ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF SONGUN POLITICS UK

KIM JONG IL

GIVING PRIORITY TO IDEOLOGICAL WORK IS ESSENTIAL FOR ACCOMPLISHING SOCIALISM

June 19, 1995

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Giving priority to ideological work is essential for accomplishing socialism.

To successfully accomplish socialism, we must adhere to ideology by regarding it as most important. We must give priority to ideological work over everything else.

For a working-class party, which struggles for the masses’ independence, no undertaking is more important than ideological work. The working-class party is by nature a leading political organization which awakens the popular masses on the strength of ideology, and which organizes them for the revolution and construction. Ideology is the only and the most powerful weapon of the working-class party. Only when it holds fast to ideology as the main factor and does ideological work before all other work can the working-class party fulfill its mission and duty as the leading political organization which sets the pace for the masses’ independence.

Without ideological work, it would be impossible for socialism to emerge, exist and develop. Capitalism, an exploiting system which replaced feudal subordination with subordination by capital, grew up within the framework of feudal society; but socialism, a new system, radically different from all the exploiting systems, cannot grow up within the framework of capitalist society. Socialist ideology emerges as a reflection of the class demand of the exploited working masses who fight against domination by capital. The socialist system is born of the struggle of the popular masses who are awakened to socialist ideology. It is consolidated and developed under the guidance of socialist ideology.

Socialist society is guided by socialist ideology and developed mainly by the impetus of this ideology. Unlike capitalist society, where money rules everything, socialist society is essentially characterized by the fact that it develops based on the strength of ideology, by the conscious activities of people armed with socialist ideology. The consolidation, development and destiny of socialism depend on how ideological work is done and how people are prepared ideologically. Only when ideological work is given preference and steadily intensified in socialist society is it possible to ensure the political and ideological unity of society, to strengthen and develop socialist social relationships—with comradely unity and cooperation as the main factors—and to successfully build the socialist economy. Only when the ideological bulwark of socialism is fortified can socialism be indestructible in politics, economics, culture and military affairs. Slighting ideological work when building socialism amounts to overlooking the key to socialism. This mistake will inevitably result in the corruption and collapse of socialism.

The ideological work of the working-class party, which fights for socialism, is an ideological and theoretical undertaking to develop socialist ideology in depth in order to meet modern-day requirements and those of the developing revolution. The working-class party’s ideological work is also education for inculcating socialist ideology in the popular masses.

Socialist ideology and theories evolve on the basis of generalizing modern-day demands and revolutionary experience while the revolutionary working-class struggle develops. Socialist ideology and theories serve as the popular masses’ ideological and theoretical weapon in their struggle for socialism and as their guide in that struggle. The circumstances and conditions of the revolutionary struggle are not immutable; history advances and the situation constantly changes and develops. Changes in the times and the developing situation raise a host of problems which existing socialist theories cannot solve. The working-class party must pay close attention to ideological and theoretical activities to develop socialist ideology in step with changes in the times and in the progress of the revolution and construction. If socialist ideology suffers from revisionist degeneration or dogmatic stagnation due to incorrect ideological and theoretical work on the part of the working-class party, socialism will lose its correct guideline. It will encounter twists and turns, and end in failure.

In some countries which were building socialism in the past, socialist ideology was distorted and made degenerate by renegade revolutionaries who became entrenched in the party and state leadership. As a consequence, socialism lost its direction. It went off the rails and invited the return of capitalism. The tortuous events that happened to the socialist revolution and construction, and the collapse of socialism in some countries are ultimately consequences of the poverty and degeneration of scientific, revolutionary ideas and theories.

The working-class party must not only evolve a correct guiding ideology and theories to accomplish socialism, but must also inculcate them efficiently in the popular masses.

Firmly arming the popular masses with socialist ideology is a decisive guarantee for strengthening the motive force of socialist society and for enhancing its role, so as to move the revolution and construction forward at full steam. Effective education of the popular masses in socialist ideology enables us to awaken them ideologically and organize them solidly. It encourages them to fulfill their responsibility and role as the driving force of socialism and as the masters of the state and society. When they fight with a high level of ideological consciousness and in close unity, the popular masses can display immeasurable strength and wisdom and transform nature and society immensely. An incomparable advantage and the indestructible strength of socialism lie in the fact that it gives full play to the unfathomable strength and wisdom of the popular masses, the makers of history. This is precisely the advantage and strength of socialist ideology, which are ensured by ideological work.

