“The Historical Lesson in Building Socialism and the General Line of Our Party”. KIM JONG IL
KIM JONG IL
THE HISTORICAL LESSON IN BUILDING SOCIALISM AND THE GENERAL LINE OF OUR PARTY
Talk to the Senior Officials of the Central
Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea
January 3,19921. THE HISTORICAL LESSON IN BUILDING SOCIALISM
Today the defence of the cause of socialism and its triumphant advance is a very important matter which concerns the destiny of mankind.Socialism has suffered a setback and capitalism has revived in some countries in recent years; a short time ago the Soviet Union broke up and ended its existence. As a consequence of this, the imperialists and reactionaries are claiming that capitalism has “triumphed” and socialism has “come to an end”. This is causing ideological confusion among some people who do not understand the situation properly, and seriously affecting the development of the world revolution.
Now it is an urgent historical task to learn a lesson from the prevailing situation, reconstruct the socialist movement on a new basis and lead the cause of socialism to an upsurge.
The cause of socialism is a just cause for realizing the independence of the popular masses; it is an inexorable law of historical development that mankind advances toward socialism. Although there may be twists and turns in the course of the development of socialism, the main direction of
historical development cannot change. The imperialists and renegades of socialism, describing the frustration of socialism in some countries as a change in the historical trend, are arguing that the idea of socialism is invalid and that it was a mistake even to have carried out the socialist revolution. This is a reactionary argument.
For many years the popular masses desired a new, independent society free from exploitation and oppression and waged an arduous struggle for its realization. In the course of this Marxism, a doctrine of socialism and communism, came into being, and the October Socialist Revolution emerged victorious as a result of a struggle guided by this doctrine. Since then socialism has spread worldwide, and the socialist countries have, in a short period of time, attained greater socio- economic progress than would have been possible even in hundreds of years under capitalism. This process of historical development has shown that the idea of socialism is valid and that socialism is incomparably superior to capitalism. How, then, should we view the recent frustration of socialism and the revival of capitalism in some of those countries which were once advancing along the road of socialism?
The path to socialism is an untrodden path; it is a thorny path of revolution an advance along which is faced with relentless confrontation with and an uncompromising struggle against imperialism. Therefore, trials and difficulties are inevitable in the advance of socialism, and unexpected situations may arise. The frustration of socialism and the revival of capitalism in some countries, when viewed in the light of the main tide of historical development, is only a temporary, local phenomenon. But we can never regard it as an accidental phenomenon, nor can we consider that it has been brought about only by external factors. As the great leader always says, when anything is wrong with us we must find the reason in ourselves, not elsewhere. That is the attitude of a revolutionary and the right way to rectify a mistake. Only when we thus correctly ascertain the cause of the frustration of socialism and learn a lesson from it, can we defend and promote the cause of socialism. In short, the basic reason for the frustration of socialism in
some countries is that they did not put the main emphasis on strengthening the motive force for building socialism and on enhancing its role; they failed to understand the essence of socialism, of centring on the popular masses, the makers of history. Socialist society is a society in which the popular masses are the masters; it is a society which is developed through the creativity of the popular masses that are united as one. The essence of socialist society, which differs from all exploitative societies, and the driving force which promotes the progress of the socialist society lie in the fact that the popular masses work in comradely unity and with a high degree of consciousness of being masters and displaying their ability as such. Therefore, the basic way to promote the building of socialism successfully is to strengthen the motive force of the revolution by educating the popular masses in a communist way by giving priority to the transformation of the people and by rallying them fully behind the Party, as well as to enhance the role of the driving force by giving the fullest play to the revolutionary enthusiasm and creativity of the masses. There is no other proper way to promote socialist construction. The people of some countries, however, did not understand this.
How and on which principle socialism should be built after the establishment of the socialist system was a task that challenged the parties that led the building of socialism–a task
that required a fresh solution. It was an important matter which was connected with the problem of how to overcome the historical limitations of the communist theory of the previous age. Marxism was a revolutionary doctrine which represented the era when the working class had emerged in the historical arena and was waging a struggle against capital. As such it made an immortal contribution to eliminating the exploiting class and the exploitative system and realizing the class
liberation of the popular masses. But the times have changed and history has developed, so Marxism has acquired inevitable historical limitations. Marxism, in a nutshell, is a doctrine
which clarified the conditions for realizing the liberation of the working class on the basis of the materialistic conception of history. Considering the process of social development to be a
process of natural history, Marxism expounded the theory that the production relations develop with the development of the productive forces, that the economic system, the whole of the
production relations, forms the basis of a society, and that the superstructure stands on the basis. On this premise Marxism viewed the mode of production of material wealth to be the decisive factor defining the character of a society and the level of its development, and the process of social development to be a process of changing an old mode of production into a new
one, a process in which the contradictions between the productive forces and the production relations are resolved through a class struggle. Proceeding from these principles, Marxism recognized that, if the socialist mode of production is established, the social revolution which transforms capitalism into socialism is completed and that, since the difference between the high and low stages of communism can be attributed to differences in the levels of the development of the productive forces, communism, the ideal society for mankind, can be achieved only when the productive forces are developed through the building of the economy after the establishment of
the socialist system. Ultimately, Marxism failed to provide a proper explanation concerning the building of a socialist and communist society by continuing the revolution after the stablishment of the socialist system. Historically, Marxism is an idea and theory dealing with the requirements of the initial stage of the socialist cause; it did not clarify the detailed ways and means necessary for building socialism and communism, as neither the social conditions for doing it nor any practical
experience of it existed at that time.
