Outline of Speech
(November 21, 1958)

(1) The question of transitioning to communism.
Which will transition to communism first—the People’s Republic of China or the Soviet Union? This requires careful consideration from all angles. Is it actually possible for China to make an early transition, and would it be beneficial? Even if it is feasible, we could adopt the banner of socialism while in practice implementing communist policies.

(2) The Fifteen-Year Plan.
The Forty Articles can wait two more years; they should not be made public. We must avoid chasing empty fame that could lead to real harm. There is no need to draw up a long-term plan; it suffices to have some preliminary thinking among a small group of people.

(3) The tasks of the plenary session.
We should focus on issuing directives regarding the people’s communes and setting next year’s targets.

(4) Whether to draw a clear line between socialism and communism, how to draw it, and whether to propose a transition to complete public ownership within three to four or five to six years.

(5) The issue of abolishing classes.
The Soviet formulation versus our own. Economically abolishing classes does not equate to their abolition on the political and ideological fronts. Lessons from the Soviet experience and from China itself.

(6) The question of the commodity economy.
The scope of commodities. The lifespan of commodities. Stalin’s formulation as compared with that in the third edition of the textbook on political economy.

(7) Reducing the planned targets.
Industrial targets, water conservancy targets, and grain production targets should all be appropriately scaled back. Is this “pouring cold water” on the movement? Or is it opportunism? What matters is objective feasibility. We will reassess after June of next year.

(8) Rectifying the people’s communes.
Four months should be allocated to rectifying the communes. There are two possible scenarios: either the communes, canteens, and nurseries will hold firm, or they may collapse.