Be a Conscious Revolutionary

— More on “All Our Work is for the Revolution” —

[This article is reprinted from Peking Review, #5, Jan. 28, 1966, pp. 6-8.]

      SINCE we published the editorial, “All Our Work Is for the Revolution,”¹ on October 11 last year, a great number a people and cadres all over the country have written to us. They tell how they studied and discussed this editorial, raised their level of revolutionary consciousness, realized more fully the link between their ordinary day-to-day work and the great goals of the Chinese revolution and world revolution, gained a broader and longer-sighted view, and understood more clearly the aim of their efforts and work. As a result, they have become keener on their work.

      Such a warm response to the idea of all our work being for the revolution reflects the unprecedentedly high level of political consciousness of the Chinese masses and cadres displayed in the current upsurge of studying Mao Tse-tung’s thinking. This is a basic reason why the high tide of Chinese revolution and construction is mounting so rapidly today.

      In our country and under the leadership of the Communist Party, every kind of work—including work in the political, economic, military and cultural fields—is a part of the overall cause of socialist revolution and construction and is revolutionary work. The labour and work of the masses and cadres on all fronts are directly or indirectly linked with the cause of the Chinese revolution and world revolution.

For the Chinese and World Revolutions

      When we say “all our work is for the revolution,” this means for the Chinese and world revolutions, and for the class struggle in the domestic and international spheres. The slogan itself proceeds from a class standpoint. In our country classes have not yet been eliminated; the class struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie is still going on. In the international sphere we are also waging serious class struggles against imperialism, particularly U.S. imperialism, and modern revisionism. The aim of our revolution is to carry the socialist revolution to final victory in our country, carry the proletarian world revolution to final victory, and build a new world without imperialism, without capitalism and without exploitation of man by man. To bring about this great goal calls for the concerted efforts of the revolutionary peoples of the world, and in China it requires all the people to work hard and do a good job at their specific tasks. Everyone’s day-to-day labour and work is linked with that great goal of the Chinese and world revolutions and with the domestic and international class struggle.

Discussion on “All Our Work Is for the Revolution”       A WIDE response throughout the country followed publication of the editorial “All Our Work Is for the Revolution” in Renmin Ribao last October. It has been studied and discussed by workers, peasants, soldiers, cadres, shop assistants, storemen, postmen, technicians engineers, theatrical directors, doctors, professors, scientists. ... And they lost no time in sending in letters and articles to Renmin Ribao and other leading papers expressing their views on this important topic. Many from their own personal experience confirmed that a lofty goal inspires one with boundless strength, that it is only when one links his own work with the cause of building a great socialist motherland and promoting the world revolution that one can find inexhaustible energy to do one’s work and go on creating and advancing.       Quite a number seized the opportunity to review their own day-to-day behaviour in the light of the spirit described in the editorial and with the example of those two great revolutionary fighters, Lei Feng and Wang Chieh, as the criterion. That helped them to pinpoint their own shortcomings, and also determined them to intensify their efforts in remoulding their ideology and raising their level of Revolutionary consciousness on the model of the outstanding personalities of our time so as to serve the people wholeheartedly and make a greater contribution to the revolution. Many endorsed the opinion that if one wants to realize in one’s life the idea that all our work is for the revolution, then one must make a constant study of Chairman Mao Tse-tung’s works and employ them as a powerful weapon to remould one’s ideology and improve one’s work.

      Only when the broad masses and cadres have such a revolutionary consciousness, can they put the revolutionary interests above all else, completely comply with the needs of the revolution, and always consider problems and act in the light of revolutionary needs. Then they will go to any place the revolution calls for. No matter how far away it may be or how hard life there may be, they will gladly go to where they are assigned. They will take any place as their home; they will strive to adapt themselves to local working and living conditions wherever they may be, integrate themselves with the masses there and there make their contribution to the work of revolution and construction. They will do any work that is called for by the revolution. No matter how dirty, fatiguing, ordinary and unnoticed it may be, they will go all out and do it conscientiously. Like Lei Feng and Wang Chieh,² they love their profession and try hard to master it so that remarkable achievements can be made at ordinary posts. People may differ in their abilities, but if they work diligently, they will all benefit the revolution and the people, they will be able to give help to and learn from each other in the course of labour and work and advance shoulder to shoulder. This is what the revolution demands of us.

      To sum up, the idea that all our work is for the revolution has two meanings. First, it means that under our Communist Party’s leadership and in our socialist country all work is revolutionary work. Second, it means that people working in various fields should carry on their labour and work with revolutionary spirit and become conscious revolutionaries.

Studying Chairman Mao’s Works

      To make the transition from a state of not being politically conscious to one of being conscious, everyone who works has to go through a process of ideological remoulding. Thousands upon thousands of workers, peasants and soldiers have become politically conscious step by step through diligent study of Chairman Mao’s works. Three of Chairman Mao’s articles—In Memory of Norman Bethune, Serve the People and The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains—have played a significant part in enhancing the revolutionary consciousness of the broad masses of workers, peasants and soldiers as well as cadres. A conscientious study of these three articles will enable us to foster an outlook of working wholly for the emancipation of the people and for their interests. It also helps us to understand the need of cultivating a communist and internationalist spirit of complete devotion to others without any thought of self, and why in struggling with the class enemy and with Nature we should show a revolutionary perseverance similar to that of the Foolish Old Man. To consciously remould ourselves by comparing our own thinking with such revolutionary thoughts and spirit as are here described will help us to embrace the proletarian world outlook in the course of practice and to place the interests of the revolution beyond everything else. In the class struggle, both domestic and international, we shall be able to follow the examples of Lei Feng and Wang Chieh, making wholehearted devotion to the revolution, fearing neither hardship nor death and dedicating ourselves to the revolution.

      In studying Chairman Mao’s works, our aim is to remould our ideology and guide our work, devoting our best efforts to applying Mao Tse-tung’s thinking in practice. In tackling any problem, we must conscientiously find out how to deal with it in the light of Mao Tse-tung’s thinking and take actions accordingly. Only by a repeated and prolonged course of study and application, can we arm ourselves ideologically with Mao Tse-tung’s thinking step by step and become genuine, conscious revolutionaries.

      The idea that all our work is for the revolution enjoys an ever-increasing influence today. The broad masses of the people and cadres on all fronts are engaged in selfless labour and work with soaring revolutionary enthusiasm, high spirits and robust morale. This revolutionary fervour of the masses must be highly valued. In these circumstances, Party organizations and leading personnel of all departments in every field must maintain a sober head at all times, treasure the masses’ enthusiasm and initiative, be keenly concerned with their well-being and pay attention to the proper alternation of labour and rest as well as to safety in production.

      The socialist revolution and socialist construction in China are entering a new period of development. We have started the Third Five-Year Plan. Great and bright prospects are unfolded before us. We must raise high the great red banner of Mao Tse-tung’s thinking, link our labour and work with the great goals of the revolution, undertake all labour and work with revolutionary spirit, and become conscious revolutionaries. With everybody working and striving in this way, we will assuredly succeed in making greater contributions to China’s revolution and construction and to supporting the revolutionary struggles of the peoples of the world.

(“Renmin Ribao’s” editorial, January 8.)      

Contents page for this Peking Review issue.

Peking Review article list (in date order).

Peking Review article list (by subject).

MASSLINE.ORG Home Page