To Tugarinov [1]
{On the Component Parts (Categories) of the Law of Unity and Struggle of Opposites in Socialist Society}
(September 1964)
(Has it been extinguished? — Mao’s note)
(Has it developed? — Mao’s note)
There are numerous contradictions. Over the past forty-seven years, a workers’ aristocracy and a peasants’ aristocracy have gradually emerged—the urban and rural bourgeoisie—which oppress and exploit the working class and peasantry, who constitute the majority of the population. They pose as representatives of workers and peasants to deceive them. However, the broad masses of the working class and the peasantry—namely, the poor and ordinary farmers—do not trust these so-called representatives and engage in sharp struggles against them in various forms. Although both the urban and rural sections of the bourgeoisie are part of the same capitalist class,

Annotations on an excerpted translation of “On the Component Parts (Categories) of the Law of Unity and Struggle of Opposites in Socialist Society”
they have united to seize power; yet there also exists a struggle between control and counter-control. Even within the urban bourgeoisie, divisions have arisen, leading to a life-and-death struggle. Recent events are manifestations of this conflict. Our country also experiences similar situations extensively, rife with contradictions. Nevertheless, we are beginning to recognize these issues and are taking steps to resolve them — Mao’s note.
Four
(Nonsense — Mao’s note)
Five
(Nonsense — Mao’s note)
[1]
Tugarinov was, at that time, a lecturer in the Department of Dialectical Materialism and Historical Materialism at Leningrad University in the Soviet Union.
[2]
This is Chapter Two of the book “Characteristics of the Operation of Dialectical Laws During the Soviet Union’s Transition to Communism,” edited by Tugarinov and written by him. The book was published in 1963 by the publishing house of Leningrad University in the Soviet Union.
[3]
All five of these annotations were written on a translated excerpt of Chapter Two, prepared by the Philosophy Group of the editorial department of the magazine Red Flag and submitted for review by its editor-in-chief, Chen Boda. An important point in this chapter is that the path of development in a socialist society proceeds from opposition to differentiation, and then to unity and integration; the relationship between the working class and the peasantry is not one of contradiction, but rather one of difference. The excerpt states: “The relationship between the Soviet working class and peasantry, as well as between urban and rural areas, serves as a clear example of the second process—opposition transforming into differentiation. The elimination of the exploiting classes in both urban and rural areas, along with the development of the collective farm system, represent stages of this transformation. If, in the early years of Soviet rule, the relationship between the working class and the peasantry still bore the character of non-antagonistic contradiction, today their relationship can be described as one of difference (essential difference), meaning, overall, it is not a contradictory one. Certain localized and temporary contradictions arising among the basic classes in our society do not provide grounds for characterizing their relations using the category of contradiction—even if it is non-antagonistic.” Annotation One was written immediately after the nine characters “the elimination of the exploiting classes in urban and rural areas” in this passage. Annotation Two followed the nine characters “the development of the collective farm system.” Annotation Three came after the sentence: “If, in the early years of Soviet rule, the relationship between the working class and the peasantry still bore the character of non-antagonistic contradiction, then today their relationship can be described as one of difference (essential difference), meaning, overall, it is not a contradictory one.” The excerpt further notes: “The defining characteristic of the most important social relationships in the Soviet Union—those between classes, between urban and rural areas, and between mental and manual labor—is no longer contradiction (even non-antagonistic), but precisely difference. Difference (rather than opposition) is one of the primary social categories in Soviet society during the transition from socialism to communism.” Annotation Four was placed immediately after the words “but precisely difference,” while Annotation Five was written at the very end of this passage.

Archival photo
October 1, 1964: Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate Tower.
October 1, 1964: Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi on the Tiananmen Gate Tower.