As a result of the challenge the modern revisionists have thrown out to Marxist-Leninists, a widespread debate on issues of theory, fundamental line and policy is now unfolding in the international communist movement. This debate has a vital bearing on the success or failure of the whole cause of the proletariat and the working people throughout the world and on the fate of mankind.
In the last analysis, one ideological trend in this debate is genuine proletarian ideology, that is, revolutionary Marxism-Leninism, and the other is bourgeois ideology which has infiltrated into the ranks of the workers, that is, an anti-Marxist-Leninist ideology. Ever since the birth of the working-class movement, the bourgeoisie has tried its utmost to corrupt the working class ideologically in order to subordinate the movement to its own fundamental interests, weaken the revolutionary struggles of the people of all countries and lead the people astray. For this purpose, bourgeois ideological trends assume different forms at different times, now taking a Rightist form and now a "Leftist" form. The history of the growth of Marxism-Leninism is one of struggle against bourgeois ideological trends, whether from the Right or the "Left". The duty of Marxist-Leninists is to act as Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin did, not to run away from the challenge presented by any bourgeois ideological trend, but to smash attacks in the-fields of theory, fundamental line and policy whenever they are made and to chart the correct road to victory for the proletariat and the oppressed people and nations in their struggles.
Since Marxism became predominant in the working-class movement, a number of struggles have taken place between Marxists on the one hand and revisionists and opportunists on the other. Among them there were two debates of the greatest historic significance, and now a third great debate is in progress. Of these the first was the great debate which Lenin had with Kautsky and Bernstein and the other revisionists and opportunists of the Second International; it advanced Marxism to a new stage of development, the stage of Leninism, which is Marxism in the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. The second was the great debate which the Communists of the Soviet Union and of other countries, headed by Stalin, conducted against Trotsky, Bukharin and other "Left" adventurists and Right opportunists. It successfully defended Leninism and elucidated Lenin's theory and tactics concerning the proletarian revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the revolution of the oppressed nations and the building of socialism. Side by side with this debate there was the fierce and fairly protracted debate inside the Chinese Communist Party, which Comrade Mao Tse-tung carried on against the "Left" adventurists and Right opportunists for the purpose of closely integrating the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution.
The current great debate was first provoked by the Tito clique of Yugoslavia through its open betrayal of Marxism-Leninism.
The Tito clique had taken the road of revisionism long ago. In the winter of 1956, it took advantage of the anti-Soviet and anti-Communist campaign launched by the imperialists to conduct propaganda against Marxism-Leninism on the one hand and, on the other, to carry out subversive activities within the socialist countries in co-ordination with imperialist schemes. Such prop aganda and sabotage reached a climax in the counter-revolutionary rebellion in Hungary. It was then that Tito made his notorious Pula speech. The Tito clique did its utmost to vilify the socialist system, insisted that "a thorough change is necessary in the political system"[1] of Hungary, and asserted that the Hungarian comrades "need not waste their efforts on trying to restore the Communist Party".[1] The Communists of all countries waged a stern struggle against this treacherous attack by the Tito clique. We had published the article "On the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat" in April 1956. Towards the end of December 1956, aiming directly at the Titoite attack, we published another article "More on the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat". In 1957, the Meeting of Representatives of the Communist and Workers' Parties of the socialist countries adopted the famous Moscow Declaration. This Declaration explicitly singled out revisionism as the main danger in the present international communist movement. It denounced the modern revisionists because they "seek to smear the great teaching of Marxism-Leninism, declare that it is 'outmoded' and allege that it has lost its significance for social progress". The Tito clique refused to sign the Declaration, and in 1958 put forward their out-and-out revisionist programme, which they counterposed to the Moscow Declaration. Their programme was unanimously repudiated by the Communists of all countries. But in the ensuing period, especially from 1959 onwards, the leaders of certain Communist Parties went back on the joint agreement they had signed and endorsed, and made Tito-like statements. Subsequently, these persons found it increasingly hard to contain themselves; their language became more and more akin to Tito's, and they did their best to prettify the U.S. imperialists. They turned the spearhead of their struggle against the fraternal Parties which firmly uphold Marxism-Leninism and the revolutionary principles laid down in the Moscow Declaration, and made unbridled attacks on them. After consultation on an equal footing at the 1960 Meeting of Representatives of Communist and Workers' Parties, agreement was reached on many differences that had arisen between the fraternal Parties. The Moscow Statement issued by this meeting severely condemned the leaders of the Yugoslav League of Communists for their betrayal of Marxism-Leninism. We heartily welcomed the agreement reached by the fraternal Parties at this meeting, and in our own actions have strictly adhered to and defended the agreement. But not long afterwards, the leaders of certain fraternal Parties again went back on the joint agreement they had signed and endorsed, and they made public attacks on other fraternal Parties at their own Party Congresses, laying bare before the enemy the differences in the international communist movement. While assailing fraternal Parties, they extravagantly praised the Tito clique and wilfully wallowed in the mire with it.
