Key Points of a Conversation on Theoretical Issues


(December 1974)
(1)
After hearing a report on preparations for the Fourth National People’s Congress, Chairman Mao said that they would discuss two matters: personnel arrangements and a theoretical issue.  Regarding the theoretical question, Chairman Mao stated that Lenin had written about the dictatorship of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie and that an article should be composed on this topic. He instructed that Chunqiao and Wenyuan[2] locate several passages in Lenin’s works where this issue is addressed, have them printed in large type, and send them to him. Everyone should first read these materials and then write articles[3]. He specifically asked Chunqiao to draft such an essay. If this matter is not clarified, the country will drift toward revisionism. It is essential that the entire nation become aware of this point.  Chairman Mao added that he had discussed the socialist system with the Danish Prime Minister. (Note: During his meeting with Danish Prime Minister Poul Hartling on October 20, 1974, Chairman Mao remarked, “In essence, China is a socialist country. Before liberation, our situation was hardly different from that of capitalism. Even now, we still employ an eight-grade wage system, practice distribution according to work, and use money as a medium of exchange—features that do not greatly distinguish us from the old society. The only real difference lies in the change of ownership.”) At present, our country operates under a commodity-based system; the wage structure remains unequal, with an eight-grade scale and other such features. Such conditions can only be restricted under the dictatorship of the proletariat.  Therefore, if someone like Lin Biao[4] were to come to power, it would be very easy for him to establish a capitalist system. For this reason, we must study more of the works of Marxism-Leninism.  Lenin observed, “Small-scale production constantly, day in and day out, spontaneously and on a massive scale, gives rise to capitalism and the bourgeoisie.” This phenomenon occurs among segments of the working class as well as among Party members.  Instances of bourgeois lifestyles can also be found among cadres and office workers within the proletariat.


Printed according to documents of the CPC Central Committee.


Notes
[1] From December 23 to 27, 1974, Mao Zedong, while in Changsha, received reports from Zhou Enlai and Wang Hongwen (then Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee) concerning preparations for the Fourth National People’s Congress. On December 26, he held a lengthy private conversation with Zhou Enlai, during which they discussed theoretical issues. On January 7, 1975, Zhou Enlai submitted a draft summary of this discussion on theoretical matters to Mao Zedong for review; Mao made some minor textual revisions. The following day, Zhou forwarded this summary to all members and alternate members of the Political Bureau for circulation. On February 18, the CPC Central Committee issued a notice distributing Mao’s remarks on theoretical issues to the party committees of provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions; to the party committees of major military areas, provincial military areas, and field armies; and to the leading groups or core party groups of central government departments and state organs, as well as to the party committees of the various general headquarters and arms of service of the Central Military Commission, instructing them to “carefully organize the study of these points among the broad ranks of party members, cadres, and non-Party masses.” A compilation of thirty-three quotations from Marx, Engels, and Lenin on the dictatorship of the proletariat, excerpted in accordance with Mao’s instructions, was published in the March 1, 1975, third issue of the journal Red Flag and in the People’s Daily on February 22, 1975. The editors’ notes in both publications outlined the main content of Mao’s remarks.  [2] Chunqiao refers to Zhang Chunqiao, formerly Deputy Head of the Cultural Revolution Group of the CPC Central Committee, at that time a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Politburo, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Director of the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army. Wenyuan refers to Yao Wenyuan, formerly a member of the Cultural Revolution Group of the CPC Central Committee, at the time a member of the CPC Central Politburo. During the Cultural Revolution, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, Jiang Qing, and Wang Hongwen formed the so-called “Gang of Four.” See note [1] on page 397 of this volume.  [3] The third issue of Red Flag in 1975 published Yao Wenyuan’s article “On the Social Basis of Lin Biao’s Anti-Party Clique,” while the fourth issue featured Zhang Chunqiao’s essay “On the All-Round Dictatorship over the Bourgeoisie.”  [4] Lin Biao, see note [1] on page 269 of this volume.