'ANTI-IMPERIALISM' IN MAO ZEDONG

388 Pages·2014·10.69 MB·English

'IMPERIALISM' AND 'ANTI-IMPERIALISM' IN MAO ZEDONG:
ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A REVOLUTIONARY STRATEGY
Thesis submitted for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
at
The London School of Economics and Political Science
The University of London
by
Wolfgang Deckers
December 1996
UMI Number: U10B530
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ABSTRACT
The central question which will be considered in this thesis is
how Mao Zedong formulated a concept of imperialism and
resistance to it, to enable and continue the socialist
revolution in China. The specific focus in this thesis is an
explanation of how Mao understood imperialism in order to use
it and to turn it into anti-imperialism, the origins of his
ideas, his theoretical development of it and his application of
this idea in practice. At the same time, it will be examined
how other aspects of Mao's thinking were linked to this
central, strategic concept.
The thesis begins by examining Mao's connection and
indebtedness to Marx and Lenin: this has not yet been done with
regard to his use of the concept of 'imperialism'. This thesis,
besides being a contribution to the history of Marxism
therefore, aims to fill a gap in research on Mao. It will help
to establish how Mao used the concepts of imperialism and anti­
imperialism. In addition, my research is part of the discussion
as to what degree Marxism has been revised in the process.
The argument essentially will be that Mao, basing himself
on Marx and Lenin, used their concepts to adapt Marxism-
Leninism in a novel manner in Chinese circumstances, first to
win the revolution, and then to construct what he regarded as
socialism. Thus the thesis will do two things: a) it will
clarify Mao's relationship to Marx and Lenin: Why did Mao's
Marxism-Leninism take the form it did? Did Mao stand on Lenin's
shoulders?; and b) it will contribute to understanding why the
Chinese Communist Party won the revolution.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If this Phd has taught me one thing, it is that there were
countless people who were kind and helpful to me over the many
years, when I tried to write it. To mention all these people
would fill pages, but I would like to thank Dr. W. Behrens, Dr.
G. Benton, Dr. J. Calabrese, P. Camiller, S. Kidd, Professor E.
Krippendorff, J. Mabro, Dr. M. Quirin, Dr. G. Segal, Profesor
S. Strange, Ph. Windsor.
At Richmond College, President W. McCann made funds
available, which were crucial in enabling me to do research.
At LSE, I am very grateful to Professor Fred Halliday,
whose guidance during the very last stage of preparing this Phd
for examination was decisive.
My good friends Rolando Gaete, Nick Knight, Hilary Parker,
Christoph Ruger and Faruk Yalvac supported me all the way. This
also applies to my sister Gisela Deckers and my aunt Lilli
Indenkampen. Since our school days in Xanten, Hannes Luelf has
always been there for me.
I am deeply thankful that my children, Max, Lotte, Konnie
and Lukas have not given up on their father, who always
disappeared into his room for another evening of writing his
thesis.
My deepest thanks however, go to my partner, Hilary
Dowber. If ever there was love, she personifies it. This Phd is
dedicated to her with the promise never to impose anything like
it on her again.
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'IMPERIALISM' AND 'ANTI-IMPERIALISM' IN MAO ZEDONG:
ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A REVOLUTIONARY STRATEGY
CONTENTS
Abstract 2
Acknowledgements 3
Chapter 1: Introduction 6
PART ONE: THE PRELUDE: IMPERIALISM IN THE MARXIST TRADITION
Chapter 2: Marx and Engels on Imperialism 26
(i) Definition of Imperialism. The Lack of Use of
the Concept by Marx and Engels
(ii) Capitalism's Double Mission
(iii) Crises and the Need to Expand: Underconsumption
or the Tendential Rate of Profit to Fall
(iv) World Market: Safety Valve or Cul-de-Sac?
(v) Crisis in the Colonies and Repercussions for
Europe
(vi) Who Makes the Profits?
(vii) Protectionism or Free Trade?
