China today; Ruling elite and the masses, part one

The national educational radio network and the University of Chicago present China today a series of five programs devoted to exploring the significance of events in communist China and the interaction between the Chinese People's Republic and the United States of America. The talks in this series were recorded during a year long study of China held by the University of Chicago Center for Policy Study in 1066 and 1967. On today's program you will hear the second of three lectures by turns up professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago Mr. zos topic is revolution integration and political crisis in communist China. Today's lecture is titled The ruling elite and the masses into first lecture on the political community. I pointed out that the Chinese Communists had achieved a fairly adequate. Degree of political integration. In the first few years of the regime.

But political integration has superseded by disintegration. Of which. The Cultural Revolution is an expression. I try to explain this process of development but Id suggestion that the core ideology of the regime. That is the thought of Mao whilst no longer can grew and with the changed environment and in every sector of the Chinese society. Two opinion groups emerged which have not which have been divided over the issue. To what extent Mao thought should be the integrative myth of the political community and should guy policies.

The dynamic of a political community. In which there is a recognizable pollo elite are provided by the relationship between this elite and the other social groups. When the regime was set up in 1949 the CCP succeeded in unifying all major social formations in China under its leadership and excluded from this coalition. Only the most uncompromising groups which were Lebo as the bureaucratic capitalist comprador was and reactionary landlords. This achievement in integrating the Thai word diverse social groups and the masses entail the implicit if

not explicit modification up some of the Marxist Leninist tenets and departed from the Soviet practices toward the bush was easy and the rich person's. It was made possible by social conditions of an underdeveloped country in which the capitalist class was relatively weak. And when we teach there was a tradition up bureaucratic domination of the merchants. It was produced by circumstances confronting the CCP in this prolonged struggle for power in this struggle for power. The CCP was full was by object of conditions to adopt the strategy and tactics. Which paved the way.

For the initial form and structure of political integration. So we have to go back a little bit to the days of the revolution. During that period the Chinese society it was seen by Malo as having quote a sheep bulging in the middle. Why tapering off toward the two ends and quote in more concrete terms this image array meant. That moved to pull or Terria and the so called reactionary big land lot and big push was easy. From only a small minority of the Chinese population while the other intermediate classes constituted a vast majority Mao's political strategy in the revolutionary struggle was to

develop to be progressive forces to win over the middle of the road forces and to isolate the diehards. And this strategy formed the basis of most concept of New Democracy which was to be based on a quote drawn dictatorship of all the revolutionary classes end quote. In this new democracy the political yet the peasantry and the intellect games and other sections of the petty bourgeoisie. While the basic forces determining her fate. End quote. But the poulet area according to Mao should not overlook the partial a revolutionary quality of the bourgeoisie and the possibility of establishments with it. A united

front against imperialism and the government of bureaucrats and warlords. In 1949 these ideas crystallized into the notion of a united front of full classes of the working class the peasantry the urban petty bourgeoisie and the national Bush was he under the leadership of the working class which would create eight people's democratic dictatorship. The status of these four classes within the united front by no means gave equal way to age. But the significant fact is that a national Bush was he was consider a component class of the. Quote people and quote who exercised dictatorial power

over the quote reactionaries. End quote. And that the petty bourgeoisie was contex innate a designated an ally of the working class. The inclusion of the National within the ranks of the people. Paved the way for the peaceful transformation of the capitalists by turning privately owned industrial and commercial enterprises into state private enterprises. And by turning the capitalists into a managerial personnel under state control. The concept of the United Front and a strategy of uniting 90 percent of the people against a small group of reaction will raise a lot to put the CCP to the problem of

yes to pushing correct relations with other classes and integrating the various classes into a unified polity but. Most wish him most wish him of a socialist society. Endy very nature of his totalitarian regime. Render it necessary for him to destroy the political influence of. Many of the social groups while integrating the members of these groups into the political community. The US. Methods had to be evolved. To achieve this aim. The theory of cluster Aagot anti-President provided by Stalinist Russia.

