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

428 MAO TSE-TUNG
Talking of “revolution” separately from economic work is like making
revolution against the Finance Department and against yourselves.
The enemy will not be in the least hurt by you. Because we
have many comrades with leadership responsibilities who still take
the attitude of neglecting or not paying much attention to economic
work, many other comrades copy them, being willing to do Party,
government, army and educational work, or to work in literature and
art but unwilling to do economic work. Some female comrades are
unwilling to marry economic workers, implying that they consider
them dishonourable. They consider that marrying the head of a muleand-horse-team
would be an insult and they would rather marry a
political-worker. In fact all these viewpoints are very wrong and do
FROM MARX
TO MAO
not match the situation in this time and place. We must make a new
⋆
division of labour. We need some revolutionary specialists who are
separate from production affairs. We also require some doctors, literature
and art workers, and so forth. But we do not want many
people like this. If there are too many, then danger arises. If those
who eat are many and those who produce are few, if those who are
employed suffer and those who benefit are comfortable, we shall
collapse. Therefore, many cadres must be transferred from their
present work or study to economic posts. Chief responsible cadres
at all levels in the Party, government and army must at the same
time pay full attention NOT to leading economic FORwork.
They must investigate
and study the content of economic work, be responsible for
making plans for economic work, allocate cadres for economic work,
inspect the results COMMERCIAL
of economic work, and never again entrust this
extremely important work to the supply departments or general offices
alone and wash their hands of it.
The fourth shortcoming is that in the past some army units and
official organizations DISTRIBUTION
have not had a division of labour between levels
when allocating production tasks. All levels from brigade to
company and from upper level to lower level have been permitted to
run commerce without any limits. Thus many defects have arisen.
Henceforth most commerce, industry and transport should be concentrated
in brigades, in regiments working in independent areas and
in upper-level organs. Furthermore these must work according to
correct principles. Trade with the outside must be united under the
direction of the Commodities Bureau. Units under regiments working
in an independent area, units at battalion level or below, and
most lower level organs should be instructed to carry out agricul-