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

alize that this cannot be done in the absence of a revolutionarysituation.Every knowledgeable Marxist-Leninist knows that it is prematureto advance the slogan of armed uprising in the absenceof a revolutionary situation, that this would doom the workingclass to certain defeat. We know with what great care andseriousness V. I. Lenin regarded this problem, and with whatpolitical foresight and knowledge of the concrete situation heapproached the question of selecting the time for a revolutionaryrising. On the very eve of the October Revolution Leninpointed out that it would be too early to come out on October24, and too late on October 26 — everything might then belost. Consequently, the seizure of power had to be undertakenon October 25. Who can determine the degree of tensionof class contradictions, the existence of a revolutionary situation,the exact moment for acting? That can only be doneby the working class of each country, by its vanguard, theMarxist-Leninist party.The history of the international labour movement shows thatit is a bad party which, while calling itself a workers’ party,devotes itself solely to economic matters, does not educatethe working class in a revolutionary spirit, does not prepareit for political struggle, for the seizure of power. Such aparty is bound to slide into reformism. But it is a bad party,too, that approaches political struggle out of context with thestruggle for improving the economic position of the workingclass, the peasantry, the working people generally. Such aparty is bound to become isolated from the masses. Onlycorrect utilization of all the forms of class struggle in skilfulcombination enables a party to become a genuinely revolutionary,Marxist-Leninist party, the leader of the masses, aparty capable of directing the working class in the onslaughton capitalism, in the achievement of power.The mortal sin of many Communist parties in developedcapitalist countries, the Chinese comrades think, is that theyconsider their immediate task to be the struggle for the568