People's democratic dictatorship
Encyclopedia
"People's democratic dictatorship" is a phrase incorporated into the Constitution of the People's Republic of China
by Mao Zedong
.
The premise of the "People's democratic dictatorship
" is that the Communist Party of China
and state represent and act on behalf of the people, but possess and may use dictator
ial powers against reactionary
forces. Implicit in the concept of the people's democratic dictatorship is the notion that dictatorial means are a necessary counterforce to recidivist social elements, and that without such a dictatorship, the government may collapse into a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie or other degenerate social form, faulting on the socialist state charter which is its first principle.
. In his speech, entitled "On The People's Democratic Dictatorship," Mao expounded his ideas about a People's Democratic Dictatorship as well as provided some rebuttals to criticism that he anticipated he would face.
Mao reviewed the Chinese nation's struggle since the Opium War, and the failed effort to model China after the Western powers. "Imperialist aggression shattered the fond dreams of the Chinese about learning from the West. It was very odd -- why were the teachers always committing aggression against their pupil?" He concluded that "Western bourgeois civilization, bourgeois democracy and the plan for a bourgeois republic have all gone bankrupt in the eyes of the Chinese people", because of the West's imperialist aggression against China. The Chinese revolution has made tremendous advances both in theory and practice and has radically changed the face of China. The main lesson is two fold: (1) Internally, arouse the masses of the people; (2) Externally, unite in a common struggle with those nations of the world which treat Chinese as equals. On commercial relationships, Mao reckoned that it was the imperialist powers that were preventing China from doing business with the outside world. Once China has beaten the internal and external reactionaries by uniting all domestic and international forces, China shall be able to do business and establish diplomatic relations with all foreign countries on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Mao claimed that after the Second World War, the only "imperialist
" power remaining on the planet with any strength, the United States of America, had wanted to enslave the world and used its funding of Chiang Kai-shek
and the Kuomintang
as evidence of such. Mao, thus, wrote off what he called "Western bourgeois civilization" and instead embraced Marxism–Leninism as the ideology of the Chinese state.
Mao believed that the Communist Party of China must "arouse the masses of the people" and "unite in a common struggle with those nations of the world which treat us as equals", including the Soviet Union
. Mao discounts the idea of working with the British and the Americans because both of them were inherently imperialist nations and, thus, had territorial designs on China.
Mao defined the people as being the working class
(which will exercise its "hegemony", being represented by the Communist Party), peasantry, the petty bourgeoisie, and the "national bourgeoisie". These classes, he believed, enforced their dictatorship through the CCP over "the running dogs of capitalism" which included landlords and bureaucratic-bourgeoisie (referring to those parts of the landlord class and bourgeoisie connected to the Kuomintang government). He fully embraced the idea of dictatorship because it meant that only "the people" had the right to freedom of speech
.
In accordance with Marx's idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat
, Mao believed that the People's Democratic Dictatorship would be necessary until the Party withered away and left China in a socialist state of existence (defined by Mao as the society of Great Unity
—Datong 大同).
In Chinese, the word ‘dictatorship’ 专政 does not have negative connotation, being dissociated from the concepts that are most close to the Western dictator 独裁者 or hegemon 霸王. In Chinese, there is a large difference in connotation between "专政" and "独裁", but both translate to "dictator" in English.
uses the phrase "dictatorship of people’s democracy" in its Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
, adopted in 1972:
Constitution of the People's Republic of China
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. Three previous state constitutions—those of...
by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
.
The premise of the "People's democratic dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
" is that the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
and state represent and act on behalf of the people, but possess and may use dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
ial powers against reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
forces. Implicit in the concept of the people's democratic dictatorship is the notion that dictatorial means are a necessary counterforce to recidivist social elements, and that without such a dictatorship, the government may collapse into a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie or other degenerate social form, faulting on the socialist state charter which is its first principle.
Origins
It was most famously used on June 30, 1949, in commemoration of the 28th Anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. In his speech, entitled "On The People's Democratic Dictatorship," Mao expounded his ideas about a People's Democratic Dictatorship as well as provided some rebuttals to criticism that he anticipated he would face.
