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Colorful Classics #15
Five Essays on Philosophy
This compilation contains Mao Zedong’s most important philosophical writings, covering topics on dialectical materialism, the importance of practice, and how to differentiate between antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions and how to resolve them.
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
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About the author
Mao Zedong
714 books613 followersMao 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 7, 2021
This was such a fire collection of Mao’s writing, from 1937 to 1963. He brilliantly uses China’s revolutionary history to validate Marxism as a science, and in doing so, plainly articulates the machinations of contradiction, practice, democracy, people’s dictatorship, and so much more. This is truly Mao at his best.
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March 10, 2022Tired brain after this
January 29, 2021
Über den Widerspruch ist wahrscheinlich einer der besten - und der verständlichste Text - über die (materialistische) Dialektik.
October 27, 2024
this is a collection of five essays as you might guess. the first two are the ones with real staying power, on practice and on contradiction. the other three are interesting too, but they're not as relevant unless you're currently trying to build and govern a socialist state.
on contradiction has had my mind spinning all week. it both validates that i do understand dialectical materialism and has me asking myself "wait do i actually understand dialectics," which i guess is dialectical in itself. i've not used the word dialectical this much since i was 19. look at me now!
on contradiction has had my mind spinning all week. it both validates that i do understand dialectical materialism and has me asking myself "wait do i actually understand dialectics," which i guess is dialectical in itself. i've not used the word dialectical this much since i was 19. look at me now!
June 14, 2022
George Jackson wrote: «The ruling clique approaches its task with a “what to think” program; the vanguard elements have a much more difficult job of promoting “how to think”». This book does the later perfectly.
October 18, 2022
I did not expect to appreciate this as much as I did. Started reading this shortly before attending a PSONA event a while ago, and there have always been Anakbayan people and others in ND (national democratic) organizing who show up to SCM things, or sometimes lead SCM things (I can think of 3 coordinators off the top of my head), and Mao can be big in those circles. So I wanted to take time to read some of his stuff. After meeting some ND people at a Grassy Narrows event, I was encouraged to attend that PSONA event, and I think that was what finally committed me to reading some Mao.
I had tried before. I started on the Verso edition of On Practice and Contradiction quite a while ago. I made it through the (very controversial lol) Zizek introduction, but found the opening Mao text difficult to get through. It was “A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire”. I’m not sure why Verso chose that text to open their book, because it felt like it required a lot of contextual knowledge and I generally felt disoriented reading it, and quickly gave up.
Reading this FLP book was a lot better because it goes directly into “On Practice” and then right onto “On Contradiction”. These are excellent and lucid texts and I can understand why they have endured as classics. There are three other texts in the book, including a speech, and I actually found all this stuff surprisingly enjoyable to read. And for some reason Mao’s voice in these texts can sound unexpectedly understanding and considerate, patient even.
The extent to which Mao as a leader lived up to these values and practiced them in a recognizable way while in power — that is a distinct and separate question to which I do not have an answer because I have not studied the history of China during Mao’s lifetime with enough detail. I do have a sense that many mistakes were made and many people suffered. I don’t think it’s useful dismissing that. The country was poor, workers and peasants were trying to take charge, and that energy was sometimes channeled in harmful ways by younger zealots, or sometimes inexperience and related incompetence led to seriously detrimental mistakes. Again I could be wrong on these accounts, because I have not read about this history enough, though I do know even liberal historians like Amartya Sen recognize great gains were made in socialist China’s early decades and the famines that occurred there were comparable to India under capitalism during the same decades. This is not excusing what happened but simply contextualizing it.
What I think after reading these texts by Mao is that I understand why he came across as charming and charismatic to the people there. I do not think people loved Mao out of fear in China. His writings and speeches are sharp, intelligent, accessible, clear, insightful, patient, and understanding. Some examples:
“Actually there are bound to be some who are all along reluctant, ideologically, to accept Marxism-Leninism and communism. We should not be too exacting in what we expect of them; as long as they comply with the requirements of the state and engage in legitimate pursuits, we should give them opportunities for suitable work.”
“As I have said above, the overwhelming majority of the intellectuals in our country want to make progress and remold themselves, and they are quite capable of being remolded. In this connection, the policy we adopt will play a big role. The question of the intellectuals is above all one of ideology, and it is not helpful but harmful to resort to crude and heavy-handed measures for solving ideological questions. The remolding of the intellectuals, and especially the changing of their world outlook, is a process that requires a long period of time. Our comrades must understand that ideological remolding involves longterm, patient and painstaking work, and they must not attempt to change people’s ideology, which has been shaped over decades of life by giving a few lectures or by holding a few meetings. Persuasion, not coercion, is the only way to convince people. Coercion will never result in convincing people. To try to make them submit by force simply won’t do.”
