Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping

Author: Zheng Qian
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Publishing Time: 2003-12-01
Features: After the founding of New China, Mao Zedong's subjective view was concretized in his confidence in socialist revolution and construction, as well as a series of work guidelines and methods. Unlike general modernization theories, he fully recognized the role of the people's subjectivity and initiative in the modernization process: "Social wealth is created by workers, peasants, and working intellectuals themselves." As long as these people master their own fate and follow a Marxist-Leninist line, they will not avoid problems but actively address them, and any difficulties in the world can always be resolved. Therefore, he believed that the key to socialist construction still lay in mobilizing, developing, and protecting the enthusiasm of the masses. Around 1956, when he was determined to explore a path of construction distinct from the Soviet model, many of his famous works actually unfolded and applied the theory of people's subjectivity under socialist conditions. In On the Ten Major Relationships, he stated at the outset that the proposal of these ten issues was centered around the basic principle of mobilizing all positive factors at home and abroad, and "at home, [the people and peasants are the basic forces]." Regarding the correct handling of internal contradictions among the people, in Mao's words: "What does it mean to correctly handle internal contradictions among the people? It is to be realistic, to follow the mass line, and ultimately, the mass line." At the beginning of the exploration, Mao clearly felt that while both were pursuing socialism, there were two paths: one was top-down, cold, slow, and lifeless; the other was to mobilize the masses, vibrant, and joyful. He even predicted that because of the mass line, our communism might come earlier than that of the Soviet Union. Although these views were somewhat one-sided, the reasonable core of trusting and relying on the masses they contained remains something we must cherish today. Out of dissatisfaction with the Soviet model and the fact that the conditions at the time made it difficult to elevate this understanding to the level of system and institutional reform, Mao first thought of mobilizing large-scale mass movements in various fields of socialist construction to solve the shortcomings of the traditional system from outside the system. The "Great Leap Forward" was a huge attempt along this line. When correcting the errors of the "Great Leap Forward," he harshly criticized the "Leftist" errors but also adopted a relatively tolerant attitude toward them. One reason was that he was afraid of dampening the masses' enthusiasm. Even in his later years, when he made serious mistakes, he still believed in his subjective mind that he was defending the interests and subjectivity of the masses and maximizing their enthusiasm. He hoped to use the "Cultural Revolution" to oppose "bureaucrats who ride on the people's heads," improve the relationship between cadres and masses, and raise the awareness level of the masses. He emphasized that "the fundamental principle of the Communist Party is to rely directly on the broad revolutionary masses." When discussing the guiding ideology behind the establishment of "Revolutionary Committees," he said: "The reform of state organs, the fundamental principle is to connect with the masses." What he did not expect was that achieving close ties between the Party and the masses through the method of class struggle expansionism would only lead to a dead end. In Mao Zedong's theory of people's subjectivity, there is also a rich content regarding the individual as a person. In traditional Chinese culture, the understanding of the person is clearly distinct from the Western humanistic spirit. It does not focus on emphasizing the independent status of the individual, as well as the related freedom, equality, dignity, and rights of the person, but tends to determine the individual's status based on social and interpersonal relationships, viewing people as components of the masses. Chinese ancient philosophy, which is prominent in the unity of cosmology, ethics, and methodology, emphasizes the social and ethical attributes of people. Mao inherited and transformed the excellent achievements of Chinese cultural traditions in the theory of the person. The understanding of the "individual" is that people should have ideals, uphold integrity, value morality, pursue self-discipline, strive for hard work while despising material desires, abandon selfish interests, discard decadence, and disdain mediocrity. In the exemplary figures he promoted for the entire nation to learn from, such as Bethune, Zhang Side, and Lei Feng, there was a lofty life ethic of selflessness, dedication to others, lofty aspirations, and a concern for the world. He not only hoped that "the 600 million people in China would all become Shun and Yao" but also demanded that everyone could be both literary and skilled in both industry and agriculture, achieving comprehensive development. He dedicated his life to creating such a generation of new communists. In his view, these new people, as the primary factor in productivity, would exert a tremendous subjective energy and reaction, profoundly impacting the development of social productivity and promoting comprehensive social progress. These new people would not only be the builders of the ideal society but also its beneficiaries. To create such new people, it was necessary to study Marxist theory, engage in the practice of the Cultural Revolution, and temper oneself in the great