From: Luis Quispe <lquispe-AT-blythe.org>
Subject: The Proletarian Cultural Revolution
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 22:09:34 -0500 (EST)



 THE GREAT PROLETARIAN CULTURAL REVOLUTION (GPCR) IN A          
 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in a historical
perspective, is the most transcendental development of
Marxism-Leninism made by Chairman Mao. It is the solution to the
great pending problem of the continuation of the revolution under
the proletarian dictatorship; as Mao put it: "It represents a
more profound and wider new stage in the development of the
Socialist revolution in our country."

What was the situation that presented itself?  As the decision of
the Communist Party of China (CPC) on the GPCR states: "Although
overthrown, the bourgeoisie still tries to avail itself of the
old ideas, culture, habits and ways of the exploiting classes in
order to corrupt the masses and to conquer the minds of the
people in its endeavors to restore its power.  The proletariat
must do exactly the opposite: It must deal merciless, frontal
blows on all the challenges by the bourgeoisie in the ideological
arena and change the spiritual physiognomy of the whole society
using its own ideas, culture, habits and ways.  Our present aim
is to crush, through struggle, those who occupy leading posts and
follow the capitalist road, to criticize and repudiate the
reactionary bourgeois `authorities' in the academic fields, to
criticize and repudiate the ideology of the bourgeoisie and other
exploiting classes, and to transform education, literature, and
art and the rest of areas of the superstructure that do not
correspond to the economic base of socialism, in order to
facilitate the consolidation and the development of the socialist
system".

It was in these conditions that the most Earth-shaking political
process and the greatest mass mobilization the world has ever
seen broke out, and whose objectives were thus outlined by
Chairman Mao: "The present Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
(GPCR) is completely necessary and very timely to consolidate the
proletarian dictatorship, to prevent the restoration of
capitalism, and to build socialism".

We also emphasize two questions:

1) That the GPCR implies a landmark in the development of the
proletarian dictatorship towards the proletariat's securing
political power, concretely expressed in the Revolutionary
Committees; and,

2) The restoration of capitalism in China after the 1976
counter-revolutionary coup is not a negation of the GPCR but it
is plainly part of the contention between restoration and
counter-restoration, and, on the contrary, it shows us the
transcendental historical importance of the GPCR in the
inexorable march of mankind towards Communism.

WORLD REVOLUTION.

Chairman Mao emphasizes the importance of the world revolution as
a unity, on the basis that revolution is the main trend while the
decomposition of imperialism is greater each day, and the role
played by the masses grows more immense each year, masses that
make and shall make their transforming and unstoppable strength
be felt, and reiterates the great truth: EITHER WE ALL ENTER
COMMUNISM OR NOBODY DOES. Within this specific perspective in the
era of imperialism, the great historical moment of the "next 50
to 100 years", and within this context the opening period of
struggle against Yankee imperialism and Soviet
social-imperialism, paper tigers that contend for hegemony and
threaten the world with an atomic war, in the face of which,
firstly we must condemn it, and afterwards, we must prepare
ourselves beforehand in order to oppose it with People's War and
make the revolution. On the other hand, starting from the
historical importance of the oppressed nations and, furthermore,
from their perspective both in the economic and
political relationships that are evolving on account of the
process of decomposition of imperialism, Chairman Mao stated his
thesis that "three worlds delineate themselves".  All of which
leads to the necessity of developing the strategy and tactics of
world revolution. Regrettably, we know little or almost nothing
about Chairman Mao's writings and statements on these
transcendental questions; nevertheless, the very little that is
known shows the grand perspectives which he watched sharply and
the great outlines that we must follow in order to understand and
serve the world proletarian revolution.

SUPERSTRUCTURE, IDEOLOGY, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION.

These and other related issues have been subtly and thoroughly
studied by Chairman Mao.  For that reason, this is also another
basic question that deserves attention.

In conclusion, the contents seen in these fundamental questions
show clearly to whoever wants to see and understand it that we
have, therefore, a new, third, and superior stage of Marxism:
Maoism; and that to be a Marxist in these days demands to be a
Marxist-Leninist-Maoist and mainly Maoist.

