Chapter 18 China's socioeconomic formation, class relations, and the people's democratic revolution[1]

(February 15, 1948) Chapter 1 China's Socio-Economic Form In order to live, people have to produce means of subsistence, such as food, clothing, housing, fuel, utensils, etc.In order to produce means of subsistence, people need means of production, such as land, raw materials, livestock, tools, workshops, etc.The combination of producers and means of production is the productive force of society. In order to produce, people must enter into a certain relationship with each other in the process of production, otherwise production cannot take place.Because the production of people has always been the production of society and cannot be produced in isolation.This kind of mutual relationship between people in the social production process is the social production relationship, which is the ownership relationship of people with the means of production (for the sake of popularization, the ownership relationship is called the possession relationship in this document).This production relationship is legally expressed as a property ownership relationship.

The combination of social productivity and social production relations is the social mode of production.The social mode of production is the foundation of all social systems, political systems and spiritual life. At a certain stage in the historical development of social productive forces, people's ownership relationship of the means of production, their production relationship, begins to develop from the common ownership relationship of all people in the society to the private ownership relationship of some people.A few people possess a large amount of means of production, and the majority loses or only possesses a small amount of means of production.In this way, most of the latter kind of people are forced to work for the former kind of people, give the results of their labor to the former kind of people, and receive a small amount of remuneration from the former kind of people as their own source of livelihood.That is to say, the latter kind of people are exploited by the former kind of people, while the former kind of people rely on the exploitation of the latter kind of people in large numbers as their source of livelihood.A part of the latter type of people, because they possess the means of production sufficient to maintain their lives, rely on independent labor as their source of livelihood, but they still cannot escape the exploitation of the former type to a certain extent.In this way, people are divided into different classes, divided into exploiting classes and exploited classes.Due to the development of productive forces, first of all due to the development of production tools, such as the development of stone tools to simple metal hand tools, then to more refined metal hand tools, and then to complex machine tools, people's relationship with the means of production , people's production relations will change.Due to changes in productivity and production relations, the methods by which the exploiting class exploits the exploited class also change.

A society divided into many classes is called a class society.Such a class society is not only different from the original communist society before the split into classes in human history, but also different from the new communist society after the class has been eliminated.This latter society already exists and is developing in the Soviet Union.All human societies in the world are now advancing along the path taken by the Soviet Union, and the history of class society is coming to an end.Class society in human history can be roughly divided into three stages: slave society, feudal society and capitalist society.The same is true of the history of China's social development.It is only because of external and internal reasons that China has not and cannot develop into a fully capitalist society.

China's social and economic form, more than a hundred years ago (the period of the Sino-British Opium War in 1840), began to gradually change from the ancient independent feudal social and economic form to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal social and economic form. form, that is to say, semi-independent, semi-capitalist socio-economic forms.In the current Chinese social economy as a whole, on the one hand, there are foreign imperialist economies, domestic feudalist economies, bureaucratic capitalist economies, and free capitalist economies; these are the social and economic forms of old China; on the other hand, There is a new type of state economy, an economy of liberated peasants and small producers, and a private capitalist economy under the guidance of a new democratic state. These are the social and economic forms of New China.As far as production technology is concerned, there are large-scale machine production enterprises, small and medium-scale machine production enterprises, and various small-scale production enterprises with simple tools in the family as a unit.The semi-colonial and semi-feudal economic form of old China has been dominant for a long time since the Opium War.This advantage is now being quickly replaced by the new democratic economic form of new China.

Marx said: "In the social production of their own lives, people have certain and inevitable relations with each other that do not depend on their own will, that is, production relations. These production relations are suitable for a certain development stage of their material productive forces. The sum total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, that is, the real foundation on which the legal and political superstructure is erected. At the same time, certain forms of social consciousness are related to this foundation. Corresponding. The mode of production of material life determines the process of general social life, political life, and spiritual life. It is not people's consciousness that determines people's existence, but on the contrary, it is people's social existence that determines people's consciousness. When the material productive forces of society develop to a certain stage, they come into conflict with the existing relations of production, or, in other words, with the relations of ownership (ownership relations are nothing but the legal expression of the existing relations of production). developed within these relations. As a result, these relations changed from the forms of development of productive forces to the shackles of productive forces. At that time, the era of social revolution came. With the change of the economic base, in the entire huge superstructure In things, great changes take place more or less quickly.”[2]

