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

Leninist teachings concerning the proletarian revolution andthe dictatorship of the proletariat.Communists would always prefer to bring about the transitionto socialism by peaceful means. But can peaceful transitionbe made into a new world-wide strategic principle forthe international communist movement? Absolutely not.Marxism-Leninism consistently holds that the fundamentalquestion in all revolutions is that of state power. The 1957Declaration and the 1960 Statement both clearly point out,“Leninism teaches, and experience confirms, that the rulingclasses never relinquish power voluntarily.” The old governmentnever topples even in a period of crisis, unless it ispushed. This is a universal law of class struggle.In specific historical conditions, Marx and Lenin did raisethe possibility that revolution may develop peacefully. But,as Lenin pointed out, the peaceful development of revolutionis an opportunity “very seldom to be met with in the historyof revolutions”.As a matter of fact, there is no historical precedent forpeaceful transition from capitalism to socialism.Certain persons say there was no precedent when Marxforetold that socialism would inevitably replace capitalism.Then why can we not predict a peaceful transition fromcapitalism to socialism despite the absence of a precedent?This parallel is absurd. Employing dialectical and historicalmaterialism, Marx analysed the contradictions of capitalism,discovered the objective laws of development of human societyand arrived at a scientific conclusion, whereas theprophets who pin all their hopes on “peaceful transition” proceedfrom historical idealism, ignore the most fundamentalcontradictions of capitalism, repudiate the Marxist-Leninistteachings on class struggle, and arrive at a subjective andgroundless conclusion. How can people who repudiate Marxismget any help from Marx?It is plain to everyone that the capitalist countries arestrengthening their state machinery — and especially their20