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Marxism–Leninism–Maoism (M–L–M or MLM) is a political philosophy which builds upon Marxism-Leninism and some aspects of Mao Zedong Thought. It was first formalised in 1993 by the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement.
Contents
Origin
Maoism was considered synonymous with Mao Zedong Thought (also known as Marxism-Leninism Mao Zedong Thought) from the 1960s onwards — when many anti-revisionist Marxist organisations sided with China following the Sino-Soviet split — until 1993, when the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) formalised Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as a new and higher stage of Marxism-Leninism. This caused a split in the Maoist movement, with the adherents of Mao Zedong Thought leaving the RIM and congregating around the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations.
Mass Line
Building on the theory of the vanguard party by Vladimir Lenin, the theory of the Mass Line outlines a strategy for the mass popularisation of revolutionary ideology, consolidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat and strengthening of the party, and for the building of socialism.
The Mass Line can be summarised by the phrase "from the masses, to the masses". It has three components (or stages), as follows:
- gathering the diverse ideas of the masses
- processing or concentrating these ideas from the perspective of revolutionary Marxism, in light of the long-term, ultimate interests of the masses (which the masses themselves may sometimes only dimly perceive), and in light of a scientific analysis of the objective situation
- returning these concentrated ideas to the masses in the form of a political line which will actually advance the mass struggle toward revolution
These three steps should be applied over and over again, reiteratively uplifting practice and knowledge to higher and higher stages.
People's War
People's War, a strategy for guerilla warfare, holds that:
In a joint document released in 1998, several communist parties affirmed the difference between the specific strategic line of Protracted People's War and the more general (and universally applicable) People's War. Protracted People's War is identified as being a specific application of the concept of People's War to countries with a large population (or majority) of peasantry and involving encircling the cities from base areas of communist control in the countryside.
The issue of applying People's War to fully industrialized first world nations is the subject of much debate. Many organizations, such as the RIM and the PCR-RCP in Canada, have put forward that much of a hypothetical people's war in the first world would take place in urban areas.
New Democracy
The theory of New Democracy holds that the national-bourgeois in semi-feudal and semi-colonial countries has a dual character in that although it is an exploitative capitalist force, it can also (though not always) side with the proletariat against colonialism, imperialism, and the comprador-bourgeoisie (whose existence is due to imperialism).
The role of the national-bourgeoisie as a progressive asset in the proletarian struggle to overthrow imperialism is of course never guaranteed, and will eventually, when the anti-imperialist situation progresses, turn on the proletariat. The Balli Kombëtar in Albania in 1943 and the Kuomintang in China in the 1920s are examples of this. These national bourgeois forces temporarily allied with the proletariat of their countries (the Albanian Party of Labor and the Chinese Communist Party, respectively) for the overthrow of imperialism but eventually turned on the proletariat once they felt their long-term existence in the new society would be threatened.
Much like the New Economic Policy in Russia, New Democracy is conceived of as a necessary (but temporary) evil for the long-term development of socialism, or in this case, for the construction and consolidation of socialism in the first place. Maoism holds that the national-bourgeois in the New-Democratic stage must always be firmly under the command of the proletariat, and they must be firmly dispensed with as soon as the national situation allows (in other words, when the contradiction between the comprador class and the people is no longer the primary contradiction of the nation, or when the bourgeois-democratic revolution is at a sufficiently advanced stage) for an outright dictatorship of the proletariat.
Cultural Revolution
Maoists draw heavily from the experiences and lessons of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution which sought to eradicate the bourgeois that arose within the vanguard party itself and to transform all aspects of the social superstructure. The catchphrase "class struggle continues, and is intensified, under socialism" is frequently used.
Maoists hold the primacy of the relations of production over the productive forces, criticise Stalin's line that bourgeois influence under an advanced stage of socialism is primarily due to external forces (to the almost complete exclusion of internal forces), and strongly reaffirm the base-superstructure dialectic (that the conscious transformation of the base on its own is not enough, but the superstructure must also be consciously transformed).
Country classification
Maoists state that, there is two kind of countries: imperialist-capitalist ones on one side, and oppressed semi-colonial semi-feudal countries on the other side. In the oppressed countries there is a bureaucratic capitalist bourgeoisie, submitted to imperialism. According to this concept, in some oppressed countries, the ruling class tries to be expansionist.
Philosophy
Maoists uphold Mao's philosophical works, particularly his work on dialectics in On Contradiction, and on epistemology in On Practice.