““Let a hundred flowers blossom” is the way to develop the arts, and “let a hundred schools of thought contend” the way to develop science. Not only is this a good method for developing science and the arts, but, applied more widely, it is a good method for all our work. It enables us to make fewer mistakes. There are many things we don’t understand and are therefore unable to tackle, but through debate and struggle we shall come to understand them and learn how to tackle them. Truth develops through debate between different views. The same method can be adopted in dealing with whatever is poisonous and anti-Marxist, because in the struggle against it Marxism will develop.”
“Who is to exercise this dictatorship? Naturally it must be the working class and the entire people led by it: Dictatorship does not apply in the ranks of the people. The people cannot possibly exercise dictatorship over themselves, nor must one section of the people oppress another.”
“We must not be afraid of “opening wide,” nor should we be afraid of criticism and poisonous weeds. Marxism is scientific truth; it fears no criticism and cannot be overthrown by criticism. The same holds for the Communist Party and the People’s Government; they fear no criticism and cannot be toppled by it. There will always be things that are wrong, and that is nothing to be afraid of.”
Also interesting Mao quotes Laozi. The Daodejing is one of my favourite texts. I have read it something like 10 times. I mistakenly read in Hua Yu’s book “China in Ten words” that Mao considered Laozi a poisonous weed, but it was actually Lao She. Anyway, Mao quoting Laozi:
“In short, we must learn to take an all-around view of things, seeing not only the positive side of things but also the negative side. Under specific conditions, a bad thing can lead to good results and a good thing to bad results. More than two thousand years ago Laozi said: “It is upon bad fortune that good fortune leans, upon good fortune that bad fortune rests.””
Also fascinating the Taiping uprising gets a mention in here:
“Similarly is the Chinese people’s knowledge of imperialism. The first stage was one of superficial, perceptual knowledge, as shown in the indiscriminate anti-foreign struggles of the Movement of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Yi Ho Tuan Movement, and so on. It was only in the second stage that the Chinese people reached the stage of rational knowledge, saw the internal and external contradictions of imperialism and saw the essential truth that imperialism had allied itself with China’s comprador and feudal classes to oppress and exploit the great masses of the Chinese people. This knowledge began about the time of the May 4th Movement of 1919.”
I also found the Leninist philosophy of science very curious:
“Lenin illustrated the universality of contradiction as follows: In mathematics: + and -. Differential and integral. In mechanics: action and reaction. In physics: positive and negative electricity. In chemistry: the combination and dissociation of atoms. In social science: the class struggle.19 In war, offense and defense, advance and retreat, victory and defeat are all mutually contradictory phenomena. One cannot exist without the other. The two aspects are at once in conflict and in interdependence, and this constitutes the totality of a war, pushes its development forward and solves its problems.”
“The sciences are differentiated precisely on the basis of the particular contradictions inherent in their respective objects of study. Thus the contradiction peculiar to a certain field of phenomena constitutes the object of study for a specific branch of science. For example, positive and negative numbers in mathematics; action and reaction in mechanics; positive and negative electricity in physics; dissociation and combination in chemistry; forces of production and relations of production, classes and class struggle, in social science; offense and defense in military science; idealism and materialism, the metaphysical outlook and the dialectical outlook, in philosophy; and so on—all these are the objects of study of different branches of science precisely because each branch has its own particular contradiction and particular essence. Of course, unless we understand the universality of contradiction, we have no way of discovering the universal cause or universal basis for the movement or development of things; however, unless we study the particularity of contradiction, we have no way of determining the particular essence of a thing which differentiates it from other things, no way of discovering the particular cause or particular basis for the movement or development of a thing, and no way of distinguishing one thing from another or of demarcating the fields of science.”
Finally, some favourite excerpts from On Practice:
“Above all, Marxists regard man’s activity in production as the most fundamental practical activity, the determinant of all his other activities. Man’s knowledge depends mainly on his activity in material production, through which he comes gradually to understand the phenomena, the properties and the laws of nature, and the relations between himself and nature; and through his activity in production he also gradually comes to understand, in varying degrees, certain relations that exist between man and man.”
“Moreover, what is indirect experience for me is direct experience for other people. Consequently, considered as a whole, knowledge of any kind is inseparable from direct experience. All knowledge originates in perception of the objective external world through man’s physical sense organs. Anyone who denies such perception, denies direct experience, or denies personal participation in the practice that changes reality, is not a materialist.”
I've since joined an ND org, though I am not a Maoist. ND organizing is pretty big tent; they try to build broad fronts with various allies including liberals, in certain contexts. I’ll finish with this fascinating framing of experimentation as ‘struggle’:
“And it is only when these people have come to “know” through their practice and when their knowledge has reached him through writing and technical media that the “scholar” can indirectly “know all the wide world’s affairs.” If you want to know a certain thing or a certain class of things directly, you must personally participate in the practical struggle to change reality, to change that thing or class of things, for only thus can you come into contact with them as phenomena; only through personal participation in the practical struggle to change reality can you uncover the essence of that thing or class of things and comprehend them.”
