Page 115 - SELECTED WORKS OF MAO TSE-TUNG Volume I.indd

ON CORRECTING MISTAKEN IDEAS IN THE PARTY 109
2. In the sphere of organization, ensure democracy under cen-
tralized guidance. It should be