Parties in some countries which were building socialism in the past, clung to economic construction alone. They took a dogmatic approach to preceding socialist theory and failed to pay due attention to educating the popular masses. Therefore, they made economic construction itself stagnate and, in the long run, pulled the socialist system down and went the length of reviving capitalism. Opportunists and renegade socialists abandoned ideological work in socialist society, and encouraged people to be egotistic and selfish. They spread bourgeois ideology—which regards money as omnipotent—among people, by adopting the capitalist method of using financial incentives. They echoed reactionary bourgeois propaganda which preached the “effectiveness” and “advantage” of the capitalist market economy. They proclaimed a “mixed economy” and destroyed the economic system based on socialist ownership. It is beyond dispute that the opportunists’ and renegade socialists’ maneuvers were an anti-socialist and counter-revolutionary scheme to distort socialism, paralyze its superiority and open up the way to the fall of socialism and the return of capitalism, to please the imperialists. The process of the breakdown of socialism in a number of countries teaches us the serious lesson that, if one overlooks ideology and abandons ideological work in socialist society, this will make people ideologically sick. It will corrupt and destroy everything socialist. If the ideological bulwark falls down, socialism will be unable to defend itself no matter how great its economic and military power may be. On the other hand, this proves how great a role ideology plays and how important ideological work is, to accomplish socialism.

The need to stick to ideology as the main factor and to give priority to ideological work to accomplish socialism arises from the Juche outlook on the role of ideological consciousness in human activity.

For the first time in history, the Juche idea made clear the truth that man is an independent and creative social being who transforms the world and shapes his destiny with his own strength, and that consciousness of independence plays the decisive role in shaping man’s destiny.

Many factors are at work in human activity. To which of these factors decisive significance is attached, is very important in social development and in shaping human destiny.

Previously, the factor with a decisive effect on human activity was mainly sought outside man. Religious and idealist views claimed that some mysterious, supernatural being outside man governed man’s activity and decided his destiny. The absurdity of these views has already been proved by science. The materialist view sought the decisive factor on human activity in objective, material conditions. Man is a product of the material world’s development. Man lives and works in the material world, so his activity cannot help being affected by objective, material conditions. But objective conditions do not directly cause man’s activity. They influence his activity only through his consciousness. Man is a social being who works independently, creatively and consciously. As such, he is not merely affected by objective conditions but actively transforms them and makes positive use of them.

Ideological consciousness plays the decisive role in human activity. Because it reflects man’s demands and interests, ideological consciousness governs all his activities and serves as the prime mover which propels him to struggle to transform the world. True, knowledge, which reflects the laws of the objective world, plays an important role in man’s activity. Only when he has scientific knowledge can a man make rational use of his own strength and objective conditions, in keeping with objective laws, and transform the world successfully. Knowledge of science and technology plays an ever greater role in the development of social productive forces. Nevertheless, the purpose and direction of man’s activity are defined, and the process of his activity is regulated and controlled, by his ideological consciousness. How a man uses his knowledge and how high a creative ability he displays depend on what kind of ideology he has. Only a man with the idea of serving the popular masses can devote his knowledge, skills, wisdom and talent to work for the popular masses.

Ideological consciousness, which reflects man’s inherent desires as the master of the world, as one who transforms the world, is consciousness of independence. Consciousness of independence is the consciousness of being the master of one’s own destiny; it is the desire to shape one’s own destiny. Only when a man has consciousness of independence can he transform the world positively and shape his destiny well.

Socialist ideology represents the highest stage in the development of consciousness of independence. It reflects man’s desires for independence and collectivism. As such, it is the most powerful ideological weapon for transforming nature and society and for shaping man’s destiny. It also serves as the ideological basis of solid social unity and cohesion. Ideological work for equipping the popular masses with socialist ideology is the key to giving rein to the advantages of socialism, increasing its strength and accelerating the revolution and construction.

Socialist economic relations are the economic, material basis of socialist ideology. Socialist economic relations, whose major component is socialist ownership, provide the popular masses with material conditions for them to acquire and consolidate socialist ideology. Therefore, the consolidation and development of socialist economic relations have a major effect on equipping the popular masses with socialist ideology. The socio-economic basis for the emergence of outmoded ideas disappears with the establishment of the socialist system. However, ideological, technological and cultural backwardness handed down from the old society and various other related vestiges remain for a historical period. These serve as a hotbed for the growth of non-socialist ideological elements. To solidly arm all members of socialist society with socialist ideology, we must preserve socialist ownership. We must steadily consolidate and develop socialist economic relations, and gradually overcome the vestiges of the old society which remain in socio-economic relations and many other areas of social life.