For the successful building of socialism and communism after the establishment of the socialist system, the parties leading the building of socialism should have developed the theory of communism in accordance with the requirements of the new stage of the development of socialism and, on the basis of this, formulated a correct line and policies. However, the parties of some countries which had been building socialism failed to carry out this task properly. As a result, some of these parties applied the existing theory dogmatically, having failed to recognize its historical limitations, claiming that they were building socialism with Marxism as their guiding principle. Other parties, on the other hand, denied the revolutionary essence of Marxism and pursued a revisionist policy. Those who had failed to rid themselves of the dogmatic
understanding of the existing theory viewed the nature and superiority of socialist society as not being defined by the popular masses who had the socialist idea but as being defined
by socialist government and by the socialist relations of ownership; they also sought the driving force of socialist construction in the economic factor, namely in the adaptation of the production relations to the productive forces. Needless to say, the establishment of socialist government and the socialist ownership of the means of production creates the socio- political and economic conditions for guaranteeing the position and role of master for the popular masses and rapidly
developing the productive forces. This is a great advantage of socialism over capitalism. But these political and economic conditions themselves are not the decisive factor in promoting
the development of socialist society. As regards the development of the productive forces, the working masses, who are directly responsible for production, play a leading and active role in their development; unless the voluntary enthusiasm and creative power of the working masses are increased, it is impossible to develop the productive forces at a steady, high rate, even though the socialist relations of production have been established. People with the socialist idea, a socialist government and a socialist economic system are tied closely together, and it is the
people with the socialist idea who are essential. The historical process of the establishment of the socialist system shows that first the socialist idea comes into being in the course of the
struggle against exploitation and oppression, the people with this idea organize a revolutionary party, the party sets up a socialist government by politically awakening the popular
masses and organizing them, and then, by relying on the socialist government, the party establishes the socialist economic system. The socialist economic system cannot be maintained or managed to conform with its nature unless there is a socialist government, and the socialist government can neither maintain its existence nor fulfil its function in keeping with its nature if it is separated from the people with the socialist idea. Thus it is clear that the popular masses equipped with the socialist idea are always the decisive factor in the development of the socialist society and the shaping of its destiny. However, some countries believed that socialism could
be built merely by hastening the progress of economic construction while keeping control of state power and the means of production, and they did not put their primary effort into the transformation of the people to raise their ideological and cultural levels rapidly and prepare them fully as the driving force of the revolution and construction. As a consequence the popular masses, the masters of socialist society, could not play their full role as such; in the long run, economic construction was not successful and all the spheres of society fell into stagnation.
Worse still, these countries did not pay due attention to establishing a popular mode of government that was suited to the intrinsic requirements of the socialist society, and so
weakened the unity and cohesion of the people and failed to allow them to give full play to their creativity. Whether or not the popular masses have become the genuine masters of
politics in a socialist society and participate in the management of the state and society with the attitude befitting masters is the most decisive factor in the consolidation and development of
the socialist system and the success of socialist construction. But in some countries in which socialist power had allegedly been established, they still clung to the mode of politics of former societies. As a result, the management of the state and society had become an undertaking for privileged people and had been conducted in isolation from the popular masses, their masters. This gave rise to the growth of bureaucracies, and produced such grave consequences as holding the people’s creativity in check, impairing the masses’ trust in the party and the state and undermining the unity of the popular masses. In the long run, socialism in these countries was deprived of a powerful driving force for its development and had no firm socio-political foundation. Socialism devoid of a strong motive force can neither display its superiority and might nor
overcome the challenges and trials on the way of its advance.
Historical facts show that even a large country with strong military power and enormous economic potential will inevitably collapse in the face of the anti-socialist offensive of
the imperialists and reactionaries if it fails to strengthen the driving force of socialist construction and enhance its role. The frustration of socialism in these countries when confronted by
the imperialist and reactionary anti-socialist onslaught should be regarded as an inevitable consequence of their failure to strengthen the driving force of socialist construction and
enhance its role.
Another reason why socialism in some countries was frustrated is that they failed to recognize the qualitative differences between socialism and capitalism and did not adhere consistently to the fundamental principles of socialism. In order to accomplish the socialist cause we must
consistently maintain socialist principles in the revolution and construction. To defend thoroughly and meet the popular masses’ desire for independence and their interests is a fundamental principle that should invariably be maintained in socialist construction. A socialist society is a society which meets the intrinsic requirements of the popular masses to abolish the exploitation and oppression of man by man and lead an equitable, independent life; and the process of building socialism and communism is the process of realizing the full independence of the popular masses. Therefore, in leading socialist construction the working-class party must resolutely defend the popular masses’ desire for independence and their interests and solve all the problems arising in the revolution and construction thoroughly in their fundamental interests.
In order to build socialism to meet the masses’ desire for independence and their fundamental interests it is imperative to strengthen the working-class party organizationally and ideologically, ensure its leadership of the revolution and construction, steadily enhance the function and role of the socialist government, safeguard and develop socialist ownership and resolutely combat imperialism. This is a revolutionary principle which must never be compromised. In the course of building socialism one can commit minor errors, but the working-class party which is responsible for the destiny of the popular masses must on no account abandon the fundamental principles of socialism. Since the circumstances and conditions of the revolutionary struggle change in the
course of the building of socialism and communism, one should develop one’s line and policies creatively in conformity with the changes but should never deviate from these revolutionary and working-class principles. The circumstances and conditions of the revolutionary struggle may change, but the basic ideas and demands of socialism shall never alter. In the struggle for socialism against capitalism the abandonment of revolutionary principles is surrender and treachery. In the past the people of some countries that were building socialism wavered in the face of transient difficulties that arose in the course of building socialism and went so far as to yield to the pressure of the imperialists, gradually conceding and abandoning their revolutionary principles because they lacked confidence in socialism and their working-class stand was weak. These countries had neglected the work of strengthening the working-class party, weakened its leading role and the function of the unified leadership of the socialist state, adopted the capitalist relations of ownership and capitalist methods of economic management and compromised with imperialism in an unprincipled manner, instead of fighting against it. As a consequence of revisionist policies, society gradually degenerated, and the degeneration of socialism
was further accelerated by the introduction of “pluralism,” on the pretext of the “reform” and “restructuring” of socialism. “Pluralism” can never be tolerated in a socialist society.
“Liberalism” in ideology, a “multiparty system” in politics and “diversity” in the form of ownership which “pluralism” advocates are the mode of politics that is characteristic of capitalist society in
which competition for survival dominates, based on individualism and liberalism. Socialist society is based on collectivism, and regards the unity of the popular masses as its lifeblood; therefore,
socialism cannot be compatible with “pluralism.” The introduction of “pluralism” into socialist society fosters individualism and liberalism that encroach upon the common interests of the society, break the unity and cohesion of the popular masses and produce social disorder and chaos. Permitting liberalism in ideology and a multiparty system in politics in a socialist society is, in the long run, to open a road to counterrevolutionary manoeuvres that are aimed at demolishing the foundation of socialist society and overthrowing the people’s government. A struggle in the sphere of ideology is the prelude to a political struggle, and naturally develops into a struggle for power. Historical experience clearly shows that if anti-socialist ideas are disseminated by liberalizing ideology and the activities of anti-socialist parties are permitted through the tolerance of a “multiparty democracy,” class enemies and reactionaries will rear their heads, commit anti-socialist acts and ultimately drive the working-class party out of power. The revisionists, harbouring illusions about capitalism, completely rejected socialist principles and fully introduced the capitalist mode of politics and economic system, with the result that socialism was frustrated and capitalism revived. Single concessions and a gradual retreat from socialist principles have
resulted in ten- and hundred-fold concessions and a full retreat until, finally, the grave onsequence of the ruin of the working- class parties themselves was incurred.