I had tried before. I started on the Verso edition of On Practice and Contradiction quite a while ago. I made it through the (very controversial lol) Zizek introduction, but found the opening Mao text difficult to get through. It was “A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire”. I’m not sure why Verso chose that text to open their book, because it felt like it required a lot of contextual knowledge and I generally felt disoriented reading it, and quickly gave up.
Reading this FLP book was a lot better because it goes directly into “On Practice” and then right onto “On Contradiction”. These are excellent and lucid texts and I can understand why they have endured as classics. There are three other texts in the book, including a speech, and I actually found all this stuff surprisingly enjoyable to read. And for some reason Mao’s voice in these texts can sound unexpectedly understanding and considerate, patient even.
The extent to which Mao as a leader lived up to these values and practiced them in a recognizable way while in power — that is a distinct and separate question to which I do not have an answer because I have not studied the history of China during Mao’s lifetime with enough detail. I do have a sense that many mistakes were made and many people suffered. I don’t think it’s useful dismissing that. The country was poor, workers and peasants were trying to take charge, and that energy was sometimes channeled in harmful ways by younger zealots, or sometimes inexperience and related incompetence led to seriously detrimental mistakes. Again I could be wrong on these accounts, because I have not read about this history enough, though I do know even liberal historians like Amartya Sen recognize great gains were made in socialist China’s early decades and the famines that occurred there were comparable to India under capitalism during the same decades. This is not excusing what happened but simply contextualizing it.
What I think after reading these texts by Mao is that I understand why he came across as charming and charismatic to the people there. I do not think people loved Mao out of fear in China. His writings and speeches are sharp, intelligent, accessible, clear, insightful, patient, and understanding. Some examples:
“Actually there are bound to be some who are all along reluctant, ideologically, to accept Marxism-Leninism and communism. We should not be too exacting in what we expect of them; as long as they comply with the requirements of the state and engage in legitimate pursuits, we should give them opportunities for suitable work.”
“As I have said above, the overwhelming majority of the intellectuals in our country want to make progress and remold themselves, and they are quite capable of being remolded. In this connection, the policy we adopt will play a big role. The question of the intellectuals is above all one of ideology, and it is not helpful but harmful to resort to crude and heavy-handed measures for solving ideological questions. The remolding of the intellectuals, and especially the changing of their world outlook, is a process that requires a long period of time. Our comrades must understand that ideological remolding involves longterm, patient and painstaking work, and they must not attempt to change people’s ideology, which has been shaped over decades of life by giving a few lectures or by holding a few meetings. Persuasion, not coercion, is the only way to convince people. Coercion will never result in convincing people. To try to make them submit by force simply won’t do.”
““Let a hundred flowers blossom” is the way to develop the arts, and “let a hundred schools of thought contend” the way to develop science. Not only is this a good method for developing science and the arts, but, applied more widely, it is a good method for all our work. It enables us to make fewer mistakes. There are many things we don’t understand and are therefore unable to tackle, but through debate and struggle we shall come to understand them and learn how to tackle them. Truth develops through debate between different views. The same method can be adopted in dealing with whatever is poisonous and anti-Marxist, because in the struggle against it Marxism will develop.”
“Who is to exercise this dictatorship? Naturally it must be the working class and the entire people led by it: Dictatorship does not apply in the ranks of the people. The people cannot possibly exercise dictatorship over themselves, nor must one section of the people oppress another.”
“We must not be afraid of “opening wide,” nor should we be afraid of criticism and poisonous weeds. Marxism is scientific truth; it fears no criticism and cannot be overthrown by criticism. The same holds for the Communist Party and the People’s Government; they fear no criticism and cannot be toppled by it. There will always be things that are wrong, and that is nothing to be afraid of.”
Also interesting Mao quotes Laozi. The Daodejing is one of my favourite texts. I have read it something like 10 times. I mistakenly read in Hua Yu’s book “China in Ten words” that Mao considered Laozi a poisonous weed, but it was actually Lao She. Anyway, Mao quoting Laozi:
“In short, we must learn to take an all-around view of things, seeing not only the positive side of things but also the negative side. Under specific conditions, a bad thing can lead to good results and a good thing to bad results. More than two thousand years ago Laozi said: “It is upon bad fortune that good fortune leans, upon good fortune that bad fortune rests.””
Also fascinating the Taiping uprising gets a mention in here:
“Similarly is the Chinese people’s knowledge of imperialism. The first stage was one of superficial, perceptual knowledge, as shown in the indiscriminate anti-foreign struggles of the Movement of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Yi Ho Tuan Movement, and so on. It was only in the second stage that the Chinese people reached the stage of rational knowledge, saw the internal and external contradictions of imperialism and saw the essential truth that imperialism had allied itself with China’s comprador and feudal classes to oppress and exploit the great masses of the Chinese people. This knowledge began about the time of the May 4th Movement of 1919.”
