May 15, 1957

[Article written by Comrade Mao Tsetung and circulated among Party cadres.]


The unity and struggle of opposites are universal phenomena in the life of
society. Struggle results in the transformation of opposites into each other
and in the formation of a new unity, and the life of society thus moves one
step forward.

The rectification movement in the Communist Party is a struggle between two
styles in a single entity. This is true of the Communist Party and also of
the people as a whole.

There are different kinds of people in the Communist Party. There are Marxists,
who comprise the majority. They, too, have shortcomings but not serious ones.
There are a number of people whose thinking errs on the side of dogmatism.
Most of them are staunch and steadfast and devoted to the Party and the country,
only their approach to problems shows a "Left" one-sidedness. After overcoming
this one-sidedness, they will take a big step forward. There are also a number
of people whose thinking errs on the side of revisionism or Right opportunism.
They pose the bigger danger because their ideas are a reflection of bourgeois
ideology inside the Party, and because they yearn for bourgeois liberalism,
negate everything and are tied in a hundred and one ways to bourgeois
intellectuals outside the Party. Over the last few months, people have been
criticizing dogmatism but have allowed revisionism to go unchallenged. Dogmatism
should be criticized, or else many mistakes cannot be rectified. Now it's
time to direct our attention to criticizing revisionism. When dogmatism turns
into its opposite, it becomes either Marxism or revisionism. Our Party's
experience shows that there have been many instances of dogmatism turning
into Marxism but very few of dogmatism turning into revisionism, because
the dogmatists represent a proletarian school of thought tainted with
petty-bourgeois fanaticism. In some cases what is attacked as "dogmatism"
is in fact mistakes in work. In other cases what is attacked as "dogmatism"
is in fact Marxism itself, which certain people mistake for "dogmatism" and
attack as such. Real dogmatists think that it is better to be on the "Left"
than on the Right, and they have a reason -- they want revolution. But in
terms of damage to the revolutionary cause, to be on the "Left" is in no
way better than to be on the Right and should therefore be resolutely corrected.
Some mistakes are the result of carrying out the policies of the central
authorities, and people at the lower levels should not be given an undue
share of the blame. There are a great many new members in our Party (even
more in the Youth League) who are intellectuals, and it is true that a number
of them are rather seriously afflicted with revisionist ideas. They deny
the Party spirit and class nature of the press, they confound the differences
in principle between proletarian journalism and bourgeois journalism, and
they confuse journalism reflecting the collective economy of socialist countries
with journalism reflecting the economy of capitalist countries, which is
marked by anarchy and rivalry among monopoly groups. They admire bourgeois
liberalism and are against the leadership of the Party. They favour democracy
and reject centralism. They are opposed to what is essential to the realization
of a planned economy, that is, leadership, planning and control in the cultural
and educational fields (journalism included), which are indispensable and
at the same time not unduly centralized. These people and right-wing
intellectuals outside the Party act in concert and form a congenial lot,
hitting it off like sworn brothers. Dogmatism is being criticized by various
kinds of people. By Communists, that is, Marxists. By so-called Communists,
that is, Rightists in the Communist Party--revisionists. And outside the
Party, by the Left, the middle and the Right. Large in number, this middle
section accounts for about 70 per cent of all the intellectuals outside the
Party, while the Left makes up about 20 per cent, and the Right about 1,
3, 5 or up to 10 per cent, as the case may be.

