Chapter 67 The election policy of the Seventh Central Committee[1]

(May 24, 1945) Comrades! Our conference went very smoothly, the three agenda items have already passed, and the conclusion of the conference can be done in two days. The fourth agenda item is the election of the Central Committee.Regarding the election policy, the presidium has exchanged opinions several times and decided on a policy, which I will report to comrades now. an election standard We want to elect a leading body of the whole party, that is, the Central Committee, the highest leading body of the whole party after the congress is closed and between two congresses.What standard should we adopt and what principles should we use to conduct elections? The directors of the various delegations reflected the opinions of many comrades, some of them were of this kind and some were of that kind.The Presidium believes that such a standard should be adopted, that is, the Central Committee must be composed of comrades who can guarantee the implementation of the congress line.It is better and more appropriate to adopt such a principle.Such a principle should be our principle for electing the Central Committee.

This time, many comrades who were not members of the Central Committee will be elected to the Central Committee.That is to say, there are two groups of people to be elected to the Central Committee.One group was former comrades from the Central Committee, and the number was not very large.It has been seventeen years since the Sixth Congress. During these seventeen years, there have been several elections at the Third Plenum[2], Fourth Plenum[3], Fifth Plenary[4] and Sixth Plenum[5]. , there are still twenty-five members of the Central Committee left.Most of these twenty-five people should continue to be elected to the Central Committee because they have a lot of experience.Furthermore, a large number of comrades who did not work in the Central Committee should be elected to the Central Committee, because they also have a lot of experience.The new Central Committee must be larger than the twenty-five members of the old Central Committee, and our Congress must adopt the policy of expanding the Central Committee.Such a policy is suitable for the current situation of our Party, the domestic situation and the international situation.That is to say, the new Central Committee should not be too small or too large, but it must be larger than the current Central Committee, so that it can adapt to the current situation of the party, future development, and international and domestic situations.

According to such standards and principles, it was proposed: (1) Should comrades who have made mistakes be elected? Now there are two opinions, one is that they should not be elected, and the other is that they should be elected. (2) In this election, the Central Committee will promote many comrades who did not work in the Central Committee to the Central Committee. Do you want to take care of all aspects? The so-called should you take care of the mountains? There are also two considerations, one is not to take care of, the other is The species is to be cared for. (3) The qualifications and standards for members of the Central Committee are to be able to implement the line of the congress. This is important, but what are the requirements for his ability? Do we need people with knowledge in various fields to choose him? Or is there a certain aspect or a certain Those with some knowledge can be elected? This question has also been raised by comrades.In short, there are three problems in elections.

Regarding the first point, should comrades who have made mistakes in the line be elected? Only those who have not made mistakes in the line should be elected, and we will not elect those who have made mistakes in the line. A good ideal.This opinion is justified, because we suffered losses in the past because some comrades made mistakes in line.Comrades! Our congress is very different from the previous congresses. I have participated in the past three congresses. The delegates are generally not very serious about elections, and only a few of them are serious.As for this conference, our comrades from all walks of life are very serious about the election.What does this prove? Proof that we have experience.In the past, our experience was very insufficient, and we felt that I myself could not be elected to the Central Committee. You can nominate a group of people, and I will choose whoever you nominate. In the end, we ourselves were punished.The situation has changed this time, and everyone is very concerned about the election.So there is a reason for this question to be raised.But, in fact, if we don't choose people who have made mistakes in the line of work in the past, or even absolutely no one, it will be bad and inappropriate.

Let me tell you a little bit about the history of our party. We have done such a thing, that is, the Sixth Congress did not elect Chen Duxiu[6] to the Central Committee.Is the result good? Chen Duxiu later went outside the party to do bad things. It is wrong not to choose him now.Is it because our party did not elect Chen Duxiu at the Sixth Congress, and since then there have been no troubles, the world is peaceful, and the problem has been solved? The Central Committee elected at the Sixth Congress is very pure. There is no Chen Duxiu, but our party still has shortcomings, and disputes still arise , something went wrong, somersaults, not because he was not elected, we will not have disputes, no mistakes, no somersaults.There is one reason for not electing Chen Duxiu, which is to save time and effort.I said at the preparatory meeting that in the past we wanted to be simple and convenient, and we were unwilling to cooperate with people who disagreed with us. This kind of sentiment still exists in our party quite seriously.Another time, it was the Fourth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee that expelled Li Lisan[7] from the Politburo and asked him to leave the work of the Central Committee. Although the name of the Central Committee member was retained, the actual work left.I thought that in this way the problem of the Li-san line would be solved.Is it really solved? We drove Chen Duxiu away completely, but we still stumbled; Li Lisan did not go outside the party to do bad things, he is still a comrade, but the work of the Politburo was kicked out, and the work of the Central Committee was also kicked out. But the fourth plenary session also stumbled. The day when I chased Li Lisan was a muscle, and I turned over a lot after that.These two experiences are worthy of our attention and study.

