Combat Liberalism

We stand for active ideological struggle, because it is the weapon for achieving unity within the Party and within the revolutionary organisations — a unity that makes them fit for battle. Every Communist and every revolutionary should take up this weapon.

But liberalism does away with ideological struggle and advocates peace without principle. The result is a rotten and vulgar style of work, and certain organisations and certain individuals of the Party and the revolutionary bodies become politically corrupted.

First: because a person is an acquaintance, a fellow-townsman, a classmate, a close friend, someone dear, an old colleague or an old subordinate, one knows what they do is wrong yet makes no principled argument with them, letting it go on for the sake of peace and warmth; or one rebukes them lightly, without any thorough settlement, keeping on the surface an air of harmony. The result harms the collective, and harms the individual as well. This is the first kind.

Second: irresponsible criticism behind people's backs instead of active proposals to the organisation; nothing said to the face and disorderly talk behind it; silence in the meeting and loose talk after it. In one's mind there is no principle of collective life, only free rein. This is the second kind.

Third: if a matter does not concern oneself, hang it up out of the way; knowing full well something is wrong, say little as the best policy; be worldly-wise and play safe, seeking only to remain without fault. This is the third kind.

Fourth: to disobey orders and put personal opinion first; to demand the organisation's indulgence while refusing its discipline. This is the fourth kind.

Fifth: not to struggle and argue against wrong views for the sake of unity, progress and getting things done, but to make personal attacks, quarrel out of pique, vent private spite and plot revenge. This is the fifth kind.

Sixth: to hear wrong views without refuting them, even to hear the words of counter-revolutionaries without reporting them, taking it all calmly as though nothing had happened. This is the sixth kind.

Seventh: among the masses to carry on no propaganda, no agitation, no speech-making, no investigation, no inquiry; to be indifferent to their hardships and leave them unattended; to forget that one is a Communist, and confuse a Communist with an ordinary civilian. This is the seventh kind.

Eighth: to see an act that harms the interests of the masses without indignation, without admonition, without stopping it, without explaining, letting it pass unheeded. This is the eighth kind.

Ninth: to work without seriousness, without any fixed plan, without any fixed direction; to muddle things through and drift from day to day — the monk who rings the bell each day only because the day has come. This is the ninth kind.

Tenth: to fancy oneself a meritorious veteran of the revolution and flaunt one's seniority; incapable of the great tasks and unwilling to do the small ones; careless in work and slack in study. This is the tenth kind.

The base text is the Wikisource version, twenty-four paragraphs. The first through eleventh are numbered in order; the last two are general comments, comparing liberalism to a corrupting agent and saying its source lies in the selfishness of the petty bourgeoisie.

Eleventh: to know that one has gone wrong and understand it, yet have no wish to correct it — practising liberalism on oneself. This is the eleventh kind.

Liberalism inside a revolutionary collective is extremely harmful. It is a corrosive: it loosens unity, slackens relations, deadens work and breeds divisions of opinion. It strips the revolutionary ranks of close organisation and discipline, keeps policy from being carried through to the end, and cuts the Party's organisation and the masses it leads off from one another. It is a serious and evil tendency.

The source of liberalism lies in the selfishness of the petty bourgeoisie: it puts personal interest first and the interest of the revolution second, and so gives rise to liberalism in thinking, in politics and in organisation.

The liberal regards the principles of Marxism as abstract dogma. He approves of Marxism but is not prepared to practise it, or not prepared to practise it fully, not prepared to replace his liberalism with Marxism. Such people have both wares in stock, Marxism and liberalism, each with its own use: in words, Marxism; in deeds, liberalism; Marxism toward others, liberalism toward oneself. This is the way of thinking of a section of people.

Liberalism is a manifestation of opportunism and fundamentally conflicts with Marxism. It is something negative which objectively plays the part of aiding the enemy; the enemy therefore welcomes the preservation of liberalism within our ranks. Such being its nature, liberalism should have no place in the revolutionary ranks.

We must overcome the negative force of liberalism with the active spirit of Marxism. A Communist should be open-hearted, loyal and active, taking the interest of the revolution as his first life and subordinating personal interest to the interest of the revolution; at all times and in all places upholding correct principle and waging tireless struggle against every wrong thought and every wrong action, so as to strengthen the collective life of the Party and the Party's ties with the masses; caring more for the Party and the masses than for himself, and more for others than for himself. Only such a person deserves the name of Communist.

Let all loyal, honest, active and upright Communists unite against the liberal tendency in some people and bring them over to the correct side. This is one of the tasks on the ideological front.

The objects described are the revolutionary collective organisation — inside the Party and inside revolutionary groups. The examples are mostly drawn from everyday relations: fellow townsmen, schoolmates, close friends, old colleagues, old subordinates; the tone is neither celebratory nor scolding.

The date 'September 1937' comes from common cataloguing; the body of the base text states no date. The fifth and sixth concern one's attitude to incorrect opinions and are among the shortest sections of the piece.