Differences from Mao Zedong Thought
The three most notable differences between Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Mao Zedong Thought are that:
- Marxism–Leninism–Maoism is considered to be a higher stage of Marxism-Leninism, much like Marxism-Leninism is considered a higher stage of Marxism. Mao Zedong Thought is however considered to just be Marxism-Leninism applied to the particularities of the Chinese revolution.
- Marxism–Leninism–Maoism is considered to be universally applicable (particularly the theory of Protracted People's war) whilst the aspects of Mao Zedong Thought are generally not.
- Marxism–Leninism–Maoism completely rejects the Three Worlds Theory of Mao Zedong Thought, considering it part of the right-wards turn Mao took near the end of his life and a deviation from Marxist-Leninist theories of imperialism.
Internationals
Perhaps the most notable Marxist-Leninist-Maoist international was the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM). RIM was founded in 1984 and included such organizations as the Communist Party of Peru (PCP), also known as "Sendero Luminoso" or "Shining Path," and the then Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), now known as the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) UCPN(M). Today, the RIM appears to be defunct or near defunct. The magazine associated with the RIM, A World To Win, has not published an issue since 2006, though A World To Win News Service still publishes regularly on the internet.
In addition, many of the one-time RIM organizations have become increasingly critical of each other. This has resulted in many public splits.
India
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a political party which aims to overthrow the government of India. It was founded on September 21, 2004, through the merger of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC). The merger was announced to the public on October 14 the same year. In the merger a provisional central committee was constituted, with the erstwhile People's War leader Muppala Lakshmana Rao (alias Ganapathi) as General Secretary. It is currently proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Indian government.
Kangleipak (Manipur)
It is claimed by the Kangleipak Communist Party (Ibungo Ngangom) that Kangleipak (Manipur) was annexed by the Union of India under the guise of Manipur Merger Agreement 1949. According to this group, which follows a fusion of Marxism and Maoism as its main ideological line, the merger of Manipur with the Union of India was in blatant contradiction of relevant international law as the then king of Manipur no longer had the authority to sign the agreement following the establishment of a democratically elected government. "Moreover, the then king signed the merger instrument only under duress, or more precisely, at gunpoint and so the so-called Manipur merger agreement was null and void from the very beginning", claims Ibungo Ngangom, the group's chairman. The group is currently at war with the Union of India and its express primary goal is not only to liberate Kangleipak (Manipur) from the semi-colonial yoke of India but also to bring about a communist state in Kangleipak through the scientific socialism of Karl Marx.
Peru
The Communist Party of Peru - Shining Path is a guerrilla insurgent organization in Peru. It was founded in 1980 with Abimael Guzmán as its leader. The Shining Path is currently waging a war against the Peruvian Government.
Nepal
The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), a national communist party with a revolutionary background, is a follower of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, although it is believed that the party has developed its own ideology, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism-Prachanda Path, which was developed taking Nepal's political, sociological and geographical constraints into consideration.
Philippines
In the Philippines, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its New People's Army (NPA) has been waging a revolutionary war since 1968. Its strength peaked during the dictatorial rule of Ferdinand Marcos and was the main bulk of the opposition against the dictatorship. However, due to controversies regarding massive purges of its members in the mid-1980s and political miscalculations, it suffered several splits within its ranks in 1992 and 1997 forming several separate communist parties. It maintains active guerrilla fronts throughout the Philippines until today and is still considered by the military as the main threat to national security. The CPP, according to the military also allegedly has been leading and influencing legal left-wing political organizations and engages in elections.
The Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines (MLPP), formed by former Central Luzon Regional Committee members of the CPP after the split in 1997 maintained much of the Maoist orientation from the CPP most especially on the concept of People's War. However it has put equal emphasis on legal political struggles along with armed revolution and it sees the proletariat as the leader of the Philippine revolution in union with the peasantry. The Rebolusyonaryong Hukbo ng Bayan (People's Revolutionary Army, RHB) is the armed wing of the MLPP and according to military intelligence sources, the most active and fastest growing insurgent force in the Philippines recently next to the CPP. Like its estranged political sibling the MLPP is said to be organizing legal organizations but does not engage in electoral processes.
United States
Revolutionary Communist Party is a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist political party in the United States. RCP participated in the founding conference of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement on 12 March 1984. RCP signed the Declaration of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement and supported the RIM's declaration Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism! on 26 December 1993 which recognized "Marxism–Leninism–Maoism as the new, third and higher stage of Marxism". However, today RCP uses the term "New Synthesis" to describe its ideology.