Does class struggle exist? It's a case of 'one party, two publications'
Ideological wrangle between two party-run publications has opened up debate on Mao Zedong Thought at a critical juncture
"One party, two publications" - that could be the new slogan of the Communist Party after a debate on whether class struggle still exists on the mainland. It's how some party insiders described an ideological wrangle that has emerged in recent years between two leading party publications - or , the party's theoretic journal, and the , a key product of the Central Party School.
It only makes sense that party-run publications should reflect the collective view of the central leadership on major issues. But recently that has not necessarily been so, as reflected in a debate over class struggle.
Last week, the , a bi-weekly run by , dropped an ideological bomb by reviving and publishing an extremely leftist Maoist theory in an article entitled: "The People's Insistence on a Democratic Dictatorship Is Rational". In it, Wang Weiguang , president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, claimed that China was still in the era of Marxism, and so it was impossible to eliminate class struggle. While the article stirred overwhelming criticism on the internet, almost all the state-run media fell silent to avoid controversy.
Not the , though. It launched a direct rebuttal saying that abandoning class struggle has been central to China's achievements of the past 35 years. It said the party had made a great "mistake" by adopting class struggle as its guiding philosophy - a blunder that drove the tumultuous period before and during the Cultural Revolution and halted economic development.
Class struggle is the core of Mao Zedong Thought, which is enshrined as the country's ideology in the party charter and state constitution. Both documents also say the country will adhere to a people's democratic dictatorship, which means that the party and the state represent and act on behalf of the people even though it may use dictatorial powers against forces that may try to destroy it. The concept is based on the class struggle theory.
Mao devoted his life to leading what he called a revolutionary struggle on behalf of the majority against upper classes that may try to exploit them. It was peasant-led guerilla warfare that overthrew the Kuomintang government, which Mao said watched out for the bourgeois class. After that victory, he used the theory to eliminate all his political enemies on the mainland.
The philosophy was key to the Cultural Revolution, which was launched to extinguish the presumed bourgeois ideology.
Despite the revolution's infamy for killing millions, after Mao died in 1976, the new leadership under Deng Xiaoping decided not to criticise Mao's theory for fear that doing so might undermine the party's image and its legitimacy to rule.
Nearly 40 years have passed since Mao died, and the Communist Party has developed factions of its own. The two publications are testimony to those factions. is under the jurisdiction of the Central Committee's Publicity Department, and the is under the Central Party School. and the Publicity Department have long been known for their conservatism, and the has made its name as a liberal publication in recent years, reflecting the fact the Central Party School tends to be more open-minded on politically sensitive topics.
The party had long used the slogan "socialism with Chinese characteristics", but socialism faded during the 1990s and gave way to the return of capitalism. Ever since, the party has tried every means to stop debate on Mao Zedong Thought and his class struggle theory.
It's ironic that right before a crucial leadership meeting - the fourth party plenum in Beijing on October 20-23, where issues affecting the country's future will be discussed - Wang's article effectively blows down the door and puts such opposing views out in the open.