If remnants of old society in socialist society are encouraged to grow, or capitalist economic management methods are introduced into socialist economic management, or worse still, if capitalist ownership is revived by encroaching upon socialist ownership, this will result in the economic, material basis of socialist ideology being pulled down, and conditions created for the growth of individualism, selfishness and other bourgeois ideas. Private ownership inevitably gives birth to individualism and bourgeois ideas inevitably grow and spread on the soil of capitalist ownership and the capitalist market economy. Socialism is incompatible with private ownership and the capitalist market economy.

Even if a socialist system has been established and firm economic and material foundations for socialism laid, people do not acquire socialist ideology automatically.

Imbuing people with socialist ideology means an ideological struggle between the old and the new in the ideological area; it is an undertaking to transform ideology by eliminating outmoded ideas from people’s minds and equipping them with the new, socialist ideology.

Bourgeois and all other outmoded, reactionary ideas are based on individualism. Exploitative societies were all based on individualism and the people in these societies were tainted with individualism for thousands of years. Individualism is an obstinate, conservative idea which is deeply rooted in people’s consciousness, customs and lives. Even in socialist society, individualism and other outmoded ideas persist to a great deal and, when even small chances present themselves, these ideas will sprout again and spread far and wide.

Socialist ideology is a new ideology, fundamentally different from all kinds of outmoded ideas which are based on individualism. The work of eradicating outmoded ideas from people’s minds and equipping them with the new, socialist ideology is an ideological revolution to radically change their ideological lives. It can only be done through tireless and positive ideological education and ideological struggle.

Without struggling against the outmoded ideas remaining in socialist society and against reactionary ideas like bourgeois ideas, which infiltrate from outside, it would be impossible to root out the outmoded ideas lingering in people’s minds; and without vigorously educating people to imbue them with socialist ideology, it would be impossible to transform their ideology. On the one hand, renegade socialists abandoned the work of arming people with socialist ideology; and, on the other, they created ideological confusion among people under the slogans of “glasnost” (openness) and “pluralism”. They threw open the door to admit reactionary bourgeois ideas and culture. Claiming “glasnost” and “pluralism” in socialist society is, in the long run, a counter-revolutionary scheme for undermining socialist society by obliterating socialist ideology and introducing reactionary bourgeois ideas.

In the past, quite a few parties took a mechanical approach to the historical materialist proposition that the material and economic conditions in society determine social consciousness, and that social consciousness changes with changes in material and economic conditions. They believed that when people’s material and cultural standards became high with the establishment of the socialist system and the promotion of socialist construction, their ideological consciousness would be transformed accordingly. Therefore, they did not pay great attention to ideological work. Believing that people’s ideological consciousness will spontaneously change along socialist lines after the socialist transformation of the material and economic conditions in society, is a wrong concept. It is contrary to the essence and characteristics of socialist ideology and the socialist transformation of ideology. By nature, a man’s consciousness reflects objective reality, but how he absorbs this depends on the man himself, on his preparedness. He sees, hears, feels and absorbs as much as he can understand. What ideology he acquires and how this ideology changes and develops depend on his preparedness, his activities and the ideological influence he receives. Even a man from the propertied class can become a revolutionary when he is awakened ideologically and put under a constant revolutionary influence; and not even a working-class man necessarily acquires a revolutionary ideology. It is clear that, where outmoded ideas linger in the people’s minds in socialist society and where reactionary ideas from outside continually infiltrate and have an influence, the transformation of all members of society through education in the new, socialist ideology cannot go ahead smoothly of its own accord, even though the socialist system has been established and the material and economic conditions have been created. Even though every condition and benefit has been provided to people in socialist society for their independent and creative lives, they may take these for granted and fail to keenly feel how valuable the socialist system is and how much they owe it, if ideological work is not carried out efficiently. And if ideological work is not carried out, people’s revolutionary enthusiasm may gradually cool down. The tendency to live in comfort may grow among them, since they are free from any worries in socialist society and continue to lead stable lives. Then they cannot devote themselves to the struggle for socialism and, worse still, they may be duped by misleading imperialists’ and reactionary propaganda into harboring illusions about capitalism and going the length of betraying socialism. This is testified by how socialism collapsed in several countries which abandoned ideological work and opened their door to the ideological and cultural infiltration of imperialism.

Ideological education and ideological struggle are the most powerful methods of transforming people by educating them in socialist ideology. Our experience shows that, if ideological work is conducted vigorously to equip people with socialist ideology in socialist society, people from all walks of life can be transformed along socialist lines.

The cause of socialism is a historic cause to be carried out over several generations. It is the cause for the masses’ independence, conducted amid a fierce struggle against imperialists and reactionaries of all shades. Ideological work must be developed in depth, as socialism advances. The more intensive the maneuvers of socialism’s enemies become, the more should ideological work be stepped up.