K. This is the 1st working draft of vol. VI. It still ... - From Marx to Mao

280 MAO TSE-TUNG
mad dogs — such is the present imperialist war.
1. THE AIMS OF THE WAR
“War is the continuation of politics.” The nature of imperialism
is predatory, and even in periods of “peace” there is no instance when
the policy of the imperialist states is not predatory. But when the
predatory policy of certain imperialist states encounters the obstacle
of certain other imperialist states and cannot break through this obstacle
by peaceful means, then these states use warlike means to
break through this obstacle so that they may pursue their predatory
FROM MARX
TO MAO
policies. The aim of the Second Imperialist War is similar to that of
⋆
the First Imperialist War. It consists in dividing up the world anew,
that is to say, in dividing up anew the colonies, semi-colonies, and
spheres of influence, in pillaging the peoples of the world, and in
establishing their domination over the peoples of the world. . . .
Apart from aims of this kind, are there any other aims? Are there
any good aims? There are none whatever. Whether it be Germany,
Italy, or Japan, whether it be England, America, or France, all the
imperialist states participating directly or indirectly in the war have
only a counter-revolutionary, an imperialist goal — pillaging the
people. The “lasting peace” NOT of Japanese FOR imperialism, the “self-determination
of peoples” of Hitler, the “opposition to National Socialism”
of Chamberlain, the “aid to Poland” of Daladier — all these
come down to a single COMMERCIAL
word: pillage. Merely because it sounds good
and to fool the people, they order their secretaries to invent a few
synonyms, that is all.
DISTRIBUTION
2. THE NATURE OF THE WAR
The nature of the war is basically determined by the political
aims of the war. All wars are divided into two categories. As Comrade
Stalin has said, they are divided into: (1) just wars, the aim of
which is not pillage but liberation, and (2) unjust wars of pillage.
By its nature, the Second Imperialist War like the First Imperialist
War, belongs to the second category. The two sides in the present
war, in order to fool the people and mobilize public opinion, both
proclaim with utter shamelessness that they themselves are just and