CS July-2021 Final | Page 21

It is Essential to Have a Genuine Marxist-Leninist Party

In summing up the experience of the Paris Commune , Marx and Engels explicitly stated : “ In its struggle against the collective power of the propertied classes , the working class cannot act as a class except by constituting itself into a political party , distinct from , and opposed to all old parties formed by the propertied classes .” This is a condition indispensable to seizing victory in the proletarian revolution , establishing and consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat , and realizing the ultimate goal of abolishing classes .
The fundamental cause of the failure of the Paris Commune was that , owing to the historical conditions , Marxism had not yet achieved a dominant position in the workers ’ movement and a proletarian revolutionary party with Marxism as its guiding thought had not yet come into being . On the other hand , Blanquism and Proudhonism which were then dominant in the Paris Commune could not possibly lead the proletarian revolution to victory .
Historical experience shows that where a very favourable revolutionary situation and revolutionary enthusiasm on the part of the masses exist , it is still necessary to have a strong core of leadership of the proletariat , that is , “ a revolutionary party ... built on the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary theory and in the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary style .” Only such a party can lead the proletariat and the broad masses in defeating imperialism and its running dogs and winning victory in the revolution .
A revolutionary situation appeared in many countries at the time of World War I . However , since almost all the political parties of the July - 2021
Second International had degenerated into revisionist , social-chauvinist parties , it was out of the question for them to lead the proletariat in seizing political power . Only in Russia , under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party founded by Lenin , was the Great October Socialist Revolution crowned with success .
During and after World War II , the revolution triumphed in China thanks to the leadership of the Communist Party of China with Chairman Mao as its leader ; in some other countries , also under the leadership of Marxist-Leninist parties , the revolution was victorious or protracted revolutionary struggles were persevered in . But in certain countries , the revolution failed because the opportunist , revisionist line had got the upper hand in the parties .
For world revolution the situation today is better than ever before . The objective situation urgently demands strong leadership by genuine Marxist-Leninist parties , and the building of proletarian revolutionary parties which completely break with the revisionist line , which are consolidated ideologically , politically and organizationally and which have a broad mass character .
To be able to lead the revolution , it is of fundamental importance for a proletarian party to take Marxism-Leninism as its guiding thought , integrate the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the revolution in its own country , and formulate and implement a correct line suited to the conditions of that country . With a correct line , a weak force can grow strong , armed forces can be built up from scratch , and political power can be attained . With an erroneous line , the revolution will suffer setbacks and the gains already won will be forfeited .
In leading the Chinese people ’ s revolution through protracted struggles , Comrade Mao Tsetung repeatedly pointed out : “ As soon as it was linked with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution , the universal truth of Marxism- Leninism gave an entirely new complexion to the Chinese revolution ” and “ it has been the consistent ideological principle of our Party to closely integrate Marxist-Leninist theory with the practice of the Chinese revolution .”
Comrade Mao Tsetung further expounded this fundamental principle in his important inscription written for Japanese worker friends : “ The Japanese revolution will undoubtedly be victorious , provided the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism is really integrated with the concrete practice of the Japanese revolution .”
A proletarian party should , in accordance with the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism , use the Marxist-Leninist stand , viewpoints and methods to carry out deep-going investigations and study of the class relations in society , make concrete analyses of the present conditions and the history of its own country and the characteristics of the revolution in that country , and solve the theoretical and practical problems of the revolution independently . It is necessary to learn from international experience , which , however , should not be copied mechanically ; a proletarian party should creatively develop its own experience in the light of the realities of its own country . Only
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