[STUDY GROUP] Quotations from Mao Zedong?

[OneBrickOneVoice]

Anyone interested in reading and analyzing Quotations from Mao Zedong? I read it already a while ago, and I would like to read it again to understand it more. Post here if you're interested.

This is my first post in the Study Group forum so I'm not sure if this is allowed but if it isn't feel free to trash and I'll do it the proper way.

[Zeruzo]

Of course!

[The Author]

Definitely.

[Hiero]

It is a good idea. Though it may be hard to conduct, as we wont be able to exclude anarchists, Trots, post modernist and liberals who will want to interupt the discussion.

Maybe we could do something independent of revleft?

[Zeruzo]

Well, i doubt they'll even participate in this study group, since the only ones that have posted till now are anti-revisionists.

[Wanted Man]

I'm in. If people get seriously disruptive, we can always ask a mod to make them fuck off, and if that doesn't happen, do it somewhere else. The little nuggets of wisdom from the red booklet are always good.

[OneBrickOneVoice]

Originally posted by Hiero@December 02, 2006 09:05 am
It is a good idea. Though it may be hard to conduct, as we wont be able to exclude anarchists, Trots, post modernist and liberals who will want to interupt the discussion.

Maybe we could do something independent of revleft?

invision boards allows you to create forums for free and very easily so we could do that but I don't think we'll need to go through the trouble. As Zeruzo pointed out no one who has posted here is a trot, revisionist, or anarchist.

When should we get started and how should we break down the reading? Should we do it Chapter by Chapter?

BTW, Here is a full online text for anyone who doesn't own and either doesn't want to buy it, prefers online texts, or can't find a book store that sells "The Little Red Book."

Quotations from Mao Zedong

[Zeruzo]

I vote for quote by quote!
We have the time anyway.

[Pirate Utopian]

i just finished it yesterday, i say we do it chapter for chapter

[The Author]

I like the quote by quote option.


If anyone is interested, there's two other versions of the Quotations (Little Red Book):

http version

http://www.marx2mao.com/Mao/QCM66.html

pdf version

http://www.marx2mao.com/PDFs/QCM66.pdf

[OneBrickOneVoice]

I vote quote by quote too. But what does that mean? We'll have a new thread for each quote? Perhaps someone with more "study group forum experience" should decide how to do this.

[Zeruzo]

Well, someone posts the first quote here, and adds his comment, then we discuss it. Then when most people seem satisfied, the next one is posted.

[OneBrickOneVoice]

Okay I'll start. The first quote is:

The force at the core leading our cause forward is the Chinese Communist Party. The theoretical basis guiding our thinking is Marxism-Leninism.

Nothing special about this. Just a 2 sentence summary of Marxist-Leninism. Not much to say about this in my opinion other than that for someone with little knowledge of Marxism-Leninism this is a basic.

[Pirate Utopian]

i agree with LH, basic profile of their party theory

[which doctor]

It's not a two sentence summary of Marxism-Leninism. It tells you absolutely nothing about Marxism-Leninism. It's more of a two sentence summary of the CCP.

Just my two (common) cents.

[The Author]

Originally posted by LeftyHenry@ December 02, 2006 07:47 pm

The force at the core leading our cause forward is the Chinese Communist Party. The theoretical basis guiding our thinking is Marxism-Leninism.

Nothing special about this. Just a 2 sentence summary of Marxist-Leninism. Not much to say about this in my opinion other than that for someone with little knowledge of Marxism-Leninism this is a basic.

I concur. Good basic introduction to the first chapter, "The Communist Party." The Party is the leading organization of the working-class and peasant movement in practice, and the theory adopted is ML.

[OneBrickOneVoice]

Originally posted by Leo Uilleann@December 02, 2006 11:59 pm
I'm laughing at you guys so hard for reading this little joke book so seriously.

I&#39;m laughing at you for being a shithead troll... <_<

It&#39;s not a two sentence summary of Marxism-Leninism. It tells you absolutely nothing about Marxism-Leninism. It&#39;s more of a two sentence summary of the CCP.

Just my two (common) cents.

About as much as you can say in two sentences.

[Prairie Fire]

I&#39;ve read the red book, but I&#39;ll still join in.