The task of the people's democratic revolution in China at the present stage is to change the old social and economic forms, the old production relations and all the old social, political and spiritual structures erected on them, and to establish a new social and economic form, The new relations of production and all the new social, political and spiritual structures erected on them.That's our basic task. Chapter 2 China's Present Class Relations and the People's Democratic Revolution Section 1. All the main classes in China at present are as follows: (A) The proletariat.For example, the laborers in the enterprises of the new democratic countries, and the wage laborers in the machine industry, handicraft industry, agriculture and commerce run by the capitalists do not own privately owned means of production.However, according to their original status, the laborers in the enterprises of the new democratic country are proletarians, but according to their current status, they have passed through the new democratic country dominated by them and other working people, and have collectively occupied the labor force in the state enterprises. The means of production, that is to say, have undergone a fundamental change from their original condition.The laborers in the enterprises of the new democratic countries are already people who are not exploited, and the part of the surplus value they produce that is used to expand reproduction and benefit the people as a whole cannot be considered exploited.The wage laborers of the capitalists are exploited by the capitalists. (B) farmers.Peasants possess a small amount of means of production, either cultivating the landlord's land or cultivating their own land.Before the reform of China's land system, most farmers cultivated the land owned by landlords; after the complete reform of China's land system, all farmers cultivated their own land.Among the peasants, those who have insufficient means of production to maintain their livelihood and must sell part of their labor power are called poor peasants, and the poor peasants are the semi-proletariat in the countryside.Among the peasants, the means of production possessed by them are sufficient to maintain their living, so those who do not have to sell their labor power are called middle peasants.Before China's land system reform, poor peasants accounted for the majority of farmers; after the thorough completion of China's land system reform, middle peasants accounted for the majority of farmers.Before the reform of China's land system, peasants were directly or indirectly exploited by landlords and other exploiting classes; only after the reform of the land system in the new democratic countries can they be exempted from this kind of exploitation. (c) Independent laborers other than peasants.For example, handicraft laborers, freelancers, and small traders all possess a small amount of means of production and make a living by their own independent labor.They are directly or indirectly exploited by imperialists, landlords, bureaucratic capitalists and other exploiting classes. (D) The liberal bourgeoisie.This is the national capitalist and the new-style rich peasant.They possess more means of production and exploit wage laborers in a free capitalist way.Under the reactionary state regime, they are oppressed, damaged or restricted by the imperialists, landowners and bureaucratic capitalists. (e) The landlord class, the bureaucratic bourgeoisie and the old-fashioned rich peasants.They occupy the most means of production, combine directly or indirectly with imperialism, exploit the working people with feudal, comprador and monopoly methods, and oppress, damage or restrict the free bourgeoisie.

Section 2 The proletariat, peasants, independent laborers, and all people who are exploited by others account for about 90 percent of the country's population, of which farmers account for 70 to 80 percent of the country's population.All these working people, under the reactionary state power, suffer not only economic exploitation but also political oppression.They are the main body of the Chinese nation and the basic force of the Chinese people's democratic revolution.Among them, the proletariat and semi-proletariat (poor peasants) are the leading class of the people's democratic revolution and the new democratic state regime, and the proletariat is the main leading class. [3] The task of the proletariat, peasants and other working people is to unite with the liberal bourgeoisie to overthrow the exploitation and oppression of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism through the method of people's democratic revolution, and to establish the People's Republic of China.The Chinese proletariat, peasants and other working people have long experience in revolutionary struggle.The concentrated expression of this revolutionary struggle experience is the great leadership of the Communist Party of China in revolution and building a new country.

Section 3 The liberal bourgeoisie is a weak and wavering class.But because they are oppressed, damaged or restricted by imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism (this kind of oppression, damage or restriction is far lighter than that of the working people), so in opposing imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism During the period of the people's democratic revolution, they can participate in this revolution, or remain conservative and neutral.They can also participate in the economic construction after the victory of the revolution.As long as China has not yet entered a socialist society, they can advance together with the proletariat and working people.Therefore, in the state power of the People's Republic of China, the liberal bourgeoisie and its political groups should be allowed to send their representatives to work.However, there is a small number of people among them, that is, the right-wing elements of the liberal bourgeoisie, who are attached to imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism and oppose the people's democratic revolution. The Chinese people must punish the reactionary behavior of these people. Alert and expose.But this kind of political vigilance and exposure should be strictly distinguished from economic elimination.What the Chinese people's democratic revolution should and must eliminate is imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, not free capitalism.