storms, frequently conducting ideological education campaigns in various forms, including rectification campaigns. He always believed that the key question was how to maintain the enthusiasm of the entire nation for a long time. The important issue was to thoroughly carry out the socialist revolution and oppose the influence of the bourgeoisie. The foundation of Marxism, the influence of traditional Chinese culture, and the summary of China's revolutionary experience, as well as the observation of Western capitalist societies, made Mao deeply dissatisfied and concerned about the current state and future trends of people in Western developed countries: He believed that although Western developed countries had advanced science and technology and prosperous lives, the vast majority of the people had not become the masters of the state and society. The prosperous lives had made them lose their revolutionary subjectivity, so the further west one went, the richer one became, the harder the revolution became. He believed that wealth alone could not and did not solve the ultimate purpose of life. In Western societies, where profit-seeking, material desires, treachery, and moral decline prevailed, greed, ugliness, decadence, stagnation, and mediocrity were rampant. Those millionaires in spirit and those in fine attire were merely slaves of money and servants of material desires, and they had no freedom either. In capitalist societies, advanced productivity and science and technology could not truly realize human subjectivity. Mao's views not only typified a common perspective in third-world countries but also, to a certain extent, reflected the anxieties and reflections of many Westerners about the "modern disease" in Western societies. After the mid-20th century, Western thinkers such as the Frankfurt School, cultural philosophy, scientism, and existentialism, through humanistic trends, criticized Western society, such as "a sick society" (Marcuse), "one-dimensional man" (Marcuse), "alienation syndrome" (Fromm), "the world master is becoming a slave to technology" (Sombart), etc., which seemed to be responding to some of Mao's critiques in their own specialized language, despite their vastly different standpoints, views, and methods. Mao's theory of people's subjectivity enabled the Chinese people, under the leadership of the Communist Party, to transform from potential subjects into real subjects, allowing China to achieve leaps across several centuries in less than half a century. The establishment of the socialist system and the realization of public ownership made the masses the masters of the state and society. Mao did not stop there. He correctly recognized that the realization of people's subjectivity was not a one-time, once-and-for-all solution; under socialism, there still remained the question of how to mobilize, develop, and protect the enthusiasm of the masses on a new basis and continuously realize their subjectivity. To this end, he embarked on a series of large-scale explorations and experiments with his unique courage, determination, and persistent pursuit. Mao's practices achieved some successes and gave Chinese socialist revolution and construction distinct characteristics, such as the mass line, the relationship between the Party and the masses, and various frequent large-scale mass movements, the management model of "participation of cadres and masses, reform and combination," and radically opposing bureaucracy, etc. However, in his later years, due to serious mistakes in the issue of class struggle, his practices increasingly deviated from his original intentions—in the "Cultural Revolution," which he believed was "the most extensive and profound mass movement ever," the people's subjectivity was actually manifested in resistance and struggle against the "Cultural Revolution." This historical tragedy showed that the realization of people's subjectivity was not just a matter of subjective desire, emotion, or ethics. In addition to understanding subjectivity as a dynamic, continuously developing state, it was also necessary to clarify the internal basis and conditions of this development and its various forms of realization. The theory of people's subjectivity is a philosophical category at the basic level. It represents the autonomous status and nature of the subject (person) in the process of recognizing and transforming objective objects. This autonomy is particularly evident in the initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity of people. In modern times, it is concretely expressed in independent thinking, active participation, self-determination, and a spirit of responsibility for one's actions. Of course, all of this must be based on the correct understanding of the object by the person for transformation. The theory of people's subjectivity is also a historical category, not only because "the people" have different connotations in different historical stages but also because this subjectivity has different natures and conditions of realization in different societies. Moreover, when it ultimately becomes successful practice, it must go through a series of specific forms and intermediate links. For example, during the New Democratic Revolution, it was necessary to go through various forms and links such as public opinion preparation, Party leadership, mobilizing the masses, people's war, people's government, and united front to awaken the people and enable them to act, transforming from spontaneous to self-directed, from potential subjects to real subjects. The same was true for the socialist period, but its internal basis, specific forms, and intermediate links were very different from those of the war years.