The frustration of socialism in some countries is also due to the fact that they had not strengthened international solidarity based on independence in relations between parties. It is a basic principle that must be adhered to by the parties of socialist countries in their relations to unite and cooperate with one another on the basis of independence, and to maintain their independence while strengthening international solidarity. Independence is the lifeblood of a country and a nation. Socialism and communism are built with each country and nation as a unit; a revolution in one country is carried out by the party and people of that country for themselves. It is an inviolable right of the party of each country to map out lines and policies to suit the specific situation in its own country and to implement them in an independent manner. The adherence
to independence by the party of each country never impedes the strengthening of international solidarity with the parties of other countries. The cause of socialism is the national cause of
the people of individual countries as well as an international cause. The communist or workers’ party of each country has the right to defend its own independence and, at the same time,
is in duty bound to respect the independence of its counterparts in other countries, and to unite and cooperate with them in a comradely manner for the victory of the socialist cause. In the international communist movement there are parties from big and small countries as well as older and younger parties. It cannot be denied that the parties of the big countries are stronger than those of the small countries and, accordingly, are able to make a greater contribution to the common cause. So the parties of big countries must be aware of their greater responsibility for defending and developing the international communist movement. It is natural for them to help their fraternal parties selflessly and play a bigger role in carrying out the common cause. Nevertheless, they must never be guilty of great-power chauvinism. There can be no higher or lower parties or leading or led parties. The time is long past when there was one centre in the international communist movement and individual parties acted as its branches. The parties of the socialist countries must naturally cooperate with one another in a comradely manner on the principles of complete equality and independence. In the past, however, the parties of some
socialist countries did great harm to the development of the international communist movement by failing to rid themselves of the old customs of the Communist International. The party of a certain country claimed to be the “centre” of the international communist movement, and ordered other parties to do this or that. It acted without hesitation to put pressure on other parties and interfere in their internal affairs if they refused to follow its line, even though it was a wrong one. As a
consequence, the ideological unity and comradely relations of cooperation between the socialist countries were greatly weakened, and this made it impossible for them to counter imperialism with a united force. The parties of some countries yielded to the pressure of the great powers and acted under the baton of others, and the result of this was that they meekly accepted revisionism when the big countries took to revisionism and accepted “reform” and “restructuring” when
other did so. Therefore, in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe socialism was frustrated, and this is a serious state of affairs. As the great leader said a long time ago, if a man turns to flunkeyism he becomes a fool, if a nation takes to flunkeyism the country goes to ruin, and if a party follows
flunkeyism it spoils the revolution and construction. The fact that some countries spoiled ocialism having taken to flunkeyism is eloquent proof of the validity of the leader’s teaching.
Historical experience shows that when people steadily strengthen the driving force of the revolution, with a strong conviction in socialism and a correct guideline, hold fast to socialist principles in all circumstances and strengthen comradely unity and cooperation on the basis of independence, the socialist cause will advance along the road of victory; otherwise it will suffer setbacks and frustration. This is a serious lesson mankind has learned on its road to socialism.
2. THE VALIDITY OF THE GENERAL LINE OF OUR PARTY CONCERNING
THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM
The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung has put forward the outstanding ideology, based on the Juche idea, the first of its kind in history, that the three revolutions plus the people’s government means communism. To carry out the ideological, technical and cultural revolutions thoroughly while strengthening the people’s government and steadily enhancing its function and role is the general line for building socialism and communism put forward by the leader. Based on hisoriginal clarification of the features of a socialist and communist society and the law-governed process of its realization, he clearly expounded the revolutionary principle and scientific ways for building socialism and communism and thus developed a new communist theory, leading their
implementation wisely so that this theory can be translated into reality in our country. This is a great and historic contribution made by the leader in carrying out the cause of the independence of the popular masses.
The general line put forward by the great leader is an absolutely scientific and revolutionary line indicating the road for accomplishing the socialist cause and fully realizing the independence of the popular masses.
Our Party’s general line on the construction of socialism and communism is based on man-centred, socio-historical principles. Society, in a nutshell, is a collective of people. The
community in which people live, linked together by social wealth and social relations–this precisely is a society. The masters of society are the people. They are social beings with destiny independently and creatively. The standard of the development of a society is defined by the extent to which the people’s independence, creativity and consciousness are displayed. Social wealth increases as the people’s independent ideological consciousness and creativity improve and social relations develop in line with this. Hence, we must not view a society with the stress on the material conditions but view it with the people as the centre. Nor must we view the process of
social development as a process of natural history but as a result of the independent and creative activities of the popular masses, the driving force of social movement. From this point of view, we can say that a communist society is a society in which all the people are finally freed from all their
fetters and they become the fully-fledged masters of nature, society and themselves. In a communist society all the members of the society will become fully-fledged social beings who are
comprehensively equipped with an independent ideological consciousness and the creativity to suit the social character of man. Productivity will reach a high level, sufficient to ensure man’s
independent and creative activities materially in all fields of social life. Accordingly, social relations will become absolutely collective social relations whereby the whole of society forms a
socio-political organism and both the individual and the community are guaranteed their ndependence. In short, a communist society is a society in which the popular masses are guaranteed full independence. Socialist society is a low form of communist society.
In order to build socialism and communism, we must continue with the revolution even after the socialist revolution has emerged victorious and the socialist system has been established.
