Following is the tenth part of an eleven-part series of study columns on the theory of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought.
The study series was originally developed for study groups conducted by the League of Revolutionary Struggle (M-L) and is the product of a number of years of practice in leading study groups in Marxism-Leninism among workers and students.
Among the topics covered in the series are classes and class struggle; the crisis of capitalism and the inevitability of socialism; imperialism; the national question; the state and revolution; the communist party; and Marxist philosophy.
Mao Zedong, “On Practice,” Selected Readings, pp. 65-84.
(Supplementary Readings: History of the Communist Party Soviet Union (Bolshevik), “Dialectical and Historical Materialism,” Chapter 4, Section 2; Mao Zedong, “Talks at a Conference of Secretaries,” Selected Works, Vol. V, pp. 366-371.)
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Dialectical materialism is the world outlook of the revolutionary proletariat – it is the philosophical foundation of Marxism. Communist theorists developed this philosophy based on their study of history, society, science and human thought to present a comprehensive approach to the understanding of things, both of the natural and human worlds.
The basic concept of dialectics is contradiction. “The law of contradiction in things, that is, the law of the unity of opposites is the fundamental law of nature and of society and therefore also the fundamental law of thought.” (Mao Zedong, “On Contradiction”) Dialectics recognizes that all things are composed of united but contradictory aspects. The interrelationship and interaction of these opposing aspects determines the nature of things. An example of this is U.S. society itself, which is composed of two basic classes, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. They form a contradiction, and their relationship is the fundamental characteristic of U.S. capitalistic society. There are other contradictions, but this is the basic one.
Dialectics thus views things not as static entities, but in motion, as processes. In all contradictions, one aspect is rising while the other is declining. The interaction of contradictions in things is ceaseless and determines their development. Thus to really understand something, we need to examine its dynamics. We should not assess things as frozen in some moment in history, but in their development. The history of human society itself shows that different social systems have come into being as others died out due to the struggle between classes – feudalism was replaced by capitalism, and capitalism will be replaced by socialism.
Change takes place quantitatively, but also qualitatively, as when the interaction of aspects of a contradiction results in their basic transformation. Chemical reactions often produce qualitative changes, as boiling water will create steam; in human history, social revolutions bring qualitative changes. The world cannot be fully understood unless one accepts that qualitative changes are an integral part of the development of things.
And while the basis for change in things is internal contradictions, external forces often play decisive roles. External forces can create the conditions for change. Thus, analysis of things must take into account interrelationship with other forces, other processes. Nothing in the world exists in isolation from other processes.
Materialism is the recognition that the world is objective – it exists independently of man’s conceptions or perceptions. The world is real, not simply the figment of one’s imagination or the manifestation of heavenly spirits. Furthermore, this world is governed by laws that are fully knowable through human practice and experiment. Over time, it is possible to accurately comprehend things to a lesser or greater degree.
Materialism is opposite to the view that the world is the product of gods or spirits and is ultimately unknowable. Materialism too is opposed to the mistaken belief that there is no objective truth, or that all human conceptions of reality are equally valid and true.
Thus, dialectical materialism is a system of analysis that helps to comprehensively and concretely understand the world. Applied to human society, dialectical materialism is called historical materialism. These philosophical tools are essential for the proletariat to master in order to bring its thinking in line with the objective processes of the world. Dialectical and historical materialism are not formulas that mechanically tell us what is what, but are ways of thinking that can illuminate the general patterns of the infinite variety of things in the natural and human worlds.
But Marxist philosophy is not abstract thinking – dialectical and historical materialism are philosophies of revolution. Marxism is distinguished from other philosophies in that it seeks not just to interpret the world, but to transform it.
Sessions 10 and 11 of the study series are devoted to studying Marxist philosophy. In Session 10 we will study one of Mao’s essays, “On Practice.” In this article Mao, utilizing and elaborating on dialectical materialism, analyzes the relationship between human knowledge and the objective world. Mao studies the contradiction in having human minds come to understand the world objectively. In particular, he focuses on the central role of practice, of doing, in the development of understanding. Ideas originate from experience of the world and in turn are tested with further practice.
Mao explains that the most important forms of practice have been the struggle for production, the class struggle and the struggle of scientific experiment. Through these forms of struggle, people confront contradiction and strive to resolve it, propelling humanity forward.
1. What is the relationship between human consciousness and social practice, especially in production?
2. Why does Mao say that practice alone is the criterion of truth of knowledge of the external world? How is this view different from other views about how truth is determined (such as promoted in the church?)
3. “If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself.” Discuss this in relation to the importance of practice to knowledge and the relationship between change (doing) and knowledge (thinking).
4. What is theory and its relationship to practice? Why must practice be guided by theory and theory be derived and verified by practice? Give examples from work, political practice or scientific study to illustrate your views.