Our party also has another aspect of experience.In the last ten years, from the Zunyi Conference in January 1935[8] to the present Seventh Congress, what has the Central Committee been like in these ten years? The main members of the committee were elected by the Fourth Plenary Session and the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Committee. Now there are only five members elected by the Sixth Central Committee[9]. , The fifth plenary session of the election is the election of the two plenary sessions of the somersault.The Sixth Plenary Session also selected three candidates.Precisely in the past ten years, there have been fewer somersaults and fewer disturbances, and our work has made progress.Is this experience very important? It is a very important experience.At the Zunyi Conference in January 1935, those who actively supported the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee, that is, those who had made mistakes in the third "Left" line, came out to oppose the third "Left" line. Together with other comrades they opposed this "Left" line.Putting this account on me now, I want to declare that none of these comrades and many others - all comrades who opposed the "Left" line, including some very important ones in the third "Left" line mistakes Comrades, without their sponsorship, the Zunyi Conference would not have been possible.The second time is the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee. As you all know, the Sixth Plenary Session is an important key. Without the Sixth Plenary Session, the situation today would not be as great.At that time, if we did not overcome the tendency to disapprove of the line of mobilizing the masses, fearing it, and willingly restraining ourselves, if we did not agree with mobilizing the masses, we would develop ourselves, develop the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and expand the liberated areas. If we do not get bound by the policies of the Kuomintang reactionaries and at the same time do not depart from the principle of the united front, then the situation today will be different.Who are the people participating in the Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee? Isn't that the same group of people?Without the sponsorship and support for this line of comrades who have made mistakes in the past, the Sixth Plenary Session would not have been able to correct the Rightist capitulation tendency.However, in the documents of the Sixth Plenary Session, in the records of the Sixth Plenary Session, we can’t see what we sharply criticized, because at that time, it was impossible and should not be criticized, but some problems were positively affirmed , that is to say, the problem is actually solved.As for the three years after the rectification movement in 1942, the situation changed even more, and the change was even greater when the resolutions on certain historical issues were made before the Seventh National Congress.I believe that after such an important meeting of the party's top leadership body, such as the Seventh National Congress, our party will move forward in a better direction.Our confidence and estimation are well-founded.Although there were some disputes in the past ten years, they went relatively smoothly. Compared with the three line errors made during the civil war (including Zhang Guotao's [10] one, it was four times), it was not quite the same.During the Civil War, people liked simplicity and were unwilling to work with people who had made mistakes in their line of work. The style of "push away" and "simple and clear" was not good.For the last ten years, we have adopted a patient attitude, and this approach has helped us.Therefore, the Seventh Congress should accept the experience of the past, that is, comrades who have made mistakes in the line should not be pushed away.In the past in the Central Committee, some people made fewer mistakes, while others made more mistakes; I also declare today that I have made many mistakes.Is there anyone who has never made a mistake? I would say no.How can a person not make mistakes in this world? So it is said: "Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone has different sizes."

