HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE THE CLASSES

June 1933

[Text] 1. What Is a Landlord?

A landlord is a person who possesses land (regardless of the amount), performs no, or only incidental, labor, and relies solely on exploitation for his living.

The pattern of exploitation practiced by the landlords is mainly the exploitation of peasants by means of land rent (including school rent). In addition, they may lend money, hire help, or engage in industry or commerce. But collecting land rent from the peasants is the main form of their exploitation. Managing the public hall is also one form of land rent exploitation. The exploitation by the small landlords among them is more cruel. Though some landlords have gone bankrupt, they still perform no labor after bankruptcy but depend on fraud, plunder, and the help of their relatives and friends; therefore, they are still considered landlords.

The warlords, bureaucrats, local tyrants, and evil gentry are the political representatives of the landlord class and they are especially vicious among the landlords.

The landlord class is the main enemy of the revolution. The policy of the soviet on the landlord is to confiscate all their property and eliminate the landlord class.

All those helping landlords collect rent and manage the household and relying on the landlords' exploitation of the peasants for a living must be included in the same category as landlords.

Those who rely solely, or mostly, on high interest loans for their living are called usurers. Though they are not landlords, usury is a feudal exploitation, and all the assets of the usurers must be confiscated and the usurers eliminated.

2. What Is a Rich Peasant?

Generally, the rich peasants possess land but there are also those who possess a part of the land and rent a part from others; or who possess no land, but rent all their land from others (the latter two categories are of a minority). The rich peasants generally own relatively superior production tools and liquid capital and perform their own labor. Nevertheless, they usually rely on exploitation for a part, or the greater part in some cases, of their living.

The rich peasants' pattern of exploitation is mainly exploiting hired labor (hiring permanent help). In addition, they may rent a part of their land to others and practice exploitation by collecting rent. Or they lend money on the side, or engage in business or small industry. Most of them also manage the public hall. Some of China's rich peasants perform their own labor without hiring help, but exploit the peasants by means of land rents and loan interests. Rich peasants regularly practice exploitation, it being the major practice for many of them.

The policy of the soviet on the rich peasants is to confiscate their land and only the surplus part of their draft animals, farm tools, and buildings, and allocate land of relatively inferior quality to them.

3. What Is a Middle Peasant?

Many of the middle peasants possess land; some possess a part of the land and rent a part from others; some have no land at all, but rent all their land from others. All of them have fair amount of tools and rely entirely, or mostly, on their own labor. Generally they do not exploit others, and many of them are exploited through land rents and loan interests. The middle peasants, in general, do not sell their labor. Some of them (including the well-to-do middle peasants) practice partial exploitation, but it is not regular or major. All those are middle peasants.

The policy of the soviet on the middle peasants is to ally firmly with them. Without their consent, their land cannot be divided. Those without adequate land must receive allocations the same as the poor peasants and farm laborers.

4. What Is a Poor Peasant?

Some of the poor peasants possess a little land and odd tools, while others have no land at all and only a few odd tools. Generally, they must rent land from others to cultivate and are exploited through the payment of land rents, loan interests, and hiring out (generally the poor peasants must sell a portion of their labor). All those in this category are poor peasants.

In land distribution, the poor peasants must receive the same benefits as the middle peasants and farm laborers. Their existing land and tools are not confiscated.

5. What Is a Worker?

A worker (including farm laborers) is someone who has no land or tools, or a very small amount of land and a few tools, and depends completely, or mainly, on selling his labor for a living.

In the land revolution, the rural workers must receive the same land allocations as the poor and middle peasants, and the very small amount of land and tools owned by some of them must not be confiscated. As for some households which have someone working in the city, that particular person is considered a worker. If his family in the village rents land out or lends money, but does not rely on the rent as the main source of its living, his land is not confiscated, and he will receive land allocation the same as the peasants in general. But if his family relies on collecting rent or seeking loans as the main source of its living, his land is confiscated, but his wife and children will receive land allocations, while he, himself, will not receive land allocation as he is in the city.

* "RED CHINA," No 89, 29 June 1933

* "Guide to the Land Investigation Movement," published by the Central Government, 1933

* "Collection of Reactionary Communist Documents," Vol 3, 1935