Page 67 - SELECTED WORKS OF LIU SHAOQI Volume I

LEADERSHIP OF NATIONAL UNITED FRONT 63
geoisie and pose a threat to them, these groups naturally oppose it.
And because the Right opportunists are afraid of scaring off the bour-
geoisie and the landlords, they, too, are in favour of terminating this
struggle. But the proletariat must not do this. China’s feudal forces
are a breeding-ground for traitors and must be eliminated in the fight
against imperialism. In order to meet the needs of the anti-Japanese
war and of the workers and peasants, it is right to sacrifice the in-
40
terests of the feudal landlords. As for the national bourgeoisie, it
will suffer some losses in the class struggle, but it will also reap prof-
its. Its prospects for developing capitalist enterprises will improve
with the expansion of its domestic market in the anti-imperialist
struggle to recover the customs service, boycott imperialist goods and
increase the purchasing power of the workers and peasants. Since the
struggle does not mean absolute losses to the capitalists, it is possible
for some of them to join the united front.
* * *
In the united front movement, the proletariat must not neglect or
stop waging the class struggle which, in fact, the united front needs
in order to strengthen itself. However, in conducting the class struggle
the proletariat can and ought to use methods which avoid purposely
intensifying its opposition to the bourgeoisie. For example, it should
drop the slogan “Down with capitalists” and refrain from unnecessary
strikes, work slowdowns and clashes, especially when these might
affect the anti-Japanese military struggle. Rather, it should satisfy
the workers’ demands by invoking laws and decrees issued by the
government as well as using various other methods. But if the capi-
talists stubbornly turn down the workers’ demands so that strikes are
the only means of getting them accepted, then the workers should on
no account shy away from such means. In addition, the proletariat
must pay particular attention to the interests of the petty bourgeoisie
in the class struggle. The proletariat should try not to harm their in-
terests, but when it is necessary to sacrifice some of their interests in
the course of meeting the workers’ demands, the proletariat should
make a point of making it up to them in other respects, such as by
tax reduction.
The united front is revolutionary only when its activities do not
restrict the freedom of the proletariat to organize and struggle. The
aim of forming a united front with the upper strata is to facilitate the
organization of the masses at the grass roots. If, in the united front,