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Events have shown that the modern revisionist trend is a product, under new conditions, of the policies of imperialism. Inevitably, therefore, this trend is international in character, and, like the previous debates, the present debate between Marxist-Leninists and the modern revisionists is inevitably developing into an international one.
The first great debate between the Marxist-Leninists and the revisionists and opportunists led to the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution and the founding of revolutionary proletarian parties of a new type throughout the world. The second great debate led to victory in the building of socialism in the Soviet Union the victory of the anti-fascist world war, in which the great Soviet Union was the main force, the victory of the socialist revolution in a number of European and Asian countries and the victory of the great revolution of the Chinese people. The present great debate is taking place in the epoch in which the imperialist camp is disintegrating, the forces of socialism are developing and growing stronger, the great revolutionary movement in Asia, Africa and Latin America is surging forward, and the mighty working class of Europe and America is experiencing a new awakening. In starting the present debate, the modern revisionists vainly hoped to abolish Marxism-Leninism at one stroke, liquidate the liberation struggles of the oppressed people and nations and save the imperialists and the reactionaries of various countries from their doom. But Marxism-Leninism cannot be abolished, the peoples' liberation struggles cannot be liquidated, and the imperialists and reactionaries cannot be saved from their doom. Contrary to their aspirations the modern revisionists are doomed to fail in their shameful attempt.
The working-class movement of the world sets before all Marxist-Leninists the task of replying to the general revision of Marxism-Leninism by the modern revisionists. Their revisions serve the current needs of world imperialism, of the reactionaries of various countries or of the bourgeoisie of their own countries, and are aimed at robbing Marxism-Leninism of its revolutionary soul; they throw overboard the most elementary principle of Marxism-Leninism, the principle of class struggle, and all they want to retain is the Marxist-Leninist label.
In discussing international and social problems, the modern revisionists use the utterly hypocritical bourgeois "supra-class" viewpoint in place of the Marxist-Leninist viewpoint of class analysis. They concoct a host of surmises and hypotheses, which are purely subjective and devoid of any factual basis and which they substitute for the scientific Marxist-Leninist investigation of society as it actually exists. They substitute bourgeois pragmatism for dialectical materialism and historical materialism. In a word, they indulge in a lot of nonsensical talk, which they themselves must find it hard to understand or believe, in order to fool the working class and the oppressed people and oppressed nations.
In the past few years, a great number of international events have testified to the bankruptcy of the theories and policies of the modern revisionists. Nevertheless, every time their theories and policies are disgraced before the people of the world, they invariably "glory in their shame",[1] as Lenin once remarked, and, stopping at nothing and disregarding all consequences, they direct their fire at the revolutionary Marxist-Leninists--their brothers in other countries--who have previously advised them not to entertain illusions nor to act so blindly. By venting their venom and fury on others in the same ranks, they try to prove that they have gained a "victory", in a vain attempt to isolate the revolutionary Marxist-Leninists, to isolate all their brothers in other countries who are defending revolutionary principles.
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In the circumstances, what can all true revolutionary Marxist-Leninists do but take up the challenge of the modern revisionists? With regard to differences and disputes on matters of principle, Marxist-Leninists have the duty to differentiate between right and wrong and to straighten things out. For the common interests of unity against the enemy, we have always stood for a solution through inter-Party consultation and against making the differences public in the face of the enemy. But since some people have insisted on making the dispute public, what alternative is there for us but to reply publicly to their challenge?
Latterly, the Chinese Communist Party has come under preposterous attacks. The attackers have vociferously levelled many trumped-up charges against us in total disregard of the facts. The hows and whys of these attacks are not hard to understand. It is also as clear as daylight where those who have planned and carried out these attacks put themselves, and with whom they align themselves.
Whoever is acquainted with statements made by Comrade Togliatti and certain other comrades of the C.P.I. in recent years will see that it is no accident that at the last C.P.I. Congress they added their voice to the attacks on the Marxist-Leninist views of the Chinese Communist Party. An ideological thread alien to Marxism-Leninism runs right through the Theses for the C.P.I. Congress and Comrade Togliatti's report and concluding speech at the Congress. Along this line, they employed the same language as that used by the social-democrats and the modern revisionists in dealing both with international problems and with domestic Italian issues. A careful reading of the Theses and other documents of the C.P.I. reveals that the numerous formulations and viewpoints contained therein are none too fresh, but by and large are the same as those put forward by the old-line revisionists and those propagated from the outset by the Titoite revisionists of Yugoslavia.
Let us now analyse the Theses and other relevant documents of the C.P.I. so as to show clearly how far Togliatti and the other comrades have moved away from Marxism-Leninism.