This is indeed the case.If we adopt this policy and unite with these comrades, based on past experience, we have the confidence and basis to conclude that the future will be better.If it is said that a comrade who has made a mistake in the line should not be elected, I think it is better to adopt the principle that although he has made a mistake in the line, he has admitted his mistake and is determined to correct it, so we can still elect him.Our Bolshevik party is unambiguous in principle. Unlike the bourgeoisie, we must have such a principle of "admitting mistakes and correcting them", and elect him on this principle.This principle is different from the one not selected, which is a very good ideal.Although ideals must be present, there must also be a combination of something called "reality".We are idealistic realism, or revolutionary realism, not unprincipled realism.Idealism is principle, and realism is flexibility. The principle of idealism and the flexibility of realism must be unified. This is the revolutionary realism of Marxism-Leninism.It is ideal that those who have made mistakes should not be elected.But it is not enough to just confirm this one, there is still one missing, that is, we have to elect him if he admits his mistakes and corrects his mistakes.Our party must have a principle that it is not good to make mistakes, but it is good to admit mistakes and correct them.This last item must be added, so that it is comprehensive.These two must be combined, otherwise something will go wrong, we will lose our benefits, we may have shortcomings, and we may even make mistakes.Only by developing a good election method can we avoid the mistakes of the past.In view of the turmoil in history, we must be more cautious this time. It is not that we will not elect all those who have made mistakes, but we will still elect comrades as long as they admit their mistakes and are determined to correct them.That's realism, and that's a principle.These two principles seem to be inconsistent, but only by combining these two principles can things be done well.Only this is completely correct, otherwise, it will not be completely correct, it will not be done well, and mistakes will be made.I don't see any comrade who wants to make mistakes and says "I must make mistakes".It will not work if we do not analyze the problem of some comrades making mistakes, do not make a concrete analysis of history, and do not adopt revolutionary realism.That is to say, if we do not combine idealism with realism, and principle with flexibility, then we will create flaws, shortcomings, and even mistakes.This point must be raised with comrades.We are reluctant to choose comrades who have made mistakes emotionally, but we can choose intellectually.Emotion and reason, these two things, now we want to unify, and it is also possible to unify, that is, emotion under the guidance of reason, and put reason first.In view of history, for the future, for the people of the whole country, and for the whole Party, we must adopt this policy—a realistic policy.In the past, Chen Duxiu and Li Lisan were happy and clear. From an emotional point of view, they were very happy and had no troubles, but in the end they were unhappy and very troubled.Things in the world are often like this, just for the sake of pleasure, often it is unpleasant instead, and we prepare for unpleasantness, or less pleasure.Therefore, we must make up our minds not to be afraid of trouble, and make up our minds to cooperate with comrades who have made mistakes.If you don’t come often, I will go; you have a lot of gossip, and I have grown ears, and I can’t finish listening with one ear and the other; you say that the windows over there are not open enough, and I will open even this side.To practice working with people with whom I have had troubles, disagreements of principle, with whom I have been beaten, and with whom I have been expelled from the Party.We unite and cooperate with him on the principle of asking him to recognize his mistakes and correct them.This one really needs to be practiced, if you don't practice you can't do it, but if you practice it you can do it.So the contradiction between emotion and reason can be resolved.

Let me cite another example of Marx and Engels here, based on international experience.When Marx and Engels organized the First International, in order to unite the masses of Spain, France, and Italy, they cooperated with the anarchists, also with the Italian liberal bourgeoisie and bourgeois democrats, and with Mazzini[11] cooperate.Marx and Engels set such an example, which tells us to avoid sectarianism, because it is essentially a problem for the masses.At that time, the anarchists had a large number of people, so we had to cooperate with them, gradually reform and influence them.Later, the anarchists split off, and the Italian democrats stopped doing it, but this does not damage Marxism. If you don’t do it, don’t do it!

Both Chinese and foreign experience tell us that the party should be as united as possible.What is our principle? It is to unite as many people as possible under our program and strive for their unity and cooperation with us.I have already said in the report that any comrade, as long as he is willing to abide by the party's program and constitution and obey the party's resolutions, we must unite with him.Our unity is also based on principles, that is, to abide by the party program and constitution, obey resolutions, and unite with all comrades under such principles.this is a problem.