(viii) Concentration and Centralization
(ix) The Russian Village Commune and the Skipping of
Stages
(x) The Labour Aristocracy
(xi) Revolution in the West and its Interconnections
with Colonies
(xii) Nationalism and National Liberation Struggles
(xiii) Conclusion
Chapter 3: Lenin's Theory of Imperialism and Anti-
Imperialism 96
(i) The Nature of Lenin's Contribution
(ii) Monopoly Capitalism - The Economic Aspect of
Imperialism
(a) Structural Change
(b) Underconsumption or the Falling Rate of
Profit
(c) State Capitalism, Nation-states and
Internationalization
(iii) The Concept of Labour Aristocracy
(iv) Violence and War
(v) Uneven and Combined Development
(vi) Skipping Historical Stages
(vii) The Dialectical Role of the Colonial Areas
(viii) Nationalism and National Liberation Struggles
(ix) Class Alliances in Colonies: Lenin's Debate with
Roy
(x) Conclusion
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PART TWO: MAO AND IMPERIALISM: CONCEPTS AND STRATEGY
Chapter 4: Mao and the Uses of Imperialism 165
(i) Introduction. The Place of Imperialism in Mao's
Thought
(ii) The Impact of Imperialism
(iii) The Repercussions of Imperialist Actions in
Imperialist Countries and Among Chinese
Political Forces
(iv) The Question of External Policy
(v) Conclusion
Chapter 5: Class and Anti-Imperialism 222
(i) Introduction
(ii) Against Imperialism and Feudalism
(iii) Structuralism and Agency
(iv) Marx and Lenin on Class Analysis
(vi) Vanguard Class and Vanguard Party
(vii) Beyond an Economic Definition of Class
(viii) Mao on Class
(ix) Classes in Town and Countryside
(x) Uniting the Masses against Imperialism
(xi) The Peasantry as the Decisive Force
(xii) The Leadership of the Proletariat and the
Chinese Communist Party
(xiii) The Problem of the Bourgeoisie
(xiv) The Phases of the Revolution
(xv) Conclusion
Chapter 6: The United Front in Mao's Strategy 293
(i) Introduction
(ii) Theoretical Background to the Concept of the
United Front
(iii) The First United Front 1923-1927
(iv) Mao's Lessons from Disaster
(v) The Transitional Phase 1927-1937
(vi) The Second United Front 1937-1945
(vii) From United Front to New Democracy (Xin Minzhu
Zhuyi)
(viii) Conclusion
Chapter 7: Conclusion 350
Bibliography 364
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'IMPERIALISM* AND 'ANTI-IMPERIALISM' IN MAO ZEDONG:
ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF A REVOLUTIONARY STRATEGY
1. INTRODUCTION
The concept of 'imperialism', seen as an exploitative
international system, has been perhaps the most widely used of
all Marxist-Leninist categories, influencing not only all
sections of the communist movement, but much third world
nationalism as well. Little present in Marx, it was given
codification in the writings of Lenin around the time of the
First World War: its function was not only to explain how and
why more developed capitalist countries dominated the colonial
world, but also to provide an explanation for conflict in the
international system as a whole and, through that explanation,
to suggest a strategy for challenging capitalist rule on a
global scale. It therefore became an organizing principle for
communist revolutionary strategy in the first half of the
twentieth century: analysis of 'imperialism' provided not only
an explanation for the dynamics of international relations and
for the impact of the advanced capitalist states on the third
world, but also a means for opposing this system within
specific countries and on the international plane. The most
important of all this opposition was, of course, that of China,
a country containing a quarter of the human race and where,
from the 1920s onwards, a revolutionary communist movement
challenged and eventually overcame its domestic and
international opponents. Central to that challenge was the
conception of 'imperialism' and 'anti-imperialism' developed by
the leader of that revolution, Mao Zedong. It is not so much
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any theoretical or analytical originality that justifies its
examination in the pages which follow, but rather the means by
which this concept was applied to China and the importance
which it occupied in the Chinese Communist Party's
revolutionary strategy. The interrelationship of national and
class oppression and exploitation and the forces this dialectic
generates was understood by Mao and became part of his thinking
and action.
Mao and the Marxist Tradition
The central question which will be considered is how Mao
Zedong formulated a concept of imperialism and resistance to it
to enable and continue the socialist revolution in China. The
specific focus in this thesis is an explanation of how Mao
understood imperialism in order to use it and to turn it into
anti-imperialism, the origins of his ideas, his theoretical
development of it and his application of this idea into
practice. At the same time, it will be examined how other
aspects of Mao's thinking were linked to this central,
strategic concept.
I will begin by examining Mao's connection and
indebtedness to Marx and Lenin: this has not yet been done with
regard to his use of the concept 'imperialism'. The second and
third chapters therefore lay out the antecedents and
theoretical framework within which Mao operated. This thesis,
besides being a contribution to the history of Marxism
therefore, aims to fill a gap in research on Mao. It will help
7
to establish how Mao used the concepts of imperialism and anti­
imperialism. In addition, my research is part of the discussion
as to what degree Marxism has been revised in the process.
This thesis will make clear what Mao meant by the term
imperialism and how he used it. The central goal of the thesis
is, therefore after providing the background in Marx and
Engels, to analyze Mao's view on imperialism as manifested in
his writings. While the historical context of Mao's thinking
will be provided, this is not the main focus of the chapters.
Imperialism is the pivotal concept, which properly understood
can give a key to understanding his policies. This will then
enable me to examine how other aspects (United Front, class
etc.) of Mao's thinking were linked to this central, strategic
concept.
This touches on the much debated issue of Mao's use of
Marxism itself. Mao used - perhaps invented - the concept of
'sinification of Marxism' as any effective Marxism required
national forms. Mao's idea of the 'sinification of Marxism' has
been used as evidence that he subsumed Marxism within his
nationalism and Chinese culture. However, the way he
'nationalized' Marxism was fashioned by Marxism, and its tasks
were defined by revolutionary considerations of class and
class-consciousness. Mao and his dealings with imperialism are
an example of this sinification and actualization of Marxism.
My argument is that, despite this sinification, Mao stands in a
broad sense within a Marxist-Leninist tradition. He did not
break from orthodox Marxism through his emphasis on
developments within the superstructure. There are elements of
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