Pay shit-disturbers like Leo no mind. I say just ignore anyone who invades this thread. Seriously, it&#39;s the only way to maintain the purpose.


I&#39;m not quite a Maoist myself, but here is one of my favorite quotes:

"We are advocates of the abolition of war, we do not want war;but war can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun,it is necesary to take up the gun."

[Entrails Konfetti]

We must affirm anew the discipline of the Party, namely:

(1) the individual is subordinate to the organization;
(2) the minority is subordinate to the majority;
(3) the lower level is subordinate to the higher level; and
(4) the entire membership is subordinate to the Central Committee.

Whoever violates these articles of discipline disrupts Party unity.





"The Role of the Chinese Communist Party
in the National War" (October 1938),

If the lower level is subordinate to the higher level, and the membership is subbordinate to the Central Committee then, the masses really don&#39;t make up the party, they are just under the partys ruling. If a minority is subordinate to the majority and cannot express their different views, and cannot act up how they choose they they are coerced into acepting the line of the Central Committee.
Unity shouldn&#39;t be about following the rules-- unity is about cameradery with others for the cause. (emphasis in bold by me)

Just as there is not a single thing in the world without a dual nature (this is the law of the unity of opposites), so imperialism and all reactionaries have a dual nature‹they are real tigers and paper tigers at the same time. In past history, before they won state power and for some time afterwards, the slave-owning class, the feudal landlord class and the bourgeoisie were vigorous, revolutionary and progressive; they were real tigers. But with the lapse of time, because their opposites‹the slave class, the peasant class and the proletariat‹grew in strength step by step, struggled against them more and more fiercely, these ruling classes changed step by step into the reverse, changed into reactionaries, changed into backward people, changed into paper tigers. And eventually they were overthrown, or will be overthrown, by the people. The reactionary, backward, decaying classes retained this dual nature even in their last life-and-death struggles against the people. On the one hand, they were real tigers; they devoured people, devoured people by the millions and tens of millions. The cause of the people&#39;s struggle went through a period of difficulties and hardships, and along the path there were many twists and turns. To destroy the rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism in China took the Chinese people more than a hundred years and cost them tens of millions of lives before the victory in 1949. Look&#33; Were these not living tigers, iron tigers, real tigers? But in the end they changed into paper tigers, dead tigers, bean-curd tigers. These are historical facts. Have people not seen or heard about these facts? There have indeed been thousands and tens of thousands of them&#33; Thousands and tens of thousands&#33; Hence, imperialism and all reactionaries, looked at in essence, from a long-term point of view, from a strategic point of view, must be seen for what they are‹paper tigers. On this we should build our strategic thinking. On the other hand, they are also living tigers, iron tigers, real tigers which can devour people. On this we should build our tactical thinking.

Speech at the Wuchang Meeting of the Polit-
ical Bureau of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China (December 1, 1958)

Here in this longwinded quotation he just says that the imperialists will be defeated because they defeated the feudal lords, Mao only says their next in line to be defeated-- the only reason he says they will be is because they created the proletariat, he doesn&#39;t why the proletariat will defeat them, or why it wants to defeat them.

Their tactical thinking is built on that the imperialists will be defeated, though they are mighty now-- they will be defeated, it&#39;s very mechanistic.

This whole book which was designed to give people who knew nothing about Communism, give NOTHING to offer. There is no theoretical insight-- absolutely nothing.

The only thing great about this book is that Mao created a new insult "Bean-curd Tigers" what the hell is that&#33;? When a bean-curd tiger roars, does it actually fart bean stench out of its mouth?

All of you who believe that there are theoretical insights in this book are bean-curd tigers, smelly tigers, fart tigers, hippy-tofu gas tigers; though you&#39;re living tigers, you&#39;re not living very well. You&#39;re living like shit tigers, you&#39;re not very fierce, you&#39;re like the Easter Bunny with plastic vampire fangs tigers.

[OneBrickOneVoice]

El KABLAMO,

This is NOT the thread for that.

1) I don&#39;t think we&#39;re done with the first quote yet
2) That is not the next quote
3) That is not in Chapter 1

If you want, go start another thread. But don&#39;t do this here because the thread is already starting to get derailed.