Regarding the second point, should we take care of all aspects? This question is the so-called question of taking care of the mountains.There are also two solutions, one is to take care of it, the other is not to take care of it.The Bureau thinks it is better to take care of it.Comrade Fu Zhong[12] gave a very good speech here yesterday, and I agree with it all.In elections, should we take care of the mountains? Should we take care of all aspects? I think the idea that we should not take care of the mountains or all aspects is also an ideal, but in fact it is not feasible. In fact, we still need to take care of it. Well, caring is more beneficial than not caring.The Chinese revolution has many mountains and many parts. During the civil war, there were Soviet areas and White areas, and within the Soviet areas there were this part and that part. This is the reality of the Chinese revolution.Without this reality, the Chinese revolution would be invisible.The Civil War was followed by the Eight-Year War of Resistance. During the War of Resistance, there were also hills, that is to say, there were many anti-Japanese base areas, and there were also many white areas, both in the north and in the south.Is this situation good? I say good, this is the reality of the Chinese revolution, without these there would be no Chinese revolution.So this is a good thing, not a bad thing.What is bad is hilltopism and sectarianism, not hilltopism.What's wrong with the top of the mountain? What's wrong with Qingliang Mountain? What's wrong with Taihang Mountain? What's wrong with Wutai Mountain? None.But it is not good to have hilltopism.Therefore, when analyzing these issues, it does not mean that everyone in any base area has hilltopism.There are also various degrees of differences in the sentiment of mountainism. For example, there are differences in the First and Fourth Front Armies. On the one hand, there are several sections in the Army. Comrade Fu Zhong talked about it yesterday.There are differences between the First, Second, and Fourth Front Armies, as well as the differences between the Third Army, the Seventh Army, and the Tenth Army. Because working in different places, the situation is different, and the relationship is not done well. Do good to cause.Yesterday, Comrade Fu Zhong talked about the relationship between the mountain and the outside. If the relationship is good, mountainism can be eliminated.But many things are still blind, and the work cannot be done well, so we need to analyze it first.Now we are here to move stones and make connections.Now let's come to him with a conclusive method, move away big and small rocks one after another, so that the relationship will be better, there will be fewer hilltops, and there will be less hilltopism, so half of it will be eliminated; and then the mutual relationship will be improved , that half is gone.There are mountains but no doctrines. Another doctrine is called Marxism, and it is called Marxism on the mountains.In the past, some people said that there is no Marxism on the mountain. Now we change the word "nothing" and say that there is Marxism on the mountain.If there is no Marxism on the mountain, then our Seventh National Congress will not have Marxism, because the Seventh National Congress was held in Qingliang Mountain.

You must know the top of the mountain.In the past, we said that we should recognize the top of the mountain, admit that there is such a thing in the world, or it is more appropriate to say that we should know the top of the mountain, we must understand it.Taking care must also be taken care of, and only after we know it can we take care of it, and the care can be gradually reduced before it can be eliminated.Therefore, to eliminate the mountains, we must know the mountains, take care of the mountains, and shrink the mountains. This is a dialectical relationship.When the relationship between the top of the mountain is well established, first it is inside the mountain, and then outside the mountain. The top of the mountain will soon be eradicated, so don't be afraid.Many years from now, there will be a network of railways all over the country, and there will be more planes traveling there than in the past few days. At that time, if you look for hills, there will be no more.Without the development of industries across the country and the convenience of transportation, it will be impossible to completely eradicate mountain-topism.Now that our revolution has developed and our bases have grown in number and strength, if we get rid of our blindness and become better at handling contradictions, we will certainly be able to solve problems better. The previous Central Committee, that is, the Central Committee before the Seventh National Congress, did not reflect this actual situation, that is to say, the organizational composition did not reflect the revolutionary forces in various