All that has been explained in the contents leads us to two
questions:

What is fundamental in Maoism?   Political Power is fundamental
in Maoism.  Political power for the proletariat, political power
based on an armed force led by the Communist Party.  More
explicitly:

1) Political power under the leadership of the proletariat in the
democratic revolution;

2) Political power for the dictatorship of the proletariat in
the socialist and cultural revolutions;

3) Political power based on an armed force led by the Communist
Party, conquered and defended through People's War.

And, what is Maoism?  Maoism is the elevation of Marxism-Leninism
to a new, third, and superior stage in the struggle for
proletarian leadership of the democratic revolution, the
development of the construction of socialism and the continuation
of the revolution under the proletarian dictatorship as a
proletarian cultural revolution; when imperialism deepens its
decomposition and revolution has become the main tendency of
history, amidst the most complex and largest wars seen to date
and the implacable struggle against contemporary revisionism.

On the STRUGGLE AROUND MAOISM.  Briefly, the struggle in China
for establishing Mao Tse-tung Thought begins in 1935 at the
Tsunyi Meeting, when Chairman Mao assumed the leadership of the
Communist Party of China (CPC); in 1945 the VII Congress agreed
that the CPC was guided by Marxism-Leninism Mao Tse-tung Though,
a specification suppressed by the VIII Congress, for a rightist
line prevailed in it.  The IX Congress in 1969 resumed the GPCR
and ratified that the CPC is guided by Marxism-Leninism-Mao
Tse-tung Thought; that was as far as it advanced.

On an international level, it acquires influence from the 1950's
onwards; but it is with the GPCR that it is intensely spread out
and its prestige rises powerfully and Chairman Mao becomes
acknowledged as the head of the world revolution and originator
of a new stage in Marxism-Leninism; thus, a great number of
Communist Parties assume the denomination of Marxism-Leninism-Mao
Tse-tung Thought.  On the world level, Maoism confronted
contemporary revisionism openly and pitilessly unmasking it
profoundly and forcefully, and likewise it did so in the CPC's
own ranks, all of which raised the Chairman's great red banner
still more: The new, third, and superior stage of the ideology of
the international proletariat. At present (1988), Maoism
confronts the triple attack of Soviet, Chinese and Albanian
revisionism.  But today, furthermore, even among those who
acknowledge the Chairman's great contributions including
development of Marxism, there are some who consider that we are
still in the stage of Marxism-Leninism, and others who only
accept Mao Tse-tung Thought but by no means Maoism.

In this country [Peru], obviously, the revisionists who follow
the baton of their diverse masters, Gorbachev, Teng, Alia or
Castro have attacked and go on furiously attacking Maoism; among
them one must condemn, unmask, and implacably combat Del Prado's
callous revisionism and his gang, the so called "Peruvian
Communist Party"; the abject deviousness of the self-proclaimed
"Communist Party of Peru, Patria Roja" who, from raising
themselves up as "great Maoists" became Deng's servants, after
having condemned him when he was defenestrated in 1976, as well
as the anti-Maoism of the so called "Izquierda Unida" (United
Left), in whose hear swarm all the revisionist and even
anti-Marxist positions passed off by false Marxists and
opportunists of many kinds.  We must raise Maoism
as a revealing mirror for revisionists in order to combat them
implacably, working for the development of the People's War and
the triumph of the democratic revolution underway, which is an
unavoidable and unrenounceable task of a strategic character.

The Communist Party of Peru, through the fraction led by
President Gonzalo, who propelled its reconstitution, took up
Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought in 1966. In 1979 the slogan
"Raise, defend, and apply Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung
Thought!"; in 1981: "Towards Maoism!"; and, in 1982, took Maoism
as an integral part and superior development of the ideology of
the international proletariat: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.  It is
with the People's War that we have understood more deeply what
Maoism implies and we have taken up the solemn pledge to "Raise,
defend, and apply Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism!"
and to work restlessly in helping to place it as leader and guide
of the world revolution, the only reddest and unwithering banner
that is the guarantee of triumph for the proletariat, the
oppressed nations, and peoples of the world in their inexorable,
combative march of iron legions towards the golden and always
resplendent Communism.

============================Published by The New Flag
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E-Mail:lquispe-AT-nyxfer.blythe,org
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