5 heads vs. 3 heads vs. 1 head

[Gorilla]

Over on Kasama, Mike Ely has alluded a couple of times to a struggle among Maoists over 5 heads:

http://www.dakotavoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/5padricomunisti.gif
(Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin-Mao)

vs. 3 heads

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CEzb0dKqJ0o/S2uJybckBKI/AAAAAAAAEaw/c44Huop9KPM/s320/marx-lenin-mao2.jpg
(Marx-Lenin-Mao)

vs. 1 head

http://www.canvaz.com/mao/mao-104.jpg
(Mao)

But I haven't been able to find any context, or even any other source on it beside the asides on Kasama. Anyone know what this is about? Was this among US Maoists or in China? When?

Thanks.

[kasama-rl]

the issue is essentially this:

How much should the works of stalin be viewed as a major development and leap in Marxism-Leninism.

the five heads view puts Stalin on a par with Lenin and Mao.

the three heads view (i.e. Marxism-Leninism-Maoism), does not put stalin on a par with Mao.

There are layers and layers of strategic and ideological questions concentrated in those differences -- and it has been a major source of controversy among revolutionary communists (some of whom downplay the differences between Stalin and Mao over philosophy, theory of socialism, strategic approach to the peasantry, handling contradictions among the people, view of contradictions within the party, and so on.)

There are some trends that held a Mao only line (this came to the fore in the Cultural revolution when under the leadership of Chen Boda and Lin Biao the larger body of marxist thought was disappeared, and Mao was treated according to their genius theory. In reality those who did this also disappeared Mao's creative work, and were promoting a kind of dogmatism that fed militarist trends in China. We discuss this in one of the 9 letters:

http://kasamaproject.org/pamphlets/9-letters/letter-8/

Among red guards this Mao only view was called "Mao Tsetungism." It has not been a major trend since then (or internationally).