fields. Therefore, this Central Committee is incomplete and has shortcomings.Since the rectification movement, we have proposed to recognize and take care of the mountains, and this has been reflected in the policies, but it has not been reflected in the organizational components.This is a shortcoming and is not good.In view of this, we must pay attention to this issue in this election.The new Central Committee should reflect this and be one with the fewest flaws.It may be difficult to completely avoid the disadvantage, but we can have it a little less, and it is possible to make it a little less. Taking into account the first point mentioned above, we can elect people who have made mistakes in the line; taking into account the second point, we will enable our party to reflect the revolutionary forces in all fields.In this way, our shortcomings will be less. Regarding the third point, should every member of the Central Committee be proficient in all aspects of knowledge? There are also two opinions. One is that every member of the Central Committee should be proficient in various aspects of knowledge, and the other is that every member of the Central Committee does not necessarily have to be proficient in all aspects of knowledge. knowledge in all aspects.The Bureau believes that the former opinion is also a very good ideal, and it is reasonable. If it can be done, it is of course very good.But in fact, it is impossible for any one person to be proficient in all aspects of knowledge.The so-called knowledge in all aspects is the logic of the development of things in all aspects.Stalin said: The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has all kinds of talents, including those in culture and education, in economic construction, and in all aspects.Our new center should also include all kinds of talents, taking care of all aspects, departments, and hills as much as possible.What I'm talking about is taking care of everything as much as possible. If all aspects are taken care of so carefully and completely, it may be a kind of make-up. That's not good, and it's not good to not take care of it at all.Therefore, there is a struggle on two fronts.For people who have made mistakes in the past, we choose them unprincipled, and they don’t admit their mistakes or correct them. We still want to elect them. This is right; ".The same is true for the requirements for knowledge, as much as possible to be proficient in as many aspects as possible. We adopt this policy: It is not necessary to require everyone to be proficient in all aspects of knowledge, it is enough to be proficient in one aspect or a few more aspects of knowledge. If these people are gathered together, it will become a central committee that is proficient in all aspects of knowledge.There is an old Chinese saying: Three cobblers make one Zhuge Liang.If we have people from all walks of life, everyone is proficient in one aspect or has more expertise, and if we choose dozens of people like this, our center will be relatively complete.We must seek perfection from the collective, not from the individual.We should be complete or relatively complete, but in a few years our center will be incomplete again.For example, economic construction has just started now, and large-scale industry will be developed in the future. Comrade Chen Yun[13] said not to smash machines, and we are quite unfamiliar with large-scale industry.Why did this conference propose that the machines should not be smashed? Because we have no knowledge in this area, and because of our lack of knowledge, we smashed machines in the past. When we entered the city, we broke the glass and smashed the machines. Only then did the question of not smashing the machine be raised.In view of the incompleteness of the past center, the selection of another center will still be incomplete in the future. Therefore, we have a learning task.Are we military wise now? Comrade Lin Biao[14] said two days ago that we are better than some aspects of the Kuomintang.But there are things we can't compare to them. For example, we don't know how to drive tanks, fly planes, or shoot cannons.On this point, our Party is not complete, nor is it complete in terms of economic construction and cultural construction.So what should we do? Let's do a more complete one, practice a realism, and then learn from it.To elect the Central Committee, one must choose someone who has the spirit of learning. It doesn't matter if he doesn't understand, we elect him and let him learn.Our election should be guided by such a policy, that is, not seeking perfection from the individual, but seeking perfection from the collective, and seeking perfection from the study of reality. Generally speaking, the comrades representing our Congress should have a hope, that there is a Central Committee that includes a large number of comrades who have not made mistakes in line (this does not mean