The dissolution of the Communist International, as reported by American news agencies, is a “momentous event of epoch-making significance.” This is evident from the fact that, over the past four days, governments and political forces around the world—whether aligned with the anti-fascist camp or with the fascist aggressors, regardless of party affiliation—have all paid close and intense attention to the matter.  Why, then, has the Comintern been dissolved? Was it not established to secure the liberation of the working class worldwide and to advance the struggle against fascism? Indeed, the Comintern was founded by Lenin. Throughout its existence, it rendered immense service in helping various countries build genuinely revolutionary workers’ parties and in organizing the great anti-fascist war effort. The Comintern’s influence among the Chinese people has been considerable. This stems from the fact that, despite China’s economic backwardness, it experienced three major revolutionary movements in rapid succession between 1925 and 1937—the Northern Expedition, the Land Revolution, and the War of Resistance Against Japan—and the Comintern provided substantial assistance to each of these campaigns. As one scholar noted: “This alone suffices to demonstrate the magnitude of the Comintern’s aid to the Chinese revolution and its profound impact on the Chinese people; there is no need to mention further the subsequent Land Revolution and, more recently, the War of Resistance.”

Revolutionary movements cannot be exported or imported. Although the Comintern offered support, the emergence and development of the Chinese Communist Party were rooted in the awakening of China’s own working class. It was the Chinese working class itself that forged its own party—the CPC. Though the CPC has existed for only about thirteen years, it has already led three great revolutionary movements. Given the Comintern’s significant contributions to China and to other nations, why, then, has it been abolished? The principles of Marxism-Leninism and the organizational forms of revolution must conform to the needs of the revolutionary struggle. When an organizational form ceases to meet those needs, it should be dismantled. Today, the Comintern as an international organization is no longer suited to the demands of the struggle. To maintain it would, in fact, impede the development of revolutionary movements in various countries. What is required now is to strengthen national communist parties, without the need for a centralized international leadership body. There are three principal reasons for this:

First, conditions within and between countries are far more complex than they once were, and they are changing at a much faster pace. A unified international organization cannot possibly adapt to such intricate and rapidly shifting circumstances. Sound leadership can only arise from a meticulous study of local conditions, a task that must be undertaken by each national party itself. The Comintern, which operated at a remove from the actual struggles unfolding in different countries, may have been appropriate when conditions were simpler and changes less rapid; but it is no longer so today. Second, fascist aggressors have driven a deep wedge between the peoples of the Axis and the anti-fascist camps. The anti-fascist bloc comprises socialist, capitalist, colonial, and semi-colonial states, while the Axis powers and their satellites exhibit considerable diversity. Moreover, there are numerous neutral countries, each with its own distinct situation. Under these circumstances, a centralized international organization has long proved ill-suited to the swift and effective coordination of the anti-fascist struggle; this inadequacy has become particularly acute in recent times. Third, the ranks of communist party leaders have matured and grown politically seasoned. The Chinese Communist Party has emerged from three successive and highly complex revolutionary movements—complex even by comparison with the Russian Revolution—having cultivated a cadre of experienced and capable cadres. Since the Seventh World Congress of the Comintern in 1935, the Comintern has refrained from interfering in the internal affairs of the CPC. Meanwhile, the CPC has conducted its work during the War of National Liberation against Japan with outstanding success. All righteous elements in the anti-fascist allied nations have praised this move. By contrast, the fascist powers—those bloodthirsty aggressors who formerly entered into “anti-Comintern” pacts—are now apparently reluctant to see the Comintern dissolved. Is that not curious? Even within the Allied camp, certain hardline factions in the Social Democratic parties of Stockholm and London, which previously refused to admit their respective national communist parties on the grounds that they were “directed by the Comintern,” now express opposition to the Comintern’s dissolution—a rather peculiar development.

The task facing all anti-fascist nations today is to unite the labor movement in order to decisively and swiftly defeat fascism. Those elements within the labor movement who have clung to the Comintern as a pretext are naturally displeased by its dissolution; some even go so far as to argue that national communist parties should likewise be disbanded. Such absurd arguments may indeed arise in China, but we shall see. I am confident, however, that the vast majority of just-minded people throughout China will not lend themselves to such rhetoric, for it lacks even the most elementary common sense.

The dissolution of the Comintern is not intended to weaken national communist parties; on the contrary, it aims to strengthen them, making them more nationally rooted and better able to serve the needs of the anti-fascist struggle. Our Party’s recent rectification campaign—targeting subjectivism, sectarianism, and the ossified bureaucratic style known as “party jargon”—was precisely designed to deepen the CPC’s national character and enhance its capacity to meet the demands of the War of Resistance and nation-building. Now that the Comintern is gone, our sense of responsibility has been heightened. Every comrade must recognize the tremendous burden of accountability that rests upon him or her. From this sense of responsibility must spring the creative energy of communists. We are engaged in a grueling war of national liberation. The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army are confronting an immensely powerful enemy behind enemy lines. Our environment is harsh, and the war will likely continue for a long time. Yet it is precisely this prolonged, arduous struggle that tempers us, compelling us to think carefully and avoid superficiality and self-righteousness. It calls upon us to resolutely discard subjectivism, sectarianism, and the stale, formulaic practices of “party jargon,” adopting instead a spirit of full accountability and high creativity. Two invaluable assets in overcoming these difficult conditions are unity within the Party and unity between the Party and the people. All Party members must cherish these two treasures above all else. First, all comrades must rally closely around the Central Committee; any act that undermines this unity is a grave sin. So long as communists stand united in heart and mind, no formidable foe and no adverse circumstance can prevail against us. Second, all Party members must excel at uniting with the masses. Here, I would urge my comrades to emulate the examples set by Comrades Chen Zongyao and Zuo Qi, as recently reported in the Liberation Daily. Comrade Chen Zongyao, commander of an Eighth Route Army regiment, led his entire unit on a several-hundred-li march to transport rice. He walked himself, carrying a load on his back, while the horses also bore their share. Moved by his example, every soldier redoubled his efforts, and no one faltered. Comrade Zuo Qi, the regiment’s political commissar, lost one hand in battle. Unable to wield a hoe during land-reclamation work, he nevertheless cooked meals in the camp and personally carried them up the mountain to feed the troops. All Party cadres should learn from the spirit of these two comrades, integrate closely with the broad masses, and overcome all forms of bureaucratic detachment from the people. We communists are revolutionaries, not officials. Each of us must possess a thoroughly revolutionary mindset and never allow ourselves to become estranged from the masses. As long as we remain connected to the people, victory is assured.