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

While combating revisionism, which is the main danger inthe international communist movement, Communists mustalso combat dogmatism.As stated in the 1957 Declaration, proletarian parties“should firmly adhere to the principle of combining . . .universal Marxist-Leninist truth with the specific practice ofrevolution and construction in their countries”.That is to say:On the one hand, it is necessary at all times to adhere tothe universal truth of Marxism-Leninism. Failure to do sowill lead to Right opportunist or revisionist errors.On the other hand, it is always necessary to proceed fromreality, maintain close contact with the masses, constantlysum up the experience of mass struggles, and independentlywork out and apply policies and tactics suited to the conditionsof one’s own country. Errors of dogmatism will be committedif one fails to do so, if one mechanically copies the policies andtactics of another Communist Party, submits blindly to thewill of others or accepts without analysis the programme andresolutions of another Communist Party as one’s own line.Some people are now violating this basic principle, whichwas long ago affirmed in the Declaration. On the pretext of“creatively developing Marxism-Leninism”, they cast asidethe universal truth of Marxism-Leninism. Moreover, theydescribe as “universal Marxist-Leninist truths” their ownprescriptions which are based on nothing but subjective conjectureand are divorced from reality and from the masses,and they force others to accept these prescriptions unconditionally.That is why many grave phenomena have come to pass inthe international communist movement.24. A most important lesson from the experience of theinternational communist movement is that the developmentand victory of a revolution depend on the existence of a revolutionaryproletarian party.There must be a revolutionary party.48