that they have not made mistakes in line, but that they have not made mistakes in line). We must also include a group of comrades who have made mistakes in the line in the past but today express their abandonment of the wrong line and accept the correct line; we must include a large number of comrades with national influence (that is, those who are famous and have influence throughout the country), and we must also include It includes a large number of comrades who had local influence in the past and may have national influence in the future.Comrades who have local influence now and may have national influence in the future, we should promote them to the Central Committee and elevate them, because we will continue to develop in the future.We now have a population of nearly 100 million, and we will continue to grow in the future. Soon we may have a population of 200 million, and perhaps even more. Therefore, we must train our leaders now, and we must first train the members of the Central Committee.The Central Committee is the leader of our party, and the whole party must watch it with its eyes, which is training; talk about it with its mouth, and this is training; open the windows to let air in, and this is training.Although our central committee was small in the past, with only a dozen or so people, it did something, but now it should expand a bit.Therefore, we must consciously train leading cadres. This does not mean that we need to deliberately recruit "famous cadres" now, but we must train them if there is such a possibility, so as to adapt to the developing Chinese revolution.This center should also include a group of comrades who are proficient in more fields, and also include a large number of comrades who are proficient in relatively few fields or who are specialized in one aspect.In short, the new Central Committee should include the following comrades: a large number of comrades who have not made mistakes in the line, a group of comrades who have made mistakes in the line and corrected them; Influenced comrades; a group of comrades who are well versed in many aspects, and a large number of comrades who are well versed in relatively few aspects.If, after consideration by comrades, the organizational line of the bureau is adopted, we believe that this central committee will have fewer shortcomings.Such a central committee can guarantee the implementation of the congress line, including the political line and the organizational line.That is to say, the new central government must be able to understand ideas and unite comrades.Comrades! Our congress will elect such a central committee.We have a large number of deputies, and some comrades gave him a deputation title, but he didn't want it. Many comrades asked not to be elected as members of the Central Committee. This attitude is good.Confucius once said: "Be fearful in the face of an event, and plan to succeed." [15] Don't say that the revolution did not win because I did not become a member of the Central Committee. It is not good to say that.We must choose carefully and take office carefully. This is a good attitude.Only such a central government can ensure the implementation of the line of the congress; such a central government can avoid or largely avoid repeating historical shortcomings and mistakes; only such a central government is suitable for the current development of our party and adapts to future development. Only such a central government can have a good influence on the comrades of the whole party and the people of the whole country.Such a center is a place with fewer defects, a place with greater security, and a place where people feel more at ease.Historical experience proves that if you want to have fun, you will not have fun; if you prepare for trouble, there will be less trouble.Things in the world are generally like this. A few more questions need to be explained: Did some comrades say that such a central government is not too complicated? Some comrades worry that a group of people will inevitably fall behind and fall behind, that is, what to do if they make mistakes again? Can you guarantee that they will not make mistakes? Some people say that this kind of election is not very fair. There are only so many people on the list, and if we have to take care of one aspect and another aspect, it will inevitably prevent some comrades, even those with relatively strong abilities, from being elected. This is unfair. First, on complex issues.Our party used to be complex, and now I will talk about the complex history.Our party was complicated in the late period of the Great Revolution, and there was a wrong Chen Duxiu line that had not been liquidated.What was the result? Because this pet revolution failed, it was a bad result.When the revolution failed, tens of thousands of people were injured, the party was greatly shrunk, and it was driven underground.This is the first