I also found the Leninist philosophy of science very curious:
“Lenin illustrated the universality of contradiction as follows: In mathematics: + and -. Differential and integral. In mechanics: action and reaction. In physics: positive and negative electricity. In chemistry: the combination and dissociation of atoms. In social science: the class struggle.19 In war, offense and defense, advance and retreat, victory and defeat are all mutually contradictory phenomena. One cannot exist without the other. The two aspects are at once in conflict and in interdependence, and this constitutes the totality of a war, pushes its development forward and solves its problems.”
“The sciences are differentiated precisely on the basis of the particular contradictions inherent in their respective objects of study. Thus the contradiction peculiar to a certain field of phenomena constitutes the object of study for a specific branch of science. For example, positive and negative numbers in mathematics; action and reaction in mechanics; positive and negative electricity in physics; dissociation and combination in chemistry; forces of production and relations of production, classes and class struggle, in social science; offense and defense in military science; idealism and materialism, the metaphysical outlook and the dialectical outlook, in philosophy; and so on—all these are the objects of study of different branches of science precisely because each branch has its own particular contradiction and particular essence. Of course, unless we understand the universality of contradiction, we have no way of discovering the universal cause or universal basis for the movement or development of things; however, unless we study the particularity of contradiction, we have no way of determining the particular essence of a thing which differentiates it from other things, no way of discovering the particular cause or particular basis for the movement or development of a thing, and no way of distinguishing one thing from another or of demarcating the fields of science.”
Finally, some favourite excerpts from On Practice:
“Above all, Marxists regard man’s activity in production as the most fundamental practical activity, the determinant of all his other activities. Man’s knowledge depends mainly on his activity in material production, through which he comes gradually to understand the phenomena, the properties and the laws of nature, and the relations between himself and nature; and through his activity in production he also gradually comes to understand, in varying degrees, certain relations that exist between man and man.”
“Moreover, what is indirect experience for me is direct experience for other people. Consequently, considered as a whole, knowledge of any kind is inseparable from direct experience. All knowledge originates in perception of the objective external world through man’s physical sense organs. Anyone who denies such perception, denies direct experience, or denies personal participation in the practice that changes reality, is not a materialist.”
I've since joined an ND org, though I am not a Maoist. ND organizing is pretty big tent; they try to build broad fronts with various allies including liberals, in certain contexts. I’ll finish with this fascinating framing of experimentation as ‘struggle’:
“And it is only when these people have come to “know” through their practice and when their knowledge has reached him through writing and technical media that the “scholar” can indirectly “know all the wide world’s affairs.” If you want to know a certain thing or a certain class of things directly, you must personally participate in the practical struggle to change reality, to change that thing or class of things, for only thus can you come into contact with them as phenomena; only through personal participation in the practical struggle to change reality can you uncover the essence of that thing or class of things and comprehend them.”
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February 27, 2024essential read, massively helped me understand the more philosophical aspects of dialectical materialism
March 24, 2026
My second time reading this, this time as part of a group. A book I would consider to be an excellent foundation among others in the FLP Color Classics to establish a firm basis of dialectics as well as an understanding of MLM as a whole.
This is one of those books that is encouraging you to understand "how to think" rather than "what to think", or in other words: To reconsider your world outlook on a philosophical level and begin the process of remolding yourself.
The most famous and important essay, On Contradiction, provides the heavy lifting for grasping a Marxist worldview and can be studied continuously. In fact, I first read this book 4 years ago and rereading it again with an even better understanding of Dialectical Materialism allowed me to pick up on other parts of dialectics that I was not as familiar with the first time.
The weakest essay is probably On the Correct Handling Contradictions Among the People, in my opinion. The reason is that this is speech given to the CPC and talks about their history and results of the work, as well as general suggestions on each topic. This isn't to say it is bad, only that it feels more overarching and without a lot of examples. For instance, Mao basically saying we should work hard to correct wrong ideas among ourselves and the people. Yes, of course, obviously... but there aren't a lot of specifics.
The last two short chapters on propaganda work and where correct ideas come from shouldn't be ignored. They've got some good points that I believe require meditation and reflection. All in all this book should be part of an introduction to Marxist thinking if you are completely unfamiliar with it. But I'd also recommend it to non Marxists to change their thinking about the world.
This is one of those books that is encouraging you to understand "how to think" rather than "what to think", or in other words: To reconsider your world outlook on a philosophical level and begin the process of remolding yourself.