In recent days the Rightists in the democratic parties and institutions of
higher education have shown themselves to be most determined and most rabid.
They think the middle elements are on their side and will not follow the
lead of the Communist Party, but this is actually a pipe dream. Some of the
middle elements are wavering, may swing either left or right and, in the
face of the current spate of wild attacks by the Rightists, may want to keep
mum and wait and see. To date, the Rightists have yet to reach the climax
of their attack, and they are going at it in high spirits. Rightists, both
inside and outside the Party, know nothing about dialectics -- things turn
into their opposites when they reach the extreme. We shall let the Rightists
run amuck for a time and let them reach their climax. The more they run amuck,
the better for us. Some say they are afraid of being hooked like a fish,
and others say they are afraid of being lured in deep, rounded up and
annihilated. Now that large numbers of fish have come to the surface of
themselves, there is no need to bait the hook. They are no ordinary fish,
but more likely man-eating sharks with sharp teeth--it is these sharks whose
fins people eat. Our struggle with the Rightists is centred on winning over
the middle elements, who can be won over to our side. The Rightists' pledge
of support to the people's democratic dictatorship, to the People's Government,
to socialism and to the leadership of the Communist Party is all a sham,
and on no account should any credence be given it. This holds true for all
Rightists, whether in the democratic parties, in the fields of education,
literature and art, the press, science and technology, or in industrial and
commercial circles. There are two kinds of people who are most determined
-- the Left and the Right. Both are trying to win over the middle elements
and gain the leadership over them. The Rightists are trying to seize first
a part and then the whole. To begin with, they are out to gain leadership
in the press, education, literature and art, and science and technology.
They know that in these fields the Communists are not as strong as they are,
which is actually the case. They are "national treasures", not to be rubbed
the wrong way. The movement against the "three evils", the elimination of
counter-revolutionaries and the ideological remoulding in past years -- how
outrageous and what impudence! They also know that many college students
come from landlord, rich peasant or bourgeois families and believe these
people will rise at their call. This likelihood exists for that section of
the student body with Right deviationist ideas. But to assume it is true
of most students is sheer fantasy. There are also indications that the Rightists
in press circles are instigating the worker and peasant masses to oppose
the government.

Some people are against the pinning of political labels, but only when
it is they who are being labelled by the Communist Party. But they themselves
feel free to slap labels on Communists and on the Left and middle elements
in the democratic parties and in all walks of life. What a rash of labels
tossed out by the Rightists has found its way into the press in the last
few months! The middle elements are sincere in their opposition to labelling.
All the inappropriate labels we pinned on the middle elements in the past
should be removed and indiscriminate labelling should be avoided in the future.
If injustices were really done to certain people, no matter who, in the movement
against the "three evils", in the elimination of counter-revolutionaries
and in the ideological remoulding, they should be publicly corrected. But
labelling the Rightists is a different matter. Even so, the cap must fit,
and only confirmed Rightists should be labelled as such. With few exceptions,
the Rightists need not be publicly identified by name, but should be given
some leeway so that it will be easier for them to compromise in appropriate
circumstances. The number of Rightists set above at 1, 3, 5 and up to 10
per cent is only an estimate, and it may turn out to be larger or smaller.
Moreover, conditions vary in different units, and it is therefore essential
to have conclusive evidence, adopt an objective approach and avoid excesses,
for excesses are a mistake.

The bourgeoisie and many of the intellectuals who formerly served the old
society are invariably stubborn in asserting themselves, invariably yearn
for that old world of theirs and invariably find themselves somewhat out
of their element in the new. It will take quite a long time to remould them,
and in the process crude methods should not be used. On the other hand, we
must take into account the fact that, compared with the early days of liberation,
most of them have made considerable progress, and their criticisms of our
work are mostly correct and must be accepted. Only some of the criticisms
are wrong, and in such cases matters should be clarified. It is in order
for them to ask to be trusted and given authority commensurate with their
positions; they must be trusted and given authority and responsibility. Some
of the criticisms made even by the Rightists are correct and should not be
categorically rejected. Their criticisms, wherever correct, should be accepted.
The Rightists are characterized by their Rightist political attitude. The
kind of co-operation they maintain with us is co-operation only in appearance
and not in essence. There is co-operation on some matters, but not on others.
There is co-operation in normal circumstances, but when there is an opening
which can be used, as at the present juncture, they don't really want any
co-operation. They go back on their pledge to accept the leadership of the
Communist Party and try to shake it off. But without this leadership, it
would be impossible to build socialism and our nation would be plunged into
total disaster.

In China, the bourgeois elements and the intellectuals who served the old
society number several million, and we need them to work for us; we must
further improve our relations with them so that we can enable them to give
better service to the cause of socialism and so that we can further remould
them and help them gradually become part of the working class, thus transforming
them into the opposite of what they are today. Most of them are sure to reach
this goal. Remoulding involves both unity and struggle, with struggle as
the means to achieve unity, which is the end. Struggle is mutual; now is
the time that many people are waging struggle against us. The criticisms
made by most people are valid or essentially so, including the sharp criticisms
by Professor Fu Ying of Peking University, which have not been published
in the press. They are making their criticisms in the hope of improving their
relations with us, so these criticisms are well-intentioned. But the Rightists'
criticisms are usually malicious, because they are antagonistic. Intentions,
whether good or bad, are not a matter of guesswork, they can be perceived.