period.The second period is from the failure of the Great Revolution to the Zunyi Conference.During this period, there used to be the putschism line and the Lisan line in our party. Although they were liquidated later, they did not solve the problem, and there was also the third "Left" line and the Zhang Guotao line that had not been liquidated for a long time.Is this situation complex? Complex, and the route is complex.Have you suffered a loss? You have suffered a loss, and you have suffered a great loss.It has already been written in the "Resolution on Certain Questions of History".The third period is from the Zunyi Conference to the Seventh National Congress.This can be divided into two sections.The first paragraph, from the Zunyi Conference to the Sixth Plenary Session, was the third time that the rule of the "Left" line in the Party Central Committee had come to an end, but it had not yet been completely liquidated ideologically.If one thing is not done thoroughly, the problem cannot be finally solved, so some troubles have occurred again.In the second stage, from the Sixth Plenary Session to the Seventh National Congress, the "Left" leaning line was gradually and relatively thoroughly liquidated.Comparing the above three periods, which period is not complicated? The first period has complicated and complicated lines; the second period has several complicated and complicated lines; Afterwards, especially after three years of rectification, the complicated problems were solved, but there were still so many people—twenty-five members of the Central Committee.Is this a fact? It is a fact.Therefore, people who have made mistakes and turned somersaults in the past should look at them with new eyes. It is true that they have made mistakes, but it is not appropriate to say that they still make mistakes now.Ten years since the Zunyi Conference, seven years since the Sixth Plenary Session, and three years since the Rectification Movement have gradually changed the complicated past, and now it is less complicated.One is complex, one is not complex, there is a difference in nature.Is it a qualitative difference or a quantitative difference? It is a qualitative difference, a difference in nature.We must grasp this quality, if we do not grasp this point, it will be bad.We must remember this history, and there is no need to be afraid of the issue of complexities. Re-electing them will not make our new center very dangerous. Second, will we fall behind and make mistakes again? Some comrades who have made mistakes in the line have made very good self-criticisms, and our congress representatives unanimously welcome them.When they speak, they hope to correct their mistakes with the help of the congress delegates.I think this tells a truth, which is the so-called "one hero and three helpers", "although the lotus is good, it needs the support of green leaves", everyone needs help, mutual criticism, self-criticism, and everyone's help can make progress. in order to solve the problem.Judging from the current situation of our entire Party, from the situation of our current congress, as well as from our experience in the past three periods, good and bad events during the eight years of the War of Resistance, and experience in the rectification movement, we can all prove this. truth.There will be fewer problems of being outdated and repeating mistakes than in the past. Can you say this? It can be said this way, that is to say, it is more guaranteed.Then is it possible to have absolute guarantees? It cannot be said in the same way, there is still the possibility of falling behind and making mistakes again.Comrades who have made mistakes in the past may make mistakes again if they are not cautious; comrades who have not made mistakes are more likely to make mistakes if they are not cautious.Because pushing a cart and walking, there will be a difference between those who have fallen and those who have not, and those who have experience and those who have not.Those who have never fallen while pushing a cart should pay more attention and be more cautious. Maybe it is just when you are happy and complacent and say "I have never fallen before", you happen to fall and overturn the cart.People who have fallen in the past tend to be more stable, looking around, and people standing on both sides reminded: "Be careful, you have fallen in the past!" He also has more helpers.However, at any time, there are three situations: advanced, intermediate, and relatively backward. Now I can't guarantee that I will never choose a wrong person for this conference.It seems that he is good now, and he will be bad in the future. There is still a possibility of this.We are going to elect dozens of people this time, and there may be a few of them who squatted down with sore feet on the way, so they may fall behind and fall behind.Those who have never fallen or turned somersaults in the past may