Let me discuss the problem of failing to adopt the stance of an ordinary worker.


This issue deserves special mention because some cadres consider themselves superior to all others, look down on people, and rely on their seniority for status.

Once they attain official positions—especially high-ranking ones—they become reluctant to present themselves as ordinary workers.


This is a very harmful phenomenon.


If the majority of cadres were to adopt the posture of common laborers, those few who persist in such attitudes would soon find themselves isolated, and the bureaucratic habits could be gradually eradicated.


Living off one’s rank or seniority hinders the unleashing of creativity.


Therefore, we must break with this officialdom mentality, sweep it away entirely, and purge it from among the cadre ranks.


We should follow whoever possesses the truth, whether they are manure carriers, coal miners, street sweepers, or poor peasants; as long as the truth is in their hands, we must heed them.


Even if you hold a high office, if you do not have the truth, you cannot expect others to obey you.


To reiterate: once the majority of cadres have rid themselves of this officialdom mindset, the remaining individuals—who still harbor it—will be easily dealt with, since they will be left isolated.


Officialdom is a form of base, vulgar behavior: putting on airs, flaunting one’s credentials, treating people unequally, and looking down upon others. This represents the lowest kind of taste—not the noble spirit of communism.


By contrast, adopting the stance of an ordinary worker embodies a higher, more refined sensibility and reflects the true communist ethos.


Only by doing so can we effectively guard against great-power chauvinism.


If the majority of our cadres, especially leading cadres, approach others with a scientific and humble attitude—a genuine humility rather than a feigned one—and present themselves as ordinary workers, we can prevent great-power chauvinism; even if it does arise, it need not be feared.


Printed from the transcript of the speech preserved in the Central Archives.


Note [1]: This is part of Mao Zedong’s address at the Second Plenary Session of the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China.