The most famous and important essay, On Contradiction, provides the heavy lifting for grasping a Marxist worldview and can be studied continuously. In fact, I first read this book 4 years ago and rereading it again with an even better understanding of Dialectical Materialism allowed me to pick up on other parts of dialectics that I was not as familiar with the first time.
The weakest essay is probably On the Correct Handling Contradictions Among the People, in my opinion. The reason is that this is speech given to the CPC and talks about their history and results of the work, as well as general suggestions on each topic. This isn't to say it is bad, only that it feels more overarching and without a lot of examples. For instance, Mao basically saying we should work hard to correct wrong ideas among ourselves and the people. Yes, of course, obviously... but there aren't a lot of specifics.
The last two short chapters on propaganda work and where correct ideas come from shouldn't be ignored. They've got some good points that I believe require meditation and reflection. All in all this book should be part of an introduction to Marxist thinking if you are completely unfamiliar with it. But I'd also recommend it to non Marxists to change their thinking about the world.
May 29, 2025
4.5 stars methinks. On Contradiction alone is perhaps the most insightful thing I’ve read in a long time, and really helped solidify my understanding and confidence not only in the broad dialectical process but some of the nuances in responding to critiques of materialism. On a humorous note I think there’s ample space for a philosophical engagement on the pRoBlEm of eViL relative to contradiction, but that’s not something I really care about. On Practice is strong and convicting and made me really feel the urgent need for more enmeshment in the world. The other essays are good/fine, with some relevant points but more or less retreading these two in other words. I really admire this thinking. Short enough read; especially the two main essays I think are essential for all left thinkers
February 7, 2021
denke guter einstieg in mao, besser als "worte des vorsitzenden". die meisten geäußerten gedanken fand ich eher ansprechend und interessant, wenig was ich rundheraus ablehnen würde. "on contradiction" und "on the correct handling of contradictions among the people" sind die beiden hauptessays, fand beide interessant, gerade da bei letzterem etwas der sozialistische aufbau in china angesprochen wird.
February 1, 2026
Amazing collection of essays on philosophical trends within Marxist thought. On Practice and On Contradiction provide an excellent foundation for the essays that follow them making this an easy and worthwhile read
March 5, 2023
10/10 no notes
March 21, 2023
Si tienen la oportunidad de leer esto, desaprovéchenla.
April 16, 2024
This is essential reading, foundational theory. The unmatched succinctness that Mao describes the laws of Contradiction and the Dialectical Materialist theory of knowledge--that all knowledge comes from social practice--is written in an easily understandable way without forgoing any depth. The topics covered are indispensable for discovering the social conditions of the present and for organizing and building a better world after capitalism.
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April 20, 2026kinda bounced off this one, but i did just come off hegel, so maybe "on contradiction" didn't excite me as much as it would have if i hadn't just read the OG dialectics guy. from a historical perspective it was very cool to see hegel's dialectics transformed, marxism and leninism applied, in a real world scenario. the dictatorship of the proletariat for the counter-revs, the democracy of the people for the revs was something i've always felt was intuitively correct. i think the bouncing off-ness is /maaaybee/ the sense that mao is describing a framework that leaves a lot of implementation questions hanging. how do you define "criticism" vs "counterrevolutionary thought", or "ally" vs "enemy"? i think the answer suggested is that it does, f'real, depend on historical circumstance and context; for ex. when mao points to the KMT as allies w the proles against the japanese , and also enemies against the proletariat during the civil war. the sheer textured praxis-ness of it all i think leaves a hole in his takes that one should fill w vibe-based experiences ... but we also know how the cultural revolution turned out so probably not the most satisfying answers there. also interesting that in this series of essays he explicitly says multiple parties are good (let a thousand flowers bloom) as long as they're all socialist or pro-proletariat or whatever, when china is a one party system ... maybe i'm missing something there.
parts of on contradiction did feel more like wordplay than analysis sometimes, like applying the word "contradiction" to the KMT opposing Japan, doesn't really feel like a historical contradiction or a philosophical contradiction per se. but his recapitulation of Marx describing the contradiction between social production and individual ownership did in fact make sense. so idk. kinda a mishmash there, in that i generally walked away w the sense that Mao knew his theory but was also v down to just say whatever about his existing political circumstances using leftyspeak.
finally i'm always just a fan of propaganda just being normal and good. so just liked that this book included his speech to propagandists, a type of work i would love to take seriously. again some interesting moments here; like his emphasis on how intellectuals and the bourgeois must come willingly to communism and cannot be coerced. i also enjoyed his call to constant study and education, that even good commies have to be ready to adapt to new situations and contexts. anyway he just be spitballing numbers like "10% of the intellectuals in China are on the side of the proletariat" in a way that was a lil silly to me.