Free Ferdie use of progressive repressive methods. If indeed land reform program. An unknown number of quote local tyrants and bad gentry quote end quote. Well liquidated after peaking entered the Korean War it ruthlessly suppressed the SoCal reaction of race within the country. Yet in comparison with Stalin Mao employee violence more openly and selectively. The open use of terror. Suggested dead deer a dream succeeded in legitimizing the use of terror by its general political economic and social programs. More also then into Soviet Union. And this success can also be picked attribute it. To

the street. Political control over the use of violence. Due to careful selection of targets to be a tag to the policy they are not to use physical coercion except. As a last resort. Then to do development of methods of thought reform. As a function no substitute for terror. And as a supplement to its use. That they use a fire lens no matter how opens the elective can successfully legitimize could have had serious disruption disruptive effect if carried too far. And thus the Chinese Communists restrict restricted to use of suppression and coercive method. To what are the fine and contradictions contradictions

between the people and the enemy. Why are people opposed to the do use of quote democratic methods methods of discussion or criticism or persuasion and education and code to resolve de contradictions among the people. That is to say none enter good mystic contradictions. It is of course quite true that the boundary between the two kinds of contradictions is not fixed. Because the line of demarcation between the people and the enemy. Is actually the political stand up of supporting or opposing the regime and its policies. And because this line has been drawn by the regime itself.

According to my six criteria which I do not go into. And recently according to whether one whether or not one wholeheartedly supports an supply and the price most thought in every day work. It must also be stressed that if a contradiction among the people cannot be resolved by the method of discussion criticism persuasion and education. It can become a contradiction between the people and the enemy. It then must be resolved by suppression and other forceful measures. Most method. Of. Coercive Persuasion is still one form of coercion. As we understand it. But it is less

brutal and perhaps more effective than a word. Repressive measures. In a word violent class struggle it. Became a concrete form of class draggle. The aim was to achieve the desired social change with the least disruptive effects so that a relatively high degree of integration and unity could still be established. After the contradictions or conflicts among the people were resolved. In dealing with the various Suso groups daily to follow one of the most intriguing feature of Chinese communism and this is the so-called mess line. The mass line is defined by Mo as the principle

of quote from the masses to the masses and quote. In most work in most words this means summing up the scattered and unsystematic views of the masses then taking the resulting ideas back to the masses explaining and popularizing them until their messes embraced the ideas as their own. Stand up for them and translate them into action. By way of testing the correctness. They misled us. Does legitimize the pull Graham and policies of the party. Because. These are supposed to have come from the masses. The creator of history the product of this

process may or may not be yet any resemblance to be scattered and unsystematic views of the masses. But it is presented to the masses as their own ideas it is said to represent the demand of the masses demobilization of mass support and a mass participation in the execution of the program. Mark the final phase of the mass law. This they must love I can be highly effective method to achieve the integration between the elite and the masses. Even the sub substantive programs adopted by the polity reflect the genuine interests of the masses as was the

case in the yen period. To implement a mass law the party must be able to penetrate the masses and their formal and informal organizations. It has developed a pattern of methods to facilitate this penetration. They could raise urge to develop a style of work which will bring the party and the masses together. They are too old to live the same kind of luxury as the masses. To share the same hardships to developed intimate relationships with their masses to set a personal example for them to follow. To be considerate of the feelings of their people and to exhibit a selfless

devotion to public duties. Party directives. A bond with injunctions against isolationism. Brutal. Brutal Kratos of warlordism and sectarianism which create a gap between the masses and the power elite. This style of work has been institutionalized in various interesting methods of work which run contra to western ideas of economic use of skilled manpower. The party experimented with a system under which the card race must regularly participate in physical labor as ordinary workers on a fixed day or days in a week at a fixed job leading Cod race were told to spend a period of time at the grassroots in

production brigades or teams of a commune or infector ie workshops so that they could learn into Malaysia condition of work and the problems confronting the messes at the lowest level. The Chinese comment is a highly conscious of the gaps between the social groups various social groups which had which have been created by modern conditions to a much greater extent than their counterpart in to solve it. They have try various methods to minimize the so-call 3 and to sucess. That is the antithesis be between the working class and the peasantry between the city and the countryside and between manual and.