In the building of socialism and communism, the realization of a communist society is the ultimate goal; the establishment of the socialist system is the starting-point. When we say that the socialist revolution has emerged victorious and the socialist system has been established, this means that, with the establishment of a socialist government and of the socialist relations of production, the skeleton of a new society, in which the popular masses are the masters, has been set up. Viewed as part of the progress of human society, the establishment of the socialist system is a historic reform. But viewed as part of the process of building socialism and communism, it is nothing but
a beginning. The fledgling socialist society which emerges with the establishment of the socialist system is a new society containing some communist elements. At the same time, it is a transitional society embodying many remnants of the old society. Therefore, if we are to build socialism and communism successfully following the establishment of a socialist system, we must make every possible effort to transform the people, nature and society along communist lines on the principle of developing the communist elements of the socialist society and overcoming its transitional remnants.
In order to build socialism, we must press ahead with the reformation of people so that they will develop into men of a communist type who are able to discharge their role and responsibility as masters of the state and society. We must also carry out projects for harnessing nature to lay a strong foundation for the society that is able to materially guarantee a socialist life. Along with this, we must reform all social relations, as required by socialist society, and thus perfect the
socialist state and social system. Only when socialism is firmly Juche-based, when the material and technological foundations of socialism are firmly in place and when all the aspects of
social life are managed and operated in a socialist way, can we say that socialism has fully appeared.
The primary task to be fulfilled after the establishment of the socialist system is to ensure that the popular masses perform their responsibility and play their role as the masters of the state and
society by raising their ideological consciousness and creativity. If the popular masses, after becoming the masters of the state and society following the establishment of the socialist system, are to perform their role and responsibility, they must have high ideological consciousness and creativity corresponding to their position and role of master. The ideological and spiritual traits and qualities to be possessed by the popular masses after the establishment of the socialist system should be qualitatively different from those of former days. It was important for them to
have acute class consciousness against exploitation and oppression and great fighting spirit when they fought to overthrow the old system of exploitation and establish the socialist system. But, what is most important in the days of socialist construction is for them to equip themselves with collectivism which requires placing the interests of the state and society above those of individuals and to devote themselves to this end. In the struggle to overthrow the old system of exploitation it was also important to have the fighting spirit to destroy the counterrevolutionary violence of the reactionary ruling class, whereas in order to build socialism, it is absolutely essential to possess the ability to transform nature, social relations and man himself along ommunist lines. If, after the establishment of the socialist system, the people do not participate actively in joint productive labour, holding private ownership dearer than collective ownership, because they lack in collectivism, and do not run the state and the economy properly
due to their failure to have a high degree of creativity as befitting masters of the state and society, the socialist society will virtually become a society without a master and in such circumstances,
socialism can neither display its advantages nor develop.
For the popular masses to have the high ideological consciousness and creativity that is needed in a socialist society, the ideological and cultural revolutions should be pushed ahead
dynamically. Through these revolutions the people are liberated from outmoded ideas and cultural backwardness and the reformation of people is done to make them men of a communist
type who are equipped with the communist ideology and high cultural standards. The ideological revolution is aimed at providing the motive force for the socialist and communist society by equipping the people with independent ideological consciousness, and it constitutes the foundation for reforming the people. Re-educating people is, in essence, remoulding their consciousness. Our Party separated ideology from culture and advanced the theory on
ideology that ideological consciousness decides everything, which means that ideological consciousness is a decisive factor in determining the actions of people. The ideological consciousness of people does not transform itself of its own accord. It is wrong to think that a change in the social system and material conditions will inevitably be followed by a change in the ideological consciousness of people, which would mean viewing ideological consciousness
as a simple reflection of the reality. Although a change in the objective conditions affects the development of the ideological consciousness of people to some extent, the establishment of
the socialist system and a growth in material wealth do not mean that people follow the communist idea spontaneously. As exploitation and oppression are abolished and the people’s
material standards improve, ideological education should be intensified. If we fail to intensify ideological education, the revolutionary spirit of the people may be weakened and the easy-going ideological tendency to live in comfort may grow gradually among them. Success in socialist construction and the destiny of socialism are decided by whether or not we root out selfishness and all other obsolete ideas from the minds of the people and imbue them with a communist revolutionary idea. Money is vital in capitalist society which is guided by the principle that material wealth is almighty, whereas ideology is vital in socialist society where the people are the masters. If the popular masses equip themselves with a socialist idea and unite as one on its basis, socialism will emerge victorious and, if they fall a prey to an ideological malaise, socialism will be ruined. The main advantage of socialist society over capitalist society is that of ideology and the might of socialism is also that of ideology. Therefore, neglecting the ideological
revolution is tantamount to losing the lifeline in socialist construction. In building socialism our Party has set the ideological revolution as the most important task and invariably maintains
the principle of giving it definite precedence; it is also keeping the ideological revolution in a state of constant development in line with the progress of the revolution and construction. The basic aspect of carrying out the ideological revolution is to equip all the people firmly with the revolutionary idea of our Party, the Juche idea, and, on this basis, to achieve the firm ideological unity of the whole society.
Equipping all the members of society with one revolutionary idea and achieving ideological unity on this basis is the essential demand of socialist society and the most important task for the successful building of socialism. In capitalist society where the class positions of people differ and their interests conflict with one another, the people cannot equip themselves with one idea, and the ideological and political unity of society is scarcely imaginable. On the contrary, the capitalist class deliberately spreads various reactionary ideas to prevent the working people from being ideologically awakened and united. However, in socialist society all the members of society can be equipped with the communist revolutionary idea and the unity and cohesion of the whole society can be achieved on its basis because all the people share a common goal and common interests in aspiring after socialism and communism. Thus it is possible to prepare a reliable driving force for the revolution and to enhance its role constantly.
The driving force for the revolution is none other than the integral whole of the leader, the party and the masses. In carrying out the ideological revolution our Party lays stress on equipping the people with a revolutionary outlook on the leader, the organization and the masses and on uniting them behind the Party and the leader to make them a socio-political organism in which everyone shares the same fate. The revolutionary outlook on the leader, the organization and the masses is a unique conception which is based on a scientific clarification of the independent driving force of the revolution.
