Comment on the Report on the Reaction of Capitalists to the General Line for the Transition Period[1]
(November 20, 1953)

[This refers to] the comprehensive report submitted by the United Front Work Department of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China on November 14, 1953, regarding the reaction of capitalists in Tianjin to the General Line for the Transition Period, addressed to the United Front Work Department of the North China Bureau and the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee. The main contents are as follows:

1. After the General Line for the Transition Period was announced in the National Day slogans, the capitalists fluctuated greatly. On the surface, they sang praises and expressed support, but behind the scenes, they were full of grumbling and complaints, especially among the small and medium capitalists. The bourgeoisie is dissatisfied with the General Line, yet they are helpless. They demand the preservation of the present order and are unwilling to accept "gradual transition," recalling the "golden age" of 1950 with boundless nostalgia, lamenting: "Let us shout 'Long Live New Democracy' a few more times." The bourgeoisie is unwilling to take the path of state capitalism, believing that processing orders have already made them "not very free," and that public-private joint management would mean being "dissolved away."

2. Their attitudes toward state capitalism can be roughly divided into several categories:
The first category consists of the upper and middle strata of capitalists who have long cooperated with us. They believe the General Line represents the general trend and that they themselves have already taken a step ahead: "Let us go voluntarily; why wait to be driven by someone else's whip?" The second category comprises small and medium enterprises, which constitute the majority of the bourgeoisie. They believe the General Line is "the general trend, but there is nothing they can do about it." In reality, they are not reconciled to state capitalism and adopt a passive attitude toward improving production and expanding operations at present. The third category consists of small proprietors, who believe the General Line has nothing to do with them. They think that engaging in cooperativization in handicrafts can still last a few years, and if there is ultimately no way out, they can become workers again. The fourth category is commercial capitalists, who blame everyone and everything and are extremely dissatisfied.

3. Since the announcement of the General Line slogans, joint operations and factory mergers among small and medium industries, as well as commercial conversion, have already begun to emerge. The motives for factory mergers are complex: some are "creating conditions," some are discarding burdens, some are exploiting each other, and some are resisting the state. Within enterprises, there is overstaffing and many contradictions. Commercial capitalists regard conversion as having three strategies—upper, middle, and lower. The upper strategy is to switch to investment companies, the middle strategy is to switch to public-private joint management factories, and the lower strategy is to switch to industry. They strive for the upper and middle strategies, and only seek the lower one when compelled.

To all central bureaus, sub-bureaus, provincial and municipal committees, and for the information of all ministries and commissions of the Central Committee and all Party groups in the Central People's Government:
(1) This document merits attention and is hereby issued for your reference; (2) Please pay attention to the trends of the bourgeoisie in various localities and strengthen work and education directed toward them.

The Central Committee
November 20, 1953