The current criticism and rectification movement has been launched by the
Communist Party. As we expected and hoped, poisonous weeds have been growing
side by side with fragrant flowers and ghosts and monsters appearing together
with the unicorn and phoenix. Anyway, good things outnumber bad. Some say
we are trying to catch big fish, and we say we are digging up poisonous weeds,
which are only different ways of saying the same thing. In order to achieve
their end, the Rightists, who are anti-Communist, are making a desperate
attempt to stir up a typhoon above force 7 in China, strong enough to devastate
crops and houses. The more outrageous their conduct, the more quickly will
they show themselves up as doing the opposite of co-operating with the Communist
Party and accepting its leadership, as they pretended in the past, and the
people will thus recognize them as nothing but a handful of ghosts and monsters
opposed to the Communist Party and the people. They will then end up by burying
themselves. Is there anything bad about that?

There are two alternatives for the Rightists. One is to keep their tails
tucked between their legs and mend their ways. The other is to go on making
trouble and court ruin. Gentlemen Rightists, the choice is yours, the initiative
(for a short time) is in your hands.

In our country, there are several criteria by which to judge whether the
bourgeoisie and bourgeois intellectuals are politically honest or dishonest,
good or bad. The main thing is to see whether they really accept socialism
and really accept the leadership of the Communist Party. They agreed to both
long ago, but now some want to go back on their word, and this will not do.
Once they back out, there is no place for them in the People's Republic of
China. Your ideals are those of the Western world (also known as the free
world), you might as well go there.

Why is such a torrent of reactionary, vicious statements being allowed to
appear in the press? To let the people have some idea of these poisonous
weeds and noxious fumes so as to have them uprooted or dispelled.

"Why didn't you say all this earlier?" Didn't we? Didn't we say long ago
that all poisonous weeds must be uprooted?

"You divide people into the Left, the middle and the Right. Isn't that contrary
to how things stand?" Wherever there are masses of people -- everywhere except
deserts -- they are invariably divided into the Left, the middle and the
Right, and this will be so ten thousand years hence. Is that contrary to
how things stand? This division will serve as a guide for the masses to size
up people and will make it easier to win over the middle elements and isolate
the Rightists.

"Why not win over the Rightists?" We shall try. But it won't be possible
to win them over until they feel isolated. How can they be amenable when
they are riding their high horse and are so bent on destroying the Communist
Party? Isolation will cause a split, and we must bring about a split among
the Rightists. It has all along been our practice to divide people into the
Left, the middle and the Right, or in other words, progressive,
middle-of-the-road and backward; this is nothing new, only some people have
a short memory.

Are you going to "fix" people with a vengeance? It depends on how the Rightist
gentlemen behave themselves. Poisonous weeds are to be uprooted, and this
means uprooting the ideological poisonous weeds. To "fix" people is another
matter. No one will be "fixed" unless he "grossly violates the law". Then
what is meant by "gross violation of the law"? It means serious damage to
the interests of the state and the people as a result of the evil-doer's
wilful actions despite repeated warnings. As for people who commit ordinary
errors, there is all the more reason to apply the principle of curing the
sickness to save the patient. This is the proper distinction to be observed
both inside and outside the Party. To "fix" also means to cure the sickness
to save the patient.

How long will it take the Party to accomplish the task of rectification?
Events are now moving very fast and the relations between the Party and the
masses will rapidly improve. Apparently, the task will take a few weeks in
some places, a few months in others and about a year in still others (for
instance, the rural areas). But studying Marxism and raising the ideological
level will take much longer.

Our unity and struggle with the bourgeoisie and the intellectuals will go
on for a long time. When the rectification movement inside the Communist
Party is basically over, we shall suggest that the democratic parties and
people in all walks of life carry out their own rectification which will
accelerate their progress and make it easier to isolate the handful of
right-wingers. Now it is people outside the Party who are helping us in our
rectification. Later on we shall help them in theirs. This help is mutual,
in the course of which what is evil will be done away with, that is, turned
into its opposite, into what is good. This is exactly what the people expect
of us, and we ought to gratify their wishes.

Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project.