The leader is the centre of the socio-political organism and its top brain, and he embodies the will of the masses. The relations between the leader and the masses are close ties of kinship within the socio-political organism combined with the sharing of the same revolutionary idea and comradeship. Just as we cannot think of the brain separated from the body, so we cannot think of the leader separated from the masses nor the masses separated from the leader. The glorious history of our people’s struggle proves that when there is the wise guidance of an outstanding leader and the masses remain loyal to the leader’s guidance, the revolutionary cause is invincible. In the grim days of Japanese imperialist rule, our people shed their blood in vain at first as they had no genuine leader, although they had joined the liberation struggle. It was only after they acquired the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung as the centre of their unity and leadership that they could defeat the Japanese imperialists and achieve national liberation by waging an organized armed struggle, and could carry the incomparably difficult and complex Korean revolution to victory. By founding the immortal Juche idea, the great leader implanted the genuine
spirit of an independent people in the minds of our people, guaranteed them eternal socio-political integrity and rallied them all into a vast revolutionary community, thus making them an ever-victorious, heroic people. That is why our people not only hold Comrade Kim Il Sung in high esteem as their great revolutionary leader but also boundlessly revere and respect him as the saviour of their lives and as their father, and are infinitely loyal and filial to him. The praiseworthy course and great victory of our revolution are unthinkable were it not for the wise guidance of the great leader and the absolute fidelity of the people to him. The historical experience of the international communist movement shows that the revolutionary cause of the popular masses can advance triumphantly, however difficult or complex the situation, when it is guided by an outstanding leader, and that otherwise, it will face many setbacks. It also proves that the revolutionary gains the people have achieved at the cost of their blood over a long period of time are stolen by the enemy and the revolution is ruined when a chance element or a traitor to the revolution assumes the leading position in the party. The party is the pivotal organization of the socio-political organism. Only under its guidance can the popular masses be united organizationally and ideologically with the leader, the centre of the organism, acquire socio-political integrity and become the independent driving force of the revolution.
Therefore, it is important to educate all the people to regard the
socio-political organization centred on the leader as the parent
organ of their political integrity and to work for the triumph of
the revolutionary cause in an organized manner as a member of the organization. The masters of the revolution are the popular masses. The leader is the top brain of the people, and the party is the core detachment of the masses. It is only when a person is equipped with the revolutionary outlook on the masses and regards the masses as the masters of the revolution that he can become a true servant of the people who devotes his all to the struggle for their interests and who is dependable in undertaking the revolution and construction and who solves any problems, however difficult, by his own efforts and relying on the masses. If officials fail to equip themselves with the revolutionary outlook on the masses, there will appear such practices as looking down on the masses, wielding authority and behaving bureaucratically, and they will also get into the habit of depending on outside forces without thinking of enlisting the creativity of the masses, and will be guilty of defeatism and succumbing to any difficulties. In order to remain faithful to the revolution as a member of the socio-political organism, the people should possess a correct outlook on the leader, the organization and the masses. Such a revolutionary outlook is the main characteristic of a communist revolutionary of a Juche type. Therefore, the main emphasis in the ideological revolution should be put on educating everyone to remain infinitely loyal to the party and the leader and to serve the masses with devotion.
When the popular masses are educated in revolutionary ideas and the driving force for the revolution is fully prepared through an intensive ideological revolution, socialist construction will be pushed forward successfully and the cause of socialism solidly defended whatever the adversity. In our country the ideological revolution has been carried out successfully under the correct leadership of the Party. As a result, all the people adhere firmly to the Juche idea and, rallied closely around the Party and the leader, are faithfully discharging their role and responsibility as befitting the masters of the revolution and construction. Our people, taking great
pride in carrying out the revolution, are devoting all their energy and wisdom to the fruitful struggle for socialist construction. A communist habit of work and life is prevalent among them. They work and live in a revolutionary way, helping and leading one another forward on the principle of
collectivism according to the maxim, “One for all and all for one.” Today, more and more people are joining the ranks of the unassuming heroes and meritorious people who are devoting their lives to the society and collective, to the Party and revolution with utter disregard for any praise, and the movement to follow their example is widespread throughout society. This is a striking testimony to the high ideological and spiritual level of our people. The leader, the Party and the
masses integrated into a socio-political entity in which they share their fate, along with the whole society forming a single great revolutionary community–this is the true nature of our society, and we can be proud of it. All the people are rallied rock-solid behind the Party and the leader and fighting and living full of confidence and optimism. Herein lies the source of the solidity and invincibility of our socialism and a firm guarantee for carrying the revolutionary cause of Juche to
completion in the face of every storm and ordeal.
The cultural revolution is aimed at liberating the people from the fetters of outmoded culture and developing a socialist culture which serves the people so that all the people can lead a modern,
socialist life. In a society of exploitation the popular masses are not provided with adequate conditions and possibilities for the rapid development of culture. This has meant that their cultural level has remained generally low. The reactionary bourgeois culture which the privileged minority uses for exploiting and subordinating the working masses and for their own decadent purposes is as harmful as drugs. It eats away at the mentality of the people and prevents them from enjoying a healthy, modern life. To eliminate the remnants of the outmoded culture which have existed for many years in the life and customs of the people and to develop a fresh culture along socialist lines are a fight over fundamental principles between capitalism and socialism. Only when the revolution continues in the field of culture after the establishment of the socialist system can we liberate the people from their cultural backwardness and from the fetters of inhuman, outmoded culture and ensure that they possess great creative ability and enjoy the advantages of a genuine socialist, modern life. Developing socialist culture constitutes an important condition for preventing ideological and cultural poisoning by the imperialists. In invading and dominating other countries, the imperialists resort to the strategy of spreading their reactionary bourgeois culture in order to destroy the local national culture and paralyze the spirit of national
independence and revolutionary ardour of the local people. When socialist culture is brought into full bloom and when the people enjoy a modern socialist way of life, with the socialist culture
overpowering the capitalist culture, the people will be free from the false idealization of the corrupt bourgeois culture and the imperialists’ ideological and cultural poisoning will fail.
An important strategic objective in carrying out the cultural revolution is to make the whole of society intellectually proficient. From the point of view of human transformation, the process of building socialism and communism coincides with the process of making all the members of society revolutionary and working class and, at the same time, of making them intellectual. While the work of making the people revolutionary and working class is aimed at eliminating the gap
between the ideological levels of people, the work to make the whole of society intellectual is aimed at making all the members of society people of a communist type who are possessed of ample knowledge and a high level of cultural attainment and thus at eliminating the gap in cultural standards.