Section 4 The landlord class, the bureaucratic bourgeoisie and the old-fashioned rich peasants are small in number but occupy the largest part of the country's means of production.Among them, the landlord class and the old-style rich peasants, although there are many in various places, but according to the general situation, they only account for about 10% of the rural population and about 8% of the households, and they occupy all the arable land. Seventy to eighty percent of the land.The bureaucratic bourgeoisie headed by Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi, and Chen Lifu, that is, China's big bourgeoisie, is relatively small in number, but they possess such huge means of production that they monopolize the country's economic lifeline.As far as the wealth owned by the four major families of Chiang, Song, Kong, and Chen is concerned, its value is as much as one million to two million US dollars.All these feudal and comprador reactionary classes established a reactionary and decadent country headed by Chiang Kai-shek, and a reactionary and decadent government representing this country.This reactionary government betrayed its national interests to the outside world, and concluded various reactionary treaties with imperialism, first of all U.S. imperialism, that were unfavorable to the political and economic relations between the Chinese nation and the Chinese people, enabling imperialism, first of all U.S. imperialism, to gain political peace in China. Economic privileges, so this government has become a lackey of imperialism, especially American imperialism.Internally, this government oppressed the people and launched a counter-revolutionary war in an attempt to eliminate the people's democratic forces.All productive forces in the country, except the areas that have been liberated, are fettered by the reactionary, retrogressive and backward production relations controlled by these reactionary classes, and are gradually declining and unable to develop.The requirements of the productive forces themselves are to use revolutionary methods to release the shackles of the old production relations, to overthrow the old production relations, to establish new production relations, to establish new-democratic production relations, so that all active productive forces in the country Obtaining the possibility of upward development will prepare the conditions for a more progressive socialist society that can develop productive forces more freely in the future.The content of this transformation of production relations is the abolition of the privileges seized by the imperialists in China, the abolition of the feudal land ownership of the landlord class and the old-style rich peasants, and the abolition of the private monopoly capital ownership of the bureaucratic capitalist class.

However, in a class society, all relations of production are protected by the state power of the class.What kind of production relations are protected by the state power of what class, and the so-called state power is first of all the force of the army.If people want to overthrow the old production relations and establish new production relations, sooner or later people will overthrow the old state power and establish new state power.If the Chinese people want to abolish imperialist, feudal and comprador production relations, complete national independence, implement land reform, confiscate bureaucratic capital, establish new-democratic production relations, and thereby develop China's productive forces, they must overthrow foreign imperialism The reactionary and decadent state power that combines the landlord class, the bureaucratic capitalist class and the old-style rich peasants in the country must first eliminate all reactionary troops.It is for this purpose that the Chinese people, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese People's Liberation Army are now engaged in a great, sacred and just revolutionary war.And this revolutionary war is now getting closer and closer to national victory.

Printed from originals kept at the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is the first and second chapters of the "Regulations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Division and Treatment of Social Classes in Land Reform" (draft).These two chapters were written by Mao Zedong.The entire draft regulation has twenty-five chapters.Mao Zedong said in a telegram to Liu Shaoqi on February 20, 1948: "This document actually has several characteristics of party program, political platform, and policy. If we want to win national victory, we need such a document. Only the regulations for political, economic and social life can be clearly followed.” This regulation was drafted in the winter of 1947, and was reviewed and revised by Mao Zedong on February 15, 1948. Leading organs discuss, regulations are not issued. [2] See Marx's Preface to the Critique of Political Economy.The new translation is: "In the social production of their own lives, people have certain, inevitable relations that are independent of their will, that is, production relations that are suitable for a certain stage of development of their material productive forces. These production relations The sum total of which constitutes the economic structure of society, that is, the real basis upon which a legal and political superstructure rises and to which definite forms of social consciousness correspond. The mode of production of material life conditions the whole of social, political and spiritual life The process of life. It is not the consciousness of people that determines their existence, on the contrary, it is their social existence that determines their consciousness. When the material productive forces of society develop to a certain stage, they are in harmony with the existing relations of production or property in which they have been moving (this Only the legal terms of the relations of production) contradict each other. These relations then change from the form of development of the productive forces to the fetters of the productive forces. Then the era of social revolution will come. With the change of the economic base, the entire huge superstructure will also be slowed down. Changes may occur soon." ("Selected Works of Marx and Engels", Volume 2, People's Publishing House, 1995 edition, pages 32-33) [3] The statement that the semi-proletariat is also the leading class of the Chinese revolution was later amended by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.On December 23, 1951, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Revised Instructions Concerning the Question of the Leading Class of the Chinese Revolution" which stated: "On the question of the leadership of the Chinese revolution, whether in the past or in the future, only the working class ( Led through its vanguard, the Chinese Communist Party, should no longer include the semi-working class.”