Polemic on General Line of International ... - From Marx to Mao

to be discussed in the talks between the Chinese and SovietParties, and in particular raises the question of the generalline of the international communist movement. In this letterwe too would like to express our views, which constitute ourproposal on the general line of the international communistmovement and on some related questions of principle.We hope that this exposition of views will be conducive tomutual understanding by our two Parties and to a detailed,point-by-point discussion in the talks.We also hope that this will be conducive to the understandingof our views by the fraternal Parties and to a full exchangeof ideas at an international meeting of fraternalParties.1. The general line of the international communist movementmust take as its guiding principle the Marxist-Leninistrevolutionary theory concerning the historical mission of theproletariat and must not depart from it.The Moscow Meetings of 1957 and 1960 adopted the Declarationand the Statement respectively after a full exchangeof views and in accordance with the principle of reachingunanimity through consultation. The two documents pointout the characteristics of our epoch and the common laws ofsocialist revolution and socialist construction, and lay downthe common line of all the Communist and Workers’ Parties.They are the common programme of the international communistmovement.It is true that for several years there have been differenceswithin the international communist movement in the understandingof, and the attitude towards, the Declaration of 1957and the Statement of 1960. The central issue here is whetheror not to accept the revolutionary principles of the Declarationand the Statement. In the last analysis, it is a questionof whether or not to accept the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism, whether or not to recognize the universal significanceof the road of the October Revolution, whether or not4