings of any Party organization or any member"

Don't talk behind people's backs.

Some don't criticise out of politeness or shyness.

Criticism to solve a problem must be done out in the open, to someone's face: talking behind their back or keeping it to yourself isn't solution-oriented.

Debates are to solve problems and purify the Party. Don't become a debating society. Don't do it as a hobby.

Solve problems patiently, don't attack them fanatically.

Mao: "The Party must on the one hand wage a serious struggle against erroneous thinking, and on the other give the comrades who have committed errors ample opportunity to wake up. This being the case, excessive struggle is obviously inappropriate."

"the achievement of communism involves the tremendous and difficult task of transforming all mankind into the selfless citizenry of a communist society" – this is open to the communism-won't-work-because-of-human-nature criticism

"Comrades who take an extreme attitude do not understand that the achievement of communism is an arduous and torturous task, they fear difficulties and crave a straight road, they want to eliminate everything unpleasant at one stroke and leap immediately into the world of their ideals. Thinking and acting in this way, they inevitably run their heads against a brick wall." – it's not quite what he's talking about here, but this describes ultra-left deviations like communization quite well

"The ‘Left’ opportunists are clearly wrong in their attitude towards inner-Party struggle. According to these almost hysterical people, any peace in the Party was intolerable - even peace based on complete unanimity on matters of principle an on the Party line. Even in the absence of any differences of principle in the Party, they deliberately hunted out targets, dubbed some comrades ‘opportunist’ and set them up as ‘straw men’ to shoot at in inner-Party struggle. They thought that such erroneous struggle and such shooting at ‘straw men’ were the magic formula for developing the Party and achieving victory in the revolutionary fight of the proletariat. They considered that to stir up trouble out of nothing or to deliberately concoct inner-Party struggle was the only ‘Bolshevik’ way. Of course, this is not serious and earnest inner-Party struggle; rather it is a mockery of the Party and the perverting of inner-Party struggle, which is a most serious matter, into a frivolous game." – another spot-on description of American woke losers

The Party struggles against bourgeois attitudes outside the Party (Mao said "war is the highest method of resolving contradictions") and uses self-criticism and struggle sessions to resolve bourgeois attitudes that permeate inside the party and inside the minds of members. Hence taking a liberal attitude to mistaken views (not resolving them) would aid the enemy. Activism fuels the inner-Party struggle too.

Don't "fail to distinguish between" comrades who have some flaws and the enemy.

"Inner-Party struggle is an indispensable component of the revolutionary struggle as a whole."

Some comrades face the enemy bravely but are sensitive to inner-Party criticism.

Because the criticism has an error-rate, there will sometimes be unfair criticism. "No one in this world can entirely avoid being misunderstood"

"every Party member should pay attention to uniting with his comrades, be sincere and open, refrain from hurting others by thoughtless or sarcastic remarks and, in particular, refrain from irresponsibly criticizing comrades behind their backs. The proper attitude to any comrade’s mistakes is sincerely to remonstrate with him and criticize him to his face., out of concern for the comrade and a desire to be of help. All of us, and especially those in more responsible positions, must bear this in mind."

"comrades should be mentally prepared for inner-Party struggle, should open-mindedly accept all well-grounded criticism and be able to endure misunderstandings or attacks, or even unfairness and injustice; in particular, they should not get upset or excited over irresponsible and unjustified criticism or rumours"

Large passages of what he warns against – unprincipled struggle, extreme struggle, turning purifying attacks into vicious ones – are pitfalls that Mao fell into and that's what got Liu Shaoqi.

The method rests on knowing which disputes are principled and unprincipled, which is not as easy as he makes it sound.

"In addition, it is as well to be careful even over ‘trifles’ (in one's personal life, attitude, etc.). But as for making demands on other comrades, apart from matters of principle and major political questions, we should not be too severe or fault finding over ‘trifles’." – this is something I've thought about before: it is good to be strict on yourself in things like diet, but being strict on other people about their diet is very different

The aim of ideological self-cultivation by members of the Communist party is to temper themselves to become staunch and utterly devoted members and cadres of the Party who make constant progress and serve as examples for others. What is required of us is the following:

  1. To build up our communist world outlook and a firm Party and proletarian class standpoint through the study of Marxism-Leninism and participation in the revolutionary struggle.
  1. To examine our own thinking and behaviour, to correct all erroneous ideas and at the same time to judge questions and judge other comrades on the basis of our communist world outlook and our firm Party and proletarian class standpoint.
  1. Always to adopt a correct attitude and appropriate methods in the struggle against erroneous ideology in the Party, and especially against the erroneous ideology which affects the current revolutionary struggle.
  1. To keep a firm control over ourselves in thought, speech and action, especially to take a firm standpoint and adhere to correct principles with regard to political ideas, statements and activities which are related to the current revolutionary struggle.
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Pub: 02 Feb 2024 23:28 UTC
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