After the socialist system is established and class antagonism is abolished, efforts must be directed at imbuing all the people with revolutionary and working-class qualities and, at the same
time, at making them intellectual. After the establishment of the socialist system, intellectuals become, like the working class, the masters of the state and society and, as socialist working people, they form the same social class basis as the working class. However, the intellectuals and the working class have different characteristics in view of their different working conditions. By nature workers are proletarians who have grown into the leading class of the revolution through a struggle against exploitation and oppression. Therefore, they have a strong revolutionary spirit and a strong sense of organization. However, their cultural and technical levels are lower than those of intellectuals. Intellectuals are at a higher cultural and technical level than workers, but they are weak in their revolutionary spirit and in their sense of rganization. This difference between workers and intellectuals disappears only when all the members of society are made revolutionaries, become fully integrated into the working class and are made
intellectually proficient with progress in socialist construction. The transformation of people along communist lines boils down to training them to be comprehensively-developed people with the consciousness of independence and great creative ability, and to making every member of society an intellectual who has been assimilated to the working class and a worker who has been made intellectually proficient.
The most important matter which should be dealt with in the cultural revolution is to develop educational work. Educational work is decisive to success in the building of socialism and communism and to the destiny of the nation. Accordingly, our Party has always attached great importance to education and has put a great deal of energy into it. After the country’s liberation we started building a new country by giving people the right of education, abolishing illiteracy and
building schools for the younger generation. We even continued educational work under fire in the grim Fatherland Liberation War. Even in the difficult circumstances when we were healing the war wounds and promoting the socialist revolution and socialist construction, we introduced universal free compulsory education step by step, combined school education with social education and developed the study-while- you-work system so that all the younger generation and the working people could receive education at state expense. Thanks to the efforts we made, overcoming all the difficulties for the sake of the future of the country and the nation, we suc-
ceeded in raising the cultural standards of the working people to those of senior middle school graduates. On this basis, we have set ourselves the high aim of making every member of
society intellectual and are making efforts to attain this aim. Our Party is consistently maintaining revolutionary principles in education. Socialist education is not business-like work for merely imparting knowledge and technology to the people. Its mission and duty are to train the people into revolutionaries who will work with devotion for the Party and the revolution and for the country and the people, thereby contributing to the realization of the cause of communism. Our
Party has set an important principle of socialist education to embody Juche principles, the Party spirit, the working-class spirit and the serve-the-people spirit in education, and to combine education with revolutionary practice, and it has put this into full effect. Thanks to the correct educational policy of our Party, the younger generation are being trained into communist men of a Juche type who are equipped with a sound ideology, useful knowledge and practical ability. It is not by chance that the people of the world speak highly of our country as “a land of education” where all the members of the society are reading books throughout their lifetime and are trained into communist men of a new type, possessed of both noble ideological consciousness and creative ability.
In order to ensure to the full that the people enjoy a modern,socialist life, a new revolutionary and popular culture appropriate to the aspirations to independence and feelings and emotions of the popular masses should be created. Only when such a socialist culture is created and developed can every manner of uncivilized and backward practice be eliminated, the socialist way of life be established comprehensively and the people acquire sound and noble mentality and morality to fight and live with confidence and optimism.
With the implementation of our Party’s correct policy of developing a socialist culture in our country, the Juche culture and arts which reflect the people’s aspirations to independence and their revolutionary requirements are enjoying their greatest success, being appreciated in particular by the working people, and all the cultural wealth of society is being used exclusively
for the improvement of the people’s cultural standards and meeting their varied cultural and emotional requirements. In our country literature and the arts, public health and physical
education and sport and other cultural pursuits are encouraged and made an everyday activity of the people; everyone takes part in the development of culture and profits by it, being able
to give free scope to their wisdom and talents for the development of socialist culture and everyone enjoys a rich and varied cultural and emotional life to the full. In our country
there are no such practices as immorality, depravity and social evil, as there are in capitalist society, which degrade and deform the people mentally and physically. Now the noble socialist morality of respecting and helping one another and sharing the joy and sorrow is prevalent among our people and a sound socialist way of life reigns supreme throughout the society. Indeed, every family, every workplace, everywhere in our country is now full of revolutionary optimism and our Juche culture and arts serve as a powerful means of raising the national pride of the people, making their ideological and mental life sound, and inspiring them in the revolutionary struggle and creative productive labour.
To lay firm material and technological foundations for socialism by harnessing nature, along with reforming man, is an important task which comes to the fore in the building of socialism after the establishment of the socialist system. If productivity is not developed rapidly in order to lay appropriate material and technological foundations for the socialist system after its establishment socialism, like a building on an unsolid foundation, can neither maintain its existence for long, nor
provide the people with an independent and creative material life, and working activities.
The technical revolution is the fundamental way to harness nature and lay the material and technical foundations which suit the requirements of the socialist and communist society. The
ideological and cultural revolutions are undertakings to prepare the driving force for a communist society by remoulding man; the technical revolution is an undertaking to create the material
conditions for a communist society by transforming nature. In capitalist society technical reconstruction serves as a means to gratify the unlimited lust of a small number of capitalists for
wealth. But in socialist society the technical revolution is an important revolutionary task to provide the working people with the conditions for leading an equitable and rich working and
material life, thereby freeing from the fetters of nature the working people who have been liberated from exploitation and oppression and making the popular masses fully independent.
In socialist society the technical revolution must serve, through technical development, the freeing of the working people from the need to do hard labour and the building and development of an independent socialist national economy which meets the requirements of the people for independence.
Only when an independent economy which can stand on its own feet is built on the basis of modern technology can an independent and creative working and material life for the people be guaranteed, can Juche be established in ideology, can independence in politics and self-reliance in national defence be realized and can national independence be consolidated. Therefore, the technical revolution, from the Juche stand, must be carried out on the principle of making the national economy Juche-based, modern and scientific to suit the specific conditions in the country and by relying on the creative power of the people. It is very harmful in the technical revolution to refuse to believe in one’s strength and to harbour illusions about the advanced technology of capitalist countries. It is utterly wrong to think that capitalism is better than socialism in developing
science and technology. In all societies it is the masses of the working people that promote science and technology. There is no doubt that in developing science and technology socialist
society, where all the working people, as the masters of the country, are vitally interested in scientific and technical development and where the state develops technology on a coordinated basis according to plans as required by socialist economic laws, is superior to capitalist society where people conflict with one another in their interests, on the basis of individualism. If one’s point of view of the technical revolution is correct, if one makes the best possible use of the economic potential of the country and if one brings into full play the revolutionary enthusiasm and creative wisdom of the popular masses from the firm Juche stand one can develop the economy
and technology rapidly. After the establishment of the socialist system the technical revolution must be promoted dynamically and all the sectors of the national economy, including heavy and light industry and agriculture, must be fully equipped with modern technology so as to guarantee economic independence. By creating modern heavy industry and, based on it, carrying out the overall technical reconstruction of the national economy, one can free the working people from the need to do hard labour and develop the productive forces rapidly as required by socialist
society. After the establishment of the socialist system our Party set the immediate, central task of socialist economic construction to be to carry out socialist industrialization by stepping up the technical revolution, and it organized and mobilized the working masses to do it, thus getting rid of the colonial distortion and technical backwardness of the national economy and carrying out the historic task of socialist industrialization in an unprecedentedly short period of time.
