WHY JUCHE
WHY JUCHE ?
by Anthony Malone
The Juche idea
1.The Juche idea as the correct interpretation and application of the theory of Marxism-Leninism.
In this short essay I hope to prove that not only is the Juche idea an original theory of non-revisionist socialism but is in every way consistent with the Marxist-Leninist doctrine and is in fact the legitimate heir of the communist doctrine in the 21st century.
With the willful destruction of the USSR at the hands of the Yankee puppet Gorbachev and the subsequent economic and cultural occupation of the former socialist countries of Europe by the west and the slipping into cosmopolitanism of some other socialist countries, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea alone stands out as the flag bearer of the world socialist movement.
What has kept the DPRK afloat in difficult and uncertain times when others have faltered or stopped relying on the masses as the leaders of the revolution? Not only the sturdy and steadfast leadership of the Korean Workers Party, but most importantly its correct anti-revisionist ideology, the Juche idea.
The Juche idea is a non dogmatic anti-revisionist ideology which puts man in the centre of all events. The most important component of the Juche is man. A little later on, the Juche in action will be explained in the building of a socialist state. It is the opinion of the author that the Juche idea has not only creatively adapted Marxism-Leninism to Korean national conditions and aspirations, but has carried on where Stalin’s genius and correct policy of socialism in one country left off.
Let us however first show how the Juche is the logical and rightful heir to the communist movement in our time.
It is quite clear to anyone who has read the Marxist classics and works about the Juche idea by Comrade Kim Il Sung and Comrade Kim Jong Il (The works of these great men are Marxist classics in the opinion of this author) that there are in no way any contradictions between them.
"Anarchy in social production is replaced by conscious organization on a planned basis. The struggle for individual existence comes to an end ... the conditions of existence forming man's environment, which up to now have dominated man, at this point pass under the dominion and control of man, who now, for the first time becomes the real conscious master of nature, and because in so far as he has become master of his own social organization ... the objective external forces which have hitherto dominated history will then pass under the control of men themselves. It is only from this point that men, with full consciousness, will fashion their own history; it is only from this point that the social causes set in motion by men will have, predominantly and in constantly increasing measure, the effects willed by men. It is humanity's leap from the realm of necessity into the realm of freedom."
Friedrich Engels, Anti-Duhring. Reproduced in Emile Burns, ed., A Handbook of Marxism (New York: Random House,1935), pp. 279
As this quote by Friedrich Engels explains in a socialist society man becomes the master of his environment and society. This is the embryo of the Juche idea already being touched upon by Engels one of the founding fathers of our movement. The Juche idea states that man is the master of his own fate. He only consciously realizes this when he begins to struggle for his Chajusong, that is his independence in class struggle.
This quote by comrade Kim Jong Il in “On the Juche idea” adequately explains this point.
“The transformation of nature and man, that is, the historic cause of freeing the popular masses from the fetters of nature and out dated ideas and culture and developing them to be powerful beings capable of dominating nature and real possessors of revolutionary ideas and culture can be fully undertaken and achieved with success only under socialism where the working masses are masters of society”1
What the Juche idea explains to communists is that in a developed socialist society as the DPRK is, man really has become the master of his own fate and the master of nature.
A quote by the architect of “Socialism in one country” and hence the father of socialist state building comrade I.V.Stalin in his “Economic problems of socialism in the USSR” also outlines the fact that under socialism man is successfully mastering his environment and becoming the master of his own fate.
“In all such cases, having come to know the laws of nature, reckoning with them and relying on them and intelligently applying and utilizing them man can restrict their sphere of action, and can impart a different direction to the destructive forces of nature and convert them to the use of society.”
And again
“Man can discover laws, get to know them and master them, learn to apply them with full understanding, utilize them in the interests of society and thus subjugate them and secure mastery over them.”
Here are just a few pieces of the evidence which prove that the Juche idea is thoroughly in line with the doctrine of scientific socialism. What is unique to the Juche however, is putting man at the center of the cause of the working class. Juche not only explains mans role in the struggle for freedom but also his role in the building of socialism. The Juche idea has successfully developed Marxism-Leninism and taken it the next level, so to speak.