in short there are a lot of things i want to like and takea way from this series of essays. i think vibe wise there's a very studied and measured intent here, a careful touch to allow for people to adapt and come to socialism even if they aren't yet completely on board, an awareness that contradiction and dialectical process intrinsically must allow for dissent and conversation. and that is paired with an understanding that it is very easy for capitalists and reactionaries to bring the whole thing toppling down, and that repressing that is also very important.
parts of on contradiction did feel more like wordplay than analysis sometimes, like applying the word "contradiction" to the KMT opposing Japan, doesn't really feel like a historical contradiction or a philosophical contradiction per se. but his recapitulation of Marx describing the contradiction between social production and individual ownership did in fact make sense. so idk. kinda a mishmash there, in that i generally walked away w the sense that Mao knew his theory but was also v down to just say whatever about his existing political circumstances using leftyspeak.
finally i'm always just a fan of propaganda just being normal and good. so just liked that this book included his speech to propagandists, a type of work i would love to take seriously. again some interesting moments here; like his emphasis on how intellectuals and the bourgeois must come willingly to communism and cannot be coerced. i also enjoyed his call to constant study and education, that even good commies have to be ready to adapt to new situations and contexts. anyway he just be spitballing numbers like "10% of the intellectuals in China are on the side of the proletariat" in a way that was a lil silly to me.
in short there are a lot of things i want to like and takea way from this series of essays. i think vibe wise there's a very studied and measured intent here, a careful touch to allow for people to adapt and come to socialism even if they aren't yet completely on board, an awareness that contradiction and dialectical process intrinsically must allow for dissent and conversation. and that is paired with an understanding that it is very easy for capitalists and reactionaries to bring the whole thing toppling down, and that repressing that is also very important.
November 20, 2023
There's a certain element of pudding-brain-edness I'm encountering as I get older (whether from age, drugs, COVID or screen-related brain rot is for another discussion). And that element prevents me from fully engaging with philosophical/theoretical works like I used to, such as this one. So take this review with a grain of salt.
Due to the pudding-brain factor, I've begun to temper my criticisms of these works, but I will nonetheless note that I had high hopes from people I respect praising Mao's writing, and those hopes were not met. Apart from the esoteric philosophical word salad, I was particularly disappointed in Mao's argumentation: it struck me as extremely vague, unsupported and overly-general, rarely backing up any of his proclamations/truisms with logical explanation.
It's possible some of this inaccessibility is caused by the differences in thinking between Mandarin and English-language speakers. And so I want to make clear that this is only my personal response to it; I'm not trying to make proclamations about its objective value.
His writing got better for me as he got older, because it was grounded in concrete examples and praxis. "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" and "On Propaganda" were both far more readable, however they are also highly aspirational (especially given what we know about the excesses of the Cultural Revolution). Yes Mao cautions against punishing people too harshly, but it is hard to read his admission that they "will make mistakes" without feeling a little tingle down your spine. Nowhere in these works is a prescription for assuring just treatment of the people while safeguarding the revolution... it's basically "Well we should try our best to treat people fairly but we'll probably imprison or murder a few innocents along the way, whoopsie."
Anyway, while I wasn't too impressed with this overall there was one passage that stuck with me as useful, from "On Contradiction":
Overall I would not recommend this to leftists except as a way to be basically informed on all the touchstone communist literature. I would be surprised if I try to read Mao again apart from short(er) essays.
Not Bad Reviews
@pointblaek
Due to the pudding-brain factor, I've begun to temper my criticisms of these works, but I will nonetheless note that I had high hopes from people I respect praising Mao's writing, and those hopes were not met. Apart from the esoteric philosophical word salad, I was particularly disappointed in Mao's argumentation: it struck me as extremely vague, unsupported and overly-general, rarely backing up any of his proclamations/truisms with logical explanation.
It's possible some of this inaccessibility is caused by the differences in thinking between Mandarin and English-language speakers. And so I want to make clear that this is only my personal response to it; I'm not trying to make proclamations about its objective value.
His writing got better for me as he got older, because it was grounded in concrete examples and praxis. "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" and "On Propaganda" were both far more readable, however they are also highly aspirational (especially given what we know about the excesses of the Cultural Revolution). Yes Mao cautions against punishing people too harshly, but it is hard to read his admission that they "will make mistakes" without feeling a little tingle down your spine. Nowhere in these works is a prescription for assuring just treatment of the people while safeguarding the revolution... it's basically "Well we should try our best to treat people fairly but we'll probably imprison or murder a few innocents along the way, whoopsie."
Anyway, while I wasn't too impressed with this overall there was one passage that stuck with me as useful, from "On Contradiction":
"... if in any process there are a number of contradictions, one of them must be the principle contradiction playing the leading and decisive role, while the rest occupy a secondary and subordinate position. Therefore, in studying any complex process in which there are two or more contradictions, we must devote every effort to finding its principle contradiction. Once this principle contradiction is grasped, all problems can be readily solved. 69"
Overall I would not recommend this to leftists except as a way to be basically informed on all the touchstone communist literature. I would be surprised if I try to read Mao again apart from short(er) essays.
