02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Everyone Can be Arrogant
Many things may become baggage, may become encumbrances if we cling to them blindly and uncriticaliy. Let us take some illustrations. Having made mistakes, you may feel that, come what may, you are saddled with them and so become dispirited; if you have not made mistakes, you may feel that you are free from error and so become conceited. Lack of achievement in work may breed pessimism and depression, while achievement may breed pride and arrogance. A comrade with a short record of struggle ma... 1 
notes
notesAll people have some specialization that allows them to look down on others.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
"No investigation no right to speak"
Everyone engaged in practical work must investigate conditions at the lower levels. Such investigation is especially necessary for those who know theory but do not know the actual conditions, for otherwise they will not be able to link theory with practice. Although my assertion, "No investigation no right to speak", has been ridiculed as "narrow empiricism", to this day I do not regret having made it; far from regretting it, I still insist that without investigation there cannot possibly be ...Folksonomies: empiricism
Folksonomies: empiricism
1 notes
notesPeople who speak without first gaining understanding are not providing anything constructive.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Failure as a Prerequisite to Success
If a man wants to succeed in his work, that is, to achieve the anticipated results, he must bring his ideas into correspondence with the laws of the objective external world; if they do not correspond, he will fail in his practice. After he fails, he draws his lessons, corrects his ideas to make them correspond to the laws of the external world, and can thus turn failure into success; this is what is meant by "failure is the mother of success" and "a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit".
"... 1 notes
notesAlso experience is a product of failure.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Knowledge Requires Interaction with the Material World
Where do correct ideas come from? Do they drop from the skies? No. Are they innate in the mind? No. They come from social practice, and from it alone; they come from three kinds of social practice, the struggle for production, the class struggle and scientific experiment.
Where Do Correct Ideas Come from? (May 1963), 1st pocket ed., p. 1.
It is man's social being that determines his thinking. Once the correct ideas characteristic of the advanced class are grasped by the masses, these ideas... 1 notes
notesWe have no other way of knowing things.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Imperialism and Feudalism are Mountains Weighing Down the...
There is an ancient Chinese fable called "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains". It tells of an old man who lived in northern China long, long ago and was known as the Foolish Old Man of North Mountain. His house faced south and beyond his doorway stood the two great peaks, Taihang and Wangwu, obstructing the way. With great determination, he led his sons in digging up these mountains hoe in hand. Another greybeard, known as the Wise Old Man, saw them and said derisively, "How silly ...Folksonomies: government revolution
Folksonomies: government revolution
1 notes
notesThe Chinese overthrew kings just as Americans and Europeans did.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Patriotism VS Nationalism
Can a Communist, who is an internationalist, at the same time be a patriot? We hold that he not only can be but must be. The specific content of patriotism is determined by historical conditions. There is the "patriotism" of the Japanese aggressors and of Hitler, and there is our patriotism. Communists must resolutely oppose the "patriotism" of the Japanese aggressors and of Hitler. The Communists of Japan and Germany are defeatists with regard to the wars being waged by their countries. To b... 1 notes
notesMao appears to be arguing for balance and for the rejection of certain kinds of patriotism that hurt the homeland, as what he sees in Germany and Japan of the time.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Ultra-Democracy
Education in democracy must be carried on within the Party so that members can understand the meaning of democratic life, the meaning of the relationship between democracy and centralism, and the way in which democratic centralism should be put into practice. Only in this way can we really extend democracy within the Party and at the same time avoid ultra-democracy and the laissez-faire which destroys discipline.
"The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War" (October 1938), ... 1 notes
notesAn interesting concept from the perspective of Mao's socialism, a democracy that goes too far and becomes corrupt under its own (greed?).
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
The Power of the Masses
The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.
"On Coalition Government" (April 24, 1945), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 257.*
The masses are the real heroes, while we ourselves are often childish and ignorant, and without this understanding it is impossible to acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge.
"Preface and Postscript to Rural Surveys" (March and April 1941), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 12.*
The masses have boundless creative power. T... 1 notes
notesMao on the power and heroism of the collective.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Resolving Contradictions in Society
In the conditions prevailing in China today, the contradictions among the people comprise the contradictions within the working class, the contradictions within the peasantry, the contradictions within the intelligentsia, the contradictions between the working class and the peasantry, the contradictions between the workers and peasants on the one hand and the intellectuals on the other, the contradictions between the working class and other sections of the working people on the one hand and t... 1 notes
notesThe term "contradictions" here describes social conflicts, conflicts of interest.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Historical Materialism VS Historical Idealism
Classes struggle, some classes triumph, others are eliminated. Such is history, such is tlhe history of civilization for thousands of years. To interpret history from this viewpoint is historical materialism; standing in opposition to this viewpoint is historical idealism.
"Cast Away Illusions, Prepare for Struggle" (August 14, 1949), Selected Works, Vol. IV, p. 428.
1 notes
notesIf we accept history as rules that guide the future, we give up possibilities for better futures.