Mental labor one of the basis on which the regime formulae its wage policy is that wages and living standards of the workers should not be too high in comparison with the earnings and living standards of the presses. One of the many methods of reducing the end to this is between the city and the countryside is to mobilize the students in urban areas to have depressions during the busy season. They have tried to build a quote village like a city or city like Village which was considered to be a news form of social organization which kept eliminate the differences between industry and agriculture and between time and countryside.

The policy of participation of Qadri in labor is partly based on the need to minimise the antithesis between mental and manual labor. The Hoff work hard study screws hockey mom hop studies booze means to provide an education to children. Children from poor families in spite of the lack of financial resources on the part of the state or the individual. But they also justify s methods to obliterate the differences between mental and manual labor. The type of cohesion which the Chinese Communists sought to bring about is similar to what durka durka OMS notion of mechanic owes solidarity as distinguished from organic

solidarity. Yet despite the initial success of the CCP in organizing a united front embracing all the major social groups in the country and despite the elaborate system of measures to integrate the elite and the masses. Political development in communist China during the past 17 years has resulted in the vanishing of the United Front. In fact if not in theory India alienation of the peasantry and indeed and in the increasing tension between the Maoists and the intellectuals inside and outside the party of the party.

And all these leading lead led to the Cultural Revolution and the current purges. And this development stands in contrast to the party's success during the period in gradually unifying all the major social groups under the party's leadership and to the widespread popular support enjoyed body party at the time of the establishments of the regime in 1949. The interesting step fact. Well this political development is that it has been parallel but I in me be explained by a train up radicalised sation. Indeed to mastic programme of the CCP which actually began in

nineteen forty saves continued with it ups and done x. After nineteen forty nine. A celebrated after 1955 and one thousand fifty six and reached a climax in the great leap forward in nineteen fifty eight. And of course now call me later. Indeed great cultural great political and cultural revolution. And this trend superseded the moderation of the CCP in the U.N. period. What do you mean by radical I say sure. The degree of radicalism that can be measured by several indices. First why didn't get between the gold and reality.

The second by the length of time in which the gold is supposed to be achieved. And third by this group of to program as indicated by I did a number of people affected and the areas to which it is applied in other words if the gap between the girl and reality is great. Then the program is radical. If a party already re dream try to achieve a certain program in a shorter time then in a longer period of time then it is pursuing a more radical policy. If they pull off the regime covers a broader area they have affected more people then the. The program is more radical then a program whose

group whose group is narrow. Now there are two broad explanations for this trend of radicalization which changed to party's relationship with the various social groups. First Mo had always in research sweeping transformation of the Chinese society the moderate program adopted after 1935 after the long march was a tactical change any forced adjustment to political reality. The moderation of Mao's Mao's theory in practice was in other words a function of the balance of forces within China in which the

CCP was a minority party. Why are D.C. CPS methods of action. Persisted to a great extent and the changes in the balance of forces made it possible for Malvo to adopt radical substantive programs were already transforming a ship off the Chinese society. These radical programs entail. Either the destruction of some of the social groups or all too trusting weakening of their political influence. The landlord class was destroyed in the land before movement. The influence of rich off the rich persons was seriously weakened by the establishments of the system of agricultural producers cooperative or though the SC tended to say for New Rich

Passives to appear again the economic foundations of the political well off the political influence of the national bourgeoisie was undermined. But I do system of John's state private enterprises although they Suso and political status of the individual capitalists was maintained by the continual payment of dividends. The intellectuals constituted the Suso group which has cost the regime the greatest difficulties the political influence of the Democratic League to which most of the politically active none communists intellectuals below largely disappeared in the aftermath of the period of blooming and contending.