As Comrade Kim Jong Il again explains in his “On the Juche idea”
“The theoretical activities of our Party that has originally clarified revolutionary principles and ways to meet the demands raised by revolutionary practice of our time, constitute a brilliant example in adhering to the revolutionary principles of Marxism-Leninism and developing the revolutionary theory of the working class onto a new, higher plane”
Another question that may arise is about the Juche Idea part of the Dialectical-Materialistic tradition.
Once again let Comrade Kim Jong Il answer this question for us in his “On the Juche idea”.
“The idea that man is master of the world and his own destiny and is able to transform the world and shape his destiny, is biased on the premise of the materialistic and dialectical view point which denies mysticism and fatalism.” 2
This is of course completely true. As we have already seen, one of the founding fathers of dialectical-materialism, Friedrich Engels, has explained to us what man will become under socialism. The idea that “man is master of the world and his own destiny” is a most logical and dialectical explanation of man in the historic contexts of class struggle and the building of socialism. The genius of the great comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lies in the fact that they have taken the original concepts touched upon by Marx and Engels about mans role in the world, thoroughly explained mans role in the world in a non-idealist or revisionist fashion and taken the communist ideology to the next level.
To understand more about why the Juche idea is an anti-revisionist ideology we must examine a quote from the great leader Kim Il Sung in his “ON THE QUESTIONS OF THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION FROM CAPITALISM TO SOCIALISM AND THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT”
Speech Delivered to Party Ideological Workers May 25, 1967
“It is no revision of Marxism-Leninism on our part to consider the questions of the transition period and the dictatorship of the proletariat in this manner. It is our standpoint to apply the propositions of Marx and Lenin creatively to the new historical circumstances and the specific practices of our country. I think that this is the way to safeguard the purity of Marxism-Leninism against dogmatism and flunkeyism”
As all great anti-revisionist Marxists have done, Comrade Kim Il Sung creatively applied the propositions of Marx and Lenin to the new historical circumstances and specific practices of the Korean nation. The Juche idea is the logical culmination of Stalins theory of socialism in one country. Socialism in one country as with the Juche idea does not rely on outside forces to build socialism. This reliance on outside forces was correctly defined as flunkeyism by comrade Kim Il Sung. The revolution must rely on the masses who have made it, otherwise the revolution will have no legitimacy among them. It stands to reason that when the working people of a nation do revolt that this revolution is under taken with the national peculiarities of that people and culture. Of course communism is an internationalist movement but as Comrade Stalin new and pointed out many times, for socialism to be a truly internationalist doctrine, the leaders of the revolution must respect peoples and cultures specific national traits and independence. This is thoroughly explained by the great comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in the Juche idea and the struggle for Chajusong.
2. The Juche idea on the national question and how it is relevant to Great Britain today.
Having established the fact that the Juche idea is the correct line to take for a Marxist in the 21st century now we must understand how to apply this to our own communist movement.
With the creation of socialist states and struggles for national independence in the last century, to be a good communist also meant to be a patriot.
Let us take a quote from comrade Kim Jong Il in his “On the Juche idea”
“ Koreans must know well Korean history, geography, economics, culture and the customs of the Korean nation and in particular our Party's policy, its revolutionary history and revolutionary traditions. Only then will they be able to establish Juche and become true Korean patriots, the Korean communists.
In order to establish the Juche idea in thinking, it is necessary to possess a high sense of national dignity and revolutionary pride”.3
A communist is not only the most advanced fighter for the working class but a savior of his people and nation. The Bolsheviks saved the Russian people and nation from total destruction and anarchy at the hands of incompetent bourgeoisie ministers and the interventionists by creating the USSR and propelling that country forward by making the working class the ruling class. Progressive Russian national heroes were praised and the people’s traditions were saved from destruction at the hands of Trotsky and his Zionist minions.
There is nothing anti-internationalist or anti-Marxist in this notion. What communists do is smash the old society to bits and replace it with a true system of progress and national dignity.
The situation we have in our own country is a grave one. GB once the arch colonizer of the world has become a colonized pawn of the USA. Everything that was progressive in our country and could have been used to great benefit by our working class, if our working class had managed to seize power in our country before world war two, is being taken away from us. Where once we were the leaders in science, technology and industry we are becoming a nation of sloths and zombies. Our working class now has to struggle against the might of Yankee imperialism and not just against its own bourgeoisie. The only way out of this degrading situation for our people is through the Juche idea. The Juche idea will lead communists to victory in the struggle for the establishment of a British Socialist Republic and national independence and dignity.
