Writings on Organization and Mass Line

Colorful Classics #25

by Mao Zedong

This short anthology comprises Mao’s key essays on organization and mass line, including “On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party,” “Combat Liberalism,” and “Rectify the Party's Style of Work,” which offer ideological and theoretical insight and analysis into the complexities of organizational structures and practices. This collection addresses critical issues such as combating bourgeois ideas, opposing bureaucracy, and adhering to the discipline of mass line.

Paperback

Published January 6, 2024

About the author

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung, and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, statesman and leader of the Chinese Revolution. He was the architect and founding father of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949, and held control over the nation until his death in 1976. His theoretical contribution to Marxism–Leninism, along with his military strategies and brand of policies, are collectively known as Maoism.

Mao rose to power by commanding the Long March, forming a Second United Front with Kuomintang (KMT) during the Second Sino-Japanese War to repel a Japanese invasion, and later led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's KMT in the Chinese Civil War. Mao established political and military control over most of the territory formerly contained within the Chinese Empire and launched a campaign to suppress counterrevolutionaries. He sent the Communist People's Liberation Army into Xinjiang and Tibet but was unable to oust the remnants of the Nationalist Party from Taiwan. He enacted sweeping land reform by using violence and terror to overthrow landlords before seizing their large estates and dividing the land into people's communes. The Communist Party's final victory came after decades of turmoil in China, which included the Great Depression, a brutal invasion by Japan and a protracted civil war. Mao's Communist Party ultimately achieved a measure of stability in China, though Mao's efforts to close China to trade and market commerce, and eradicate traditional Chinese culture, have been largely rejected by his successors.

Mao styled himself "The Great Helmsman" and supporters continue to contend that he was responsible for some positive changes which came to China during his three decade rule. These included doubling the school population, providing universal housing, abolishing unemployment and inflation, increasing health care access, and dramatically raising life expectancy. A cult of personality grew up around Mao, and community dissent was not permitted. His Communist Party still rules in mainland China, retains control of media and education there and officially celebrates his legacy. As a result, Mao is still officially held in high regard by many Chinese as a great political strategist, military mastermind, and savior of the nation. Maoists promote his role as a theorist, statesman, poet, and visionary, and anti-revisionists continue to defend most of his policies.

Reviews

[ernst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein Buch voller tiefer Einsichten für Organisation. Herausfordernd ist, dass die Texte aus mehreren Jahrzehnten und radikal verschiedenen historischen Momenten kommen. Man muss also sehr aufpassen, nicht einfach dogmatisch Aspekte zu übernehmen. Aber genau das ist selbst oft genug Thema, wenngleich das leider nicht vorm Problem schützt.

Sonst auch ein Ausdruck und Zeugnis kommunistischer Ethik, die hier impliziert und oft ausdrücklich vermittelt wird.

[Aurora Wedge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people disparage Mao for this or that alleged theoretical failure, but it is undeniable that his writings are deeply immersed in real revolutionary practice. It's true that without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement, but it is similarly true that without a revolutionary movement, theory cannot become revolutionary. It is one thing to pontificate, it is another to confront the messy reality of the world head on, and despite everything, storm the gates of heaven.