fall once this time, and those who have fallen may fall again.Has such a thing ever happened in the world? Ordinary people push their carts. It doesn’t mean that if you fall once, you won’t fall again. Maybe you can fall several times.Therefore, if one of the dozens of people is not left behind, this insurance cannot be guaranteed.We have to elect dozens of Central Committee members to push carts, load millet, push and pull, and some millet may be missed, but as long as there is food to eat tomorrow morning.Of course, you have to be cautious, otherwise a lot of food will be dumped, and there will be no food tomorrow.At the same time, don’t be afraid. It’s okay to lose one or two, two or three millets. We produce a lot of millet, so it doesn’t matter if you lose two or three millets.If one of the coachmen is not doing well, another election can be made at the eighth congress, or at the national congress held between the two congresses. Third, on the issue of unfairness.We must take care of all aspects. In the old ones, there are those who have made mistakes in the line and those who have not. Both aspects must be taken care of;This kind of care, as I said before, is just as much care as possible.Knowledge is also to know as much as possible, but know less, and we will choose him when necessary.This will cause a problem. Since the old and the new must be taken care of, knowledge does not necessarily cover all aspects, and we cannot elect tens of thousands of members of the Central Committee. Isn't it unfair that comrades who are better and who have made contributions to the party were not elected? From one perspective, it is unfair; but from a larger perspective, from an overall perspective, it is fair.Because although comrades who have made mistakes and corrected them are different from comrades who have not made mistakes, if we do not elect them, if we choose only comrades who have not made mistakes, there will be other shortcomings, so we must elect them.Of course, this is also a suggestion.Because we have to take care of all aspects, some comrades could have been elected based on their ability and knowledge, but they were not elected. This kind of situation will happen, that is to say, we must have this kind of preparation.If we don’t clarify this issue here, some comrades will say: Those who have made mistakes will be elected, but those who have not made mistakes will not be elected; people with less knowledge than me will be elected, but I will not be elected if I am not bad. .对这种情况，我们大家在精神上都要有准备。大会闭幕以后，如果有同志对这个选举方针不理解，我们要好好解释，从历史上解释，从历史的经验上说明这个方针。 二选举的人数 今天要通过选举法，选举法的第一条，就规定了要提两回候选名单，第一回是预选的名单，第二回是正式选举的名单。通过选举法以后，大家就要考虑，在代表团进行小组酝酿，明天或后天主席团就要提出预选的名单。 关于人数问题，主席团考虑了很久，但是没有提出确定的人数，我做这样一个数目字的提议，叫做七十人左右。上面我讲过，我们要照顾各个方面，照顾新提拔的、知识比较多的、知识比较少的、代表各个地方的革命力量的，这个数目字要有多大呢?要有七十人左右。在人数问题上，也考虑过三个方案，一个是一百人左右，一个是七十人左右，一个是三十人左右，就是大、中、小的三个方案。这三个方案中，我想我们两头不要，取一个中间，就是七十人左右。主席团认为这个方案比较好，太小了不能够反映我们党的现状和发展，今天我们党有一百多万党员，将来还要发展，比如一年之内可能发展到两百万党员。新的中央委员会比过去扩大些，扩大到七十人左右可以不可以?我想可以，应该采取这样的方针。我们要采取一个慎重的方针，不要选得太多，但是也不要选得太少。三十个人、四十个人左右太少了，一百个人左右太多了，七十个人左右很好。我代表主席团提出这些意见，当然最后还是决定于大家。 这次选举，同志们是要为着保证大会路线的实行，要考虑这是有关全党的利害的，对党、对人民是有利还是比较没有利?是完全有利的，是完全为着有利的。这里还要特别提出的是:我们要注意没有到会的、我们不认识的同志，如果候选名单里有他的名字，我们就要注意；自然，到了会的也不见得都认识，这就要经过各代表团主任的介绍。这样，我们这次选举，就会选举出一个比较好的(当然是比较的)领导机关，作为指挥中国革命的工具。我们是马克思主义者，我们相信工具论。政府是什么东西呢?国家是什么东西呢?马克思和恩格斯认为，国家是一个阶级压迫另外一个阶级的机关，是个机器，是个工具。我们的政府是什么呢?是压迫反革命的工具。反革命的政府是什么呢?是压迫革命的工具。总之，都是一种工具，这是马克思主义者的看法。党是阶级斗争的工具，政府也是工具，党的中央委员会、党的领导机关，也是党的工具，都是阶级斗争的工具。我们党是阶级的领袖，中央是全党的领袖，我们都当作工具来看。这一点，我今天讲一下。过去我们有许多同志不了解这个问题，认为自己是英雄，出来是干革命的，很有一番自豪。有一番自豪是对的，但应该是作为工具的一番自豪。我们是阶级使用的武器，我们阶级要胜利，就要选出先锋队来。群众是从实践中来选择他们的领导工具、他们的领导者。被选的人，如果自以为了不得，不是自觉地作工具，而以为“我是何等人物”!那就错了。我们党要使人民胜利，就要当工具，自觉地当工具。各个中央委员，各个领导机关都要有这样的认识。这是唯物主义的历史观，就是《国际歌》上所讲的，少奇同志在这里念过几次，“不是神仙，不是皇帝，更不是那些英雄豪杰，全靠自己救自己。”[16]自己救自己，他就要选举党，选举工具。 总之，我们大会主席团希望同志们，全体代表同志，采取这样的选举路线。主席团认为这种希望是反映了代表同志大多数的意见，反映了全党同志大多数的正确意见的。这样的选举路线，如果得到了同志们同意的话，那就这样做。请同志们考虑。 Published based on the transcript of the speech kept by the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1]这是毛泽东在中国共产党第七次全国代表大会上的报告。 [2]三中全会，指一九三○年九月二十四日至二十八日在上海召开的中国共产党第六届中央委员会扩大的第三次全体会议。这次会议指出了李立三的错误，停止了李立三等组织全国总起义和集中全国红军进攻中心城市的冒险行动，决定恢复党、团、工会的独立组织和经常性工作这样，就结束了李立三“左”倾冒险主义错误在中央的统治。But the meeting did not completely get rid of the "left" point of view, thinking that Li Lisan had only made a "strategic error", and did not think it was a wrong line. [3]四中全会，见本卷第76页注[12]。 [4] Fifth Plenary Session, see note [13] on page 77 of this volume. [5]六中全会，见本卷第143页注[4]。 [6]陈独秀，见本卷第101页注[8]。 [7]李立三，见本卷第101页注[9]。 [8]遵义会议，见本卷第102页注[14]。 [9]即毛泽东、周恩来、任弼时、李立三、关向应。 [10]张国焘，见本卷第101页注[7]。 [11]马志尼（一八○五——一八七二），意大利资产阶级革命家，民族解放运动中民主共和派领袖。 [12]傅钟（一九○○——一九八九），四川叙永人。当时任中共中央军委总政治部副主任。 [13]陈云（一九○五——一九九五），江苏青浦（今属上海市）人。当时任中共中央政治局委员、西北局委员、西北财政经济办事处副主任兼政治部主任。 [14]林彪，当时任八路军第一一五师师长。 [15]见《论语·述而》。原文是：“必也临事而惧，好谋而成者也。” [16]这是当时翻译的《国际歌》歌词中的一段。一九六二年四月二十八日《人民日报》发表经过修订的《国际歌》歌词的译文。这段歌词的新译文是：“从来就没有什么救世主，也不靠神仙皇帝。要创造人类的幸福，全靠我们自己。”