“Those who wish to rule and control others wish to keep them ignorant but those who wish to free the masses wish to keep them enlightened.” That’s a nice quote. Anyone know where he said it?

Ideological unity is the basis of all unity. [Not convinced on that.]

From Mao:
Meeting procedure sounds good - distribute material, invite comment, amend based on comments, give and explain the report. I like that he recognizes the factor of time in meeting procedure. I’ve been to so many fucking long meetings, and people don’t always realize that that’s also a democracy issue - say for people who have to get home to kids and such.

Mao talks of “the present conference” - where and when was this talk given? He also talks of the “working experience of 12 years”, what’s the a reference to? Who is he addressing?

“Contradictions among the people can’t be resolved by curses or fists, still less by knives or guns. They can be resolved only by discussion and reasoning, criticism and self-criticism. In a word, they can be resolved only by the democratic method, by letting the masses speak out.”

Presumably ‘the people’ here means ‘the working classes’, not ‘everyone’, as there are enemies with whom discussion won’t suffice. Later on he equates proletarian dictatorship with people’s dictatorship, specifying that it will be “let by the proletariat and based on the alliance of the workers and peasants.” The peasants, then, presumably are a subsidiary sector of the people. The communist party is the mechanism for proletarian leadership of the peasants, since the party is the vanguard of the proletariat. (As in, the party is the vanguard, or whatever is the leading sector shall function in the role as the party? I’m pretty sure it’s the former.)

I like the point that under socialism errors will persist.

I find it interesting that the role of the party in being open to criticism is to explain to the masses and the cadre what the situation is, and then allow them to speak out in response.

Centralism=discipline, democracy=freedom. The former is more important for overcoming difficulties but can’t exist without the latter. (”Without a high degree of centralism it is impossible to establish a socialist economy.”)

Centralism requires nondivergence of views, unity of understanding, shared correct ideas. Democracy is a means for producing these conditions that make up centralism (like removing a blockage such as unexpressed opinions or unvented anger). The leadership ‘merely’ process the results of democracy in order to produce the unity of centralism and the formulation of lines, principles, policies, and methods. Democracy is also a means for knowing what’s happening at the base. The base is/provides raw material that the leadership work over, as in a factory.

The topic of the conference he’s addressing is ‘opposition to decentralism,’ ’strengthening centralism and unity’. What does decentralism mean? Who were its proponents?

I like the comparison of inflexible people in leadership roles with a government who will get overthrown, but it’s interesting that it’s an overthrowing in the form of conquest by a different state, not a revolt from below.

Exploitation no longer exists in China, according to Mao. I’m not convinced.

New bourgeois elements continue to emerge in socialist society. Classes and class struggle still exist. (But not exploitation?) On what basis do these exist/emerge?

take care, B

Isn’t that quote exactly what Badiou thinks is wrong with Stalinism? I think he says something about confusing the political with philosophy or something. Is that right? And if so, is it right?