3. The Juche idea in socialist state building.
This a huge theme and there could be a whole pamphlet written about this, maybe in the future one will be, but for now I want to underline some of the key themes in Juche socialist state building.
Great stress is laid on communist morality and the masses as the leaders of the mass movement.
Communist morality can by explained, in these quotes from comrade Kim Jong Il in “Establishing the Juche outlook on the revolution”
“Some people think that communist revolutionaries are inhuman people who care for nothing but the revolution, ignoring even their families. They are mistaken. It is the basic obligation of a man to love and respect his parents. A person who does not love his parents, spouse and children, who form the closest bonds of kinship, cannot love his country and fellow people.” 4
And again,
“Every member of society must not only participate in labour faithfully but also value anything created through labour and take good care of it. Valuing the wealth created by labour and taking good care of are an expression both of loyalty to the social community and of a proper attitude towards labour and workers” 5
It is quite clear what communist morality and communist social relations are in a socialist society. The Juche idea is the first real communist ideology which shows us what the communist morality truly is. Tying this into the most important theme of the Juche idea, that man is the master of his own destiny, it makes perfect and logical sense for a communist to explain how we should behave in a developing socialist society. There is nothing communist about mad experiments with the family unit which has been the basic frame work for all human civilisations. It is now well know, especially by people living in western occupied former socialist countries, that socialist country were and are the most morally pure countries ever to exist. The Juche idea is the first communist line of thought to explain why and how we should carry this out.
Another key idea in communist state building is aptly highlighted and developed by the Juche idea, this is the idea of the mass movement. Lets us examine a quote from comrade Kim Jong Il once again in his “On the Juche idea”.
“Giving precedence to political work is a demand arising from the essential nature of the socialist system. Unlike in a capitalist society where the popular masses are exploited and oppressed, in a socialist society where the masses are the masters of everything, it is essential to rely on their high political consciousness and revolutionary enthusiasm. Only when political work is given priority to enhance the working peoples conscious zeal as masters of the revolution, will it be possible to give full play to the superiority of the socialist system and vigorously promote socialist construction” 6
As we know from history, in most health socialist societies the mass movement and the rallying of the mass movement by communists was the most important feature of socialist construction. When socialist societies forgot this principle, the masses lost enthusiasm and the leading parties lost the matters. The strict adherence to the Juche principles of the mass movement make this sad scenario impossible.”
Another important point the Juche makes is that
“The party is an integration of its organizations with the leader at the centre.” (“Establishing the Juche outlook on the revolution”)
The leader of the part of the laboring masses has been endowed with the trust of the working people. The working people have chosen him in the fight against capitalism and socialist state building. Without adhering to leadership principles the revolution will fail and the people will lose faith in their representatives. The leader is the centre of political life but only at the will of the working masses. The Great leader comrade Kim Il Sung and the Dear leader comrade Kim Jong Il, perfectly out line this idea in the Juche thought. All great communist leaders understood this but never outlined it in concrete terms. This Juche idea not only explains it but develops it to.
4.Conclusions.
As is seen by the above text the Juche idea is not only the logical development of Marxism in the 21st century, it is the correct ideology for a true communist to follow. In a time when revisionism and Trotsky-ism has infected and taken over the labour movements of Western Europe, the Juche idea shows us a way out of this mess.
At a time when our people are becoming more class conscious it is vital that we teach them that their fight is one of Chajusong. Chajusong against the suffocating grip of American imperialism in our social and political life and Chajusong against the backward capitalism which has long since played its progressive role for our nation.
The only way to emancipate the British working people and working people of the world is through the Juche idea. The only way to adhere to the correct Marxist line for the communist movement is through the Juche idea. The only way to guarantee the world wide victory of socialism is through the genius of the Juche idea.
Bibliography
“ON JUCHE IN OUR REVOLUTION “ KIM IL SUNG
“ON THE JUCHE IDEA “ KIM JONG IL
“ON ESTABLISHING THE JUCHE OUTLOOK ON THE REVOLUTION “ KIM JONG IL
“HANDBOOK OF MARXISM” Edited by EMILE BURNS