Not Bad Reviews
@pointblaek
December 18, 2023
Muito legal esse livro, as ideias parecem bem libertárias. Também é ótimo pra esclarecer alguns mitos acerca do marxismo.
Como toda tradição marxista, se opõe ferrenhamente a metafísica. E apesar disso, o mais interessante é que o marxismo também não se compromete com o racionalismo e o positivismo tradicionais. Um chamado à luta prática!
'A concepção dialética nos ensina, sobretudo, a observar e analisar o movimento das contradições nos diferentes fenômenos, bem como a determinar, com base nesta análise, os métodos próprios para resolver tais contradições. Eis porque a compreensão concreta da lei da contradição inerente aos fenômenos é de importância extrema para nós.'
' Quando a superestrutura (política, cultura, etc.) entrava o desenvolvimento da base econômica, as transformações políticas e culturais convertem-se no principal, no decisivo. Acaso iremos nós contra o materialismo quando falamos assim? Não, pois ao mesmo tempo que reconhecemos que no curso geral do desenvolvimento histórico o material determina o espiritual, o ser social determina a consciência social, reconhecemos e devemos reconhecer a reação do espiritual sobre, o material, da consciência social sobre o ser social, da superestrutura sobre a base econômica. Procedendo assim, não contradizemos o materialismo, pelo contrário, evitando cair no materialismo mecanicista, nós atemo-nos ao materialismo dialético.'
'Quem exerce a ditadura? Naturalmente, a classe operária e todo o povo que esta dirige. A ditadura não se exerce sobre o povo. O povo não pode exercer a ditadura sobre si mesmo, nem uma parte do povo pode oprimir a outra. Aqueles que no seio do povo violam as leis devem também ser sancionados de acordo com a lei; todavia, entre isto e a ditadura, que se exprime na repressão dos inimigos do povo, existe uma diferença de princípio. O que se aplica no seio do povo é o centralismo democrático.'
'A única via para resolver as questões de natureza ideológica ou as controvérsias no seio do povo é o uso do método democrático, da discussão, da crítica, persuasão e educação, e nunca o uso de métodos de coação ou repressão.'
'Em todos os países do mundo, as pessoas discutem hoje sobre a eventualidade do desencadeamento de uma III Guerra Mundial. Nós devemos estar psicologicamente preparados para essa eventualidade e devemos abordar as coisas de um ponto de vista analítico. Nós somos resolutamente pela paz e contra a guerra. Não obstante, se os imperialistas insistem em desencadear a guerra, nós não a devemos temer. A nossa atitude perante esta questão é a mesma a adotar perante qualquer “desordem”: em primeiro lugar, nós somos contra; em segundo lugar, não a tememos. A I Guerra Mundial foi seguida pelo nascimento da URSS, com 200 milhões de habitantes; a II Guerra Mundial foi seguida pela formação do campo socialista, que abarca uma população de 900 milhões. Se os imperialistas insistirem, apesar de tudo, em desencadear uma terceira guerra mundial, é certo que outras centenas de milhões de homens passarão para o lado do socialismo; restará assim pouco terreno para os imperialistas, e a ruína total do sistema imperialista será igualmente possível.
Em determinadas condições, cada um dos dois aspectos opostos de uma contradição transforma-se inevitavelmente no seu contrário respectivo, como resultado da luta entre eles. Neste caso, as condições são importantes. Sem estas condições, nenhum dos dois aspectos opostos poderá transformar-se no seu contrário respectivo. De todas as classes do mundo, é o proletariado que mais deseja transformar a sua situação; segue-lhe o semi-proletariado. Isto porque o primeiro nada tem e o segundo quase nada tem. A situação atual de controle da maioria dos votos na ONU e do controle de numerosas regiões do mundo, exercido pelos Estados Unidos, é uma situação transitória.' (esse parece muito atual pensando o genocídio contra a Palestina).
Como toda tradição marxista, se opõe ferrenhamente a metafísica. E apesar disso, o mais interessante é que o marxismo também não se compromete com o racionalismo e o positivismo tradicionais. Um chamado à luta prática!
'A concepção dialética nos ensina, sobretudo, a observar e analisar o movimento das contradições nos diferentes fenômenos, bem como a determinar, com base nesta análise, os métodos próprios para resolver tais contradições. Eis porque a compreensão concreta da lei da contradição inerente aos fenômenos é de importância extrema para nós.'