After socialist industrialization the great leader defined themost important tasks of the technical revolution to be the three tasks of eliminating the distinctions between heavy and light labour, of ending the differences between working in town and country and of freeing women from the heavy burden of house-work, and he guided the efforts to carry them out. Our Party’s line of the three major tasks of the technical revolution embodies the principle of the socialist technical revolution, the principle of liberating the working people from difficult and exhausting work and of providing them all with independent and equal working lives.
Under the leadership of our Party the technical revolution has been promoted successfully, with the result that not only have the material and technical foundations of socialism become stronger but also a great change has taken place in the working and material lives of our working people. In our country heat-affected and harmful labour has disappeared and difficult and backbreaking labour has been considerably reduced; the working people are provided with safe working
conditions and adequate conditions for relaxation. This is making the working people’s creative working lives more and more enjoyable and fruitful. As technology advances and socialist economic construction progresses, the people’s material lives are improving steadily. Today in our country all the working people are provided with jobs according to their ability and aptitude, and they live happily with no worries about food, clothing and housing, though we cannot say as yet that they are living in luxury. In our country, there is no one who is notably rich or poor and our people do not even know the words unemployment and beggar. Since we have built a powerful independent national economy equipped with modern technology, we can do anything by our own efforts, once we are determined, and are developing our national economy on a stable basis, little affected by any worldwide economic upheavals. Unlike in capitalist society where the gulf between rich and poor is huge and the people live in unrest, unable to foresee their future, in our country all the working people have jobs and live a carefree life without any distinction among
them thanks to the powerful independent foundations of our economy. This is eloquent proof that our Party’s strict observance of socialist principles in economic construction and in the technical revolution is absolutely correct.
Strengthening the people’s government and enhancing its function and role is a decisive guarantee for the correct management and operation of socialist society and for the successful promotion of socialist and communist construction. The people’s government represents the sovereignty of the popular masses, the masters of socialist society, and is a leading force which manages all sectors of socialist life in a coordinated manner. It guarantees the popular masses
independence, coordinates their creative activities and promotes socialist construction. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the people’s government further and steadily raise
its function and role as socialist construction advances. It is only when it performs its function and role properly that the people’s government can carry out the remoulding of people and the harnessing of nature successfully by vigorously promoting the three revolutions, the ideological, technical and cultural, and can re-establish, develop and perfect social relations along socialist lines in all fields of politics, the economy and culture. This is precisely the reason why our
Party defined the three revolutions, as well as the strengthening of the people’s government and the enhancement of its function and role, as the major aspects of the general line of socialist
construction. How to manage and operate socialist society is an important problem which arises after the establishment of the socialist system. As socialist society is a society where the popular masses are the masters of state and society, it must be managed in a new, socialist way that makes the popular masses its managers. Even if the popular masses have become the masters of state power and of the means of production, they cannot hold the position of masters and play their role as such, nor can they give full play to the superiority of the socialist system and promote socialist construction successfully, if they do not manage the society in conformity with its socialist nature.
Scrapping the bureaucratic ruling method, a remnant of the old society, and establishing the socialist method of management suited to the nature of socialist society is a task which is as difficult and complex as the establishment of socialist power. Since it defined state power as a weapon of dictatorship for class domination, the preceding theory identified the essential difference between the government of the exploiting classes and socialist government as lying mainly in the difference between their class character, and it considered that a socialist state would wither away once class domination was unnecessary after a classless society was built. This view is incompatible with the practice of socialist and communist construction. The old state as a tool of class domination is destroyed in the socialist revolution, and the newly-established socialist government is a new state political organization whose mission it is to coordinate the independent and creative activities of the popular masses, who have become the masters of society, and all the fields of society. The unified leading function of the socialist state should be further intensified as the building of socialism and communism progresses; this function
will be needed in communist society as well. Therefore, socialist power will never wither away, and the matter of power will remain the most important matter not only at the stage of the
socialist revolution but also during the whole historical period of socialist and communist construction.
To meet the requirements of the new circumstances after the establishment of the socialist system in our country, the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung set an important task to be to
improve the work system and method of the people’s government. So he created the Chongsanri spirit and method and, as its embodiment, the Taean work system. In this way he carried out
the historic task of establishing a system and method of social management which meet the essential requirements of socialist society. The Taean work system embodies the fundamental
principles of socialist state activity as a work system which combines the monolithic leadership of the Party with its revolutionary mass line and enables the popular masses to fulfil their role and responsibility as the masters of state and society. The Taean work system is of universal importance not only as a system of guidance and management for the socialist economy but also as a political method for the overall management of socialist society. The establishment of the
Taean work system and its application in every domain of society has represented a revolution in social transformation, a revolution no less important than the establishment of a socialist government and the bringing of the means of production under socialist ownership.
The most important thing in establishing the system and method of socialist management is to ensure the state’s unified guidance of society under the leadership of the Party. The Party is a hardcore detachment of the popular masses, the masters in a socialist society; it is a political organization that leads the building of socialism and communism. The Party sets out lines and policies that reflect the desires of the popular masses, indicates the orientation of the government’s activities and gives political guidance to government bodies so that they
can work to meet the people’s interests and demands. Without Party guidance the socialist government cannot carry out its mission and function as the people’s power. The socialist
government implements Party line and policies, and Party guidance over society can be maintained and realized fully only through state power, the most comprehensive political organi-
zation. Party guidance over the people’s government must be political and the latter’s activities must be geared to the implementation of the former’s lines and policies. As the leader has remarked, the relationship between the Party and the government can be compared to that between a man steering a boat and a man rowing it. Just as a boat can only go straight
and fast when it is steered properly and its oars are pulled strongly, so a society can be developed without deviation and in accordance with the people’s interests and desires only when
the Party provides proper political guidance and the government plays its proper role under the Party’s leadership.