Mao reviewed the Chinese nation's struggle since the Opium War, and the failed effort to model China after the Western powers. "Imperialist aggression shattered the fond dreams of the Chinese about learning from the West. It was very odd -- why were the teachers always committing aggression against their pupil?" He concluded that "Western bourgeois civilization, bourgeois democracy and the plan for a bourgeois republic have all gone bankrupt in the eyes of the Chinese people", because of the West's imperialist aggression against China. The Chinese revolution has made tremendous advances both in theory and practice and has radically changed the face of China. The main lesson is two fold: (1) Internally, arouse the masses of the people; (2) Externally, unite in a common struggle with those nations of the world which treat Chinese as equals. On commercial relationships, Mao reckoned that it was the imperialist powers that were preventing China from doing business with the outside world. Once China has beaten the internal and external reactionaries by uniting all domestic and international forces, China shall be able to do business and establish diplomatic relations with all foreign countries on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Mao claimed that after the Second World War, the only "imperialist
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
" power remaining on the planet with any strength, the United States of America, had wanted to enslave the world and used its funding of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
and the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
as evidence of such. Mao, thus, wrote off what he called "Western bourgeois civilization" and instead embraced Marxism–Leninism as the ideology of the Chinese state.
Mao believed that the Communist Party of China must "arouse the masses of the people" and "unite in a common struggle with those nations of the world which treat us as equals", including the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Mao discounts the idea of working with the British and the Americans because both of them were inherently imperialist nations and, thus, had territorial designs on China.
Mao defined the people as being the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
(which will exercise its "hegemony", being represented by the Communist Party), peasantry, the petty bourgeoisie, and the "national bourgeoisie". These classes, he believed, enforced their dictatorship through the CCP over "the running dogs of capitalism" which included landlords and bureaucratic-bourgeoisie (referring to those parts of the landlord class and bourgeoisie connected to the Kuomintang government). He fully embraced the idea of dictatorship because it meant that only "the people" had the right to freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
.
In accordance with Marx's idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat
Dictatorship of the proletariat
In Marxist socio-political thought, the dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a socialist state in which the proletariat, or the working class, have control of political power. The term, coined by Joseph Weydemeyer, was adopted by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the...
, Mao believed that the People's Democratic Dictatorship would be necessary until the Party withered away and left China in a socialist state of existence (defined by Mao as the society of Great Unity
Great unity
The Great unity is a classical Chinese term found in classical Chinese philosophy which has been invoked many times in modern Chinese history...
—Datong 大同).
In Chinese, the word ‘dictatorship’ 专政 does not have negative connotation, being dissociated from the concepts that are most close to the Western dictator 独裁者 or hegemon 霸王. In Chinese, there is a large difference in connotation between "专政" and "独裁", but both translate to "dictator" in English.
Influence on North Korea
North KoreaNorth Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
uses the phrase "dictatorship of people’s democracy" in its Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Constitution of North Korea
The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea.Previous constitutions were adopted in 1948, 1972, 1992, and 1998...
, adopted in 1972:
See also
- Aggravation of class struggle under socialismAggravation of class struggle under socialismThe theory of aggravation of the class struggle along with the development of socialism was one of the cornerstones of Stalinism in the internal politics of the Soviet Union...
- Dictatorship of the proletariatDictatorship of the proletariatIn Marxist socio-political thought, the dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a socialist state in which the proletariat, or the working class, have control of political power. The term, coined by Joseph Weydemeyer, was adopted by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the...
- Elective dictatorshipElective dictatorshipAn "elective dictatorship" is a phrase coined by the former Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Lord Hailsham, in a Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the BBC in 1976. It describes the state in which Parliament is dominated by the government of the day...
- MarxismMarxismMarxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
- Marxism–Leninism
- Mao Zedong Thought
- Permanent RevolutionPermanent RevolutionPermanent revolution is a term within Marxist theory, established in usage by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels by at least 1850 but which has since become most closely associated with Leon Trotsky. The use of the term by different theorists is not identical...
- Politics of the People's Republic of ChinaPolitics of the People's Republic of ChinaThe politics of the People's Republic of China take place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The leadership of the Communist Party is stated in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China...