' Quando a superestrutura (política, cultura, etc.) entrava o desenvolvimento da base econômica, as transformações políticas e culturais convertem-se no principal, no decisivo. Acaso iremos nós contra o materialismo quando falamos assim? Não, pois ao mesmo tempo que reconhecemos que no curso geral do desenvolvimento histórico o material determina o espiritual, o ser social determina a consciência social, reconhecemos e devemos reconhecer a reação do espiritual sobre, o material, da consciência social sobre o ser social, da superestrutura sobre a base econômica. Procedendo assim, não contradizemos o materialismo, pelo contrário, evitando cair no materialismo mecanicista, nós atemo-nos ao materialismo dialético.'
'Quem exerce a ditadura? Naturalmente, a classe operária e todo o povo que esta dirige. A ditadura não se exerce sobre o povo. O povo não pode exercer a ditadura sobre si mesmo, nem uma parte do povo pode oprimir a outra. Aqueles que no seio do povo violam as leis devem também ser sancionados de acordo com a lei; todavia, entre isto e a ditadura, que se exprime na repressão dos inimigos do povo, existe uma diferença de princípio. O que se aplica no seio do povo é o centralismo democrático.'
'A única via para resolver as questões de natureza ideológica ou as controvérsias no seio do povo é o uso do método democrático, da discussão, da crítica, persuasão e educação, e nunca o uso de métodos de coação ou repressão.'
'Em todos os países do mundo, as pessoas discutem hoje sobre a eventualidade do desencadeamento de uma III Guerra Mundial. Nós devemos estar psicologicamente preparados para essa eventualidade e devemos abordar as coisas de um ponto de vista analítico. Nós somos resolutamente pela paz e contra a guerra. Não obstante, se os imperialistas insistem em desencadear a guerra, nós não a devemos temer. A nossa atitude perante esta questão é a mesma a adotar perante qualquer “desordem”: em primeiro lugar, nós somos contra; em segundo lugar, não a tememos. A I Guerra Mundial foi seguida pelo nascimento da URSS, com 200 milhões de habitantes; a II Guerra Mundial foi seguida pela formação do campo socialista, que abarca uma população de 900 milhões. Se os imperialistas insistirem, apesar de tudo, em desencadear uma terceira guerra mundial, é certo que outras centenas de milhões de homens passarão para o lado do socialismo; restará assim pouco terreno para os imperialistas, e a ruína total do sistema imperialista será igualmente possível.
Em determinadas condições, cada um dos dois aspectos opostos de uma contradição transforma-se inevitavelmente no seu contrário respectivo, como resultado da luta entre eles. Neste caso, as condições são importantes. Sem estas condições, nenhum dos dois aspectos opostos poderá transformar-se no seu contrário respectivo. De todas as classes do mundo, é o proletariado que mais deseja transformar a sua situação; segue-lhe o semi-proletariado. Isto porque o primeiro nada tem e o segundo quase nada tem. A situação atual de controle da maioria dos votos na ONU e do controle de numerosas regiões do mundo, exercido pelos Estados Unidos, é uma situação transitória.' (esse parece muito atual pensando o genocídio contra a Palestina).
October 5, 2022
Un libro de lucidez y claridad sobresaliente, disfrutable de principio a fin, así como confortativo, invita a la crítica y la autocrítica. Una de las mejores explicaciones de la dialéctica, así como el tratamiento de la contradicciones sociales. resalto el penúltimo capítulo, donde Mao discute el papel de los intelectuales en a sociedad: aprendiendo del trabajador, del campesino, viviendo la realidad junto a sus compañeros de clase, en la lucha es el único lugar donde los libros, las ideas y los intelectuales tienen sentido y razón de ser.
April 14, 2023
bringing Mao to the philosophy talk 🤓
"Opposites in contradiction unite as well as struggle with each other and thus impel all things to move and change. Contradictions exist everywhere, but as things differ in nature, so do contradictions."
"Opposites in contradiction unite as well as struggle with each other and thus impel all things to move and change. Contradictions exist everywhere, but as things differ in nature, so do contradictions."
January 2, 2025
One of the most important books you can read and absolutely foundational to understanding Marxism. Constantly coming back to different things mao says or having moments when one of his ideas will finally click in understanding.
Read
June 15, 2020sublime, a must read for any revolutionary
March 2, 2021
Un libro rojo, sobre la teoría y practica de acciones "Revolucionarias" en época de la revolución china
September 18, 2021
5 pro Mao e 1 pra essa edição malfeita.
January 30, 2022
On practice & On contradiction are especially good.
January 28, 2023
Essay 1: bars
Essay 2: bars
Essay 3: bars
Essay 4: bars
Essay 5: bars
Essay 2: bars
Essay 3: bars
Essay 4: bars
Essay 5: bars
March 31, 2024
i am dialectical materialist gworl now 💆🏽♀️✨🌏💅🏽
November 7, 2024
a good start for people looking to get into MLM (marxist/leninist/maoist) works .. recommended for people who wants to understand basics + read works of engel and marx too
September 27, 2025
Made me understand both better and worse the science dialectical materialism, which I guess is fitting.
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