As the Party of the working class is in power in a socialist state, Party organizations may make mistakes by superseding the administrative function and reducing the creativity of government bodies. Therefore we must guard against the Party superseding the administrative function in directing government bodies. We must also reject strongly the tendency to refuse Party guidance and to dilute it on the excuses that the Party has superseded the administrative function and that the state power’s “autonomy” and “independence” should be enhanced. Unless the Party’s guidance over the people’s government is guaranteed, a socialist government will become
a bourgeois government; and if the Party forfeits its guidance of the government it will cease to be the vanguard organization that is responsible for the destiny of the people. Ensuring unified guidance over society under the Party’s leadership is the basic function of a socialist state.
Unlike in capitalist society where every realm of social life is based on individualism, a socialist society is a collective society where all the people work together sharing a common goal and
common interests. Without the state’s unified guidance, it is impossible to achieve proper unity and cooperation between people based on the common interests of the society, nor is it possible to direct the people’s struggle purposefully in the building of socialism and communism. Therefore the people’s government must ensure its unified guidance and control in the political,
economic, cultural and all other domains of social life.
The planned management of the national economy under the state’s unified guidance is a demand of the law of the development of the socialist economy. In a socialist society where the means of production are in the hands of the people, the state, the representative of the people, must ensure unified management and control of the economy. In a socialist society it is only under the state’s unified direction that we can make the maximum use of the nation’s economic potential and develop the economy quickly in accordance with the people’s desire for independence and their interests. It is entirely wrong to pit the state’s unified direction of the economy against the possibility of bringing creativity into play in enterprises, or to deny the state’s unified direction on the ground that the planned management and control of the economy has become impossible because the economy has grown considerably in scale. Success depends on the principles and methods applied in ensuring the state’s unified guidance of the economy. In the past some countries made mistakes in giving unified guidance to the management of the socialist economy because they gave guidance only through administrative orders, ignoring the objective laws of
economic development and the specific conditions, or they neglected to bring into play creativity in individual domains and units, while emphasizing unified direction alone. Therefore, we
must not oppose the state’s unified direction of the economy itself; we must improve the method of state guidance to meet socialist requirements. If we reject state guidance and control, and give
priority to the autonomy of individual enterprises and to immediate economic interests, the system of the socialist economy will deteriorate and the capitalist market economy will be restored.
Some people say that if the scale of the economy grows, the indexes for plans will multiply to the extreme and it will be impossible to implement a planned economy. This is like the absurd argument that if the economy develops, the people will be reduced to economic appendages. The state can run the socialist economy in a planned way and bring its advantages into full play
if it improves the abilities of the economic executives and the working people and puts economic management on a scientific basis in line with economic development.
In order to establish a proper system and a proper method of socialist management, we must fully implement the revolutionary mass line in Party and state activities. In a socialist society the people are the masters of the government and they are responsible for politics. The revolutionary mass line is the supreme principle of Party and state activities because it ensures that the popular masses hold the position of masters of the state and society and perform their role and responsibilities as such. It depends on how we implement the revolutionary mass line whether we can establish socialist democracy successfully, eliminate bureaucracy and bring the people’s creativity into full play. The people’s government must conduct all its activities along the revolutionary mass line. It must apply the work system and method of relying on the people and
working for them. The officials of the people’s government must always work to meet the people’s desires and interests. They must mix well with the people, share good times and bad with them and rouse them to implement Party policies.
Bureaucracy, which was a ruling method in former societies, cannot be permitted in the activity of the people’s government which serves the people. If bureaucracy were permitted in the
work of the people’s government organs and the people were forced to do things against their will and desires, it would blunt their independence and creativity, divorce the Party and the
government from them and prevent the advantages of the socialist system from being demonstrated to the full. Bureaucracy exists in a socialist society because officials retain
remnants of the outdated ideas and because the residues of the old ruling system and method have not been removed from social management. In order to overcome bureaucracy it is necessary to eradicate the remnants of the outmoded ideas and outdated method of management and to meet the requirements of the Chongsanri spirit and method and the Taean work system which are the embodiment of the mass line.
In socialist society, a transitional society in which the class struggle continues, the state must exercise dictatorship over any anti-socialist elements. The building of socialism and communism is accompanied by an acute struggle against hostile elements and the imperialists. Since the imperialists continue their anti-socialist moves and the rebellious elements linked with them remain within the society, the socialist government must always use its revolutionary weapon
to prevent the growth of the counterrevolutionary, anti-socialist elements. It must thwart the moves of the imperialists and the internal reactionaries to hamper the revolution and construction
and undermine the socialist system. If we weaken the dictatorial function of the government in a socialist society, which is transitional, we will fail to provide the people with democratic
freedom and rights and to defend our revolutionary achievements, and we may endanger the socialist system itself. Only by strengthening the people’s government and enhancing its function
and role can we support and accomplish the socialist cause.
Our Party’s general line of carrying out the ideological, technical and cultural revolutions, while consolidating the people’s government and steadily improving its function and role, is being imple
mented successfully in socialist construction, and the judiciousness and vitality of that line has been demonstrated to the full.
Our people have followed and implemented the Party’s general line in socialist construction and have achieved major victories in all domains of the revolution and construction despite the extremely difficult and adverse conditions, and we have established on this land an excellent socialist system of our own style which is centred on the popular masses. All the people are united around the Party and the leader with one mind and purpose, forming a powerful driving force for the revolution. Socialism is advancing, based on independence, self-sufficiency and self-reliance in defence. The independent and creative socialist life of our people is blossoming. This demonstrates the great advantages of socialism in our country. Through their own lives our people have acquired the conviction that socialism alone can eliminate every manner of
domination, subjugation and social inequality and provide them with genuine freedom and equality and a happy and worthwhile life, and that socialism is the only way for the people to realize their ideal of independence.
Our people have a firm belief in the justness of and prospects for the cause of socialism which they themselves have chosen and which they have promoted by their own efforts. They are filled with a revolutionary determination to follow the path of socialism to the end under the Party’s
leadership. Our people will never hesitate or yield in the future, whatever the situation and whatever the adversity. We shall implement our Party’s general line which embodies the Juche
idea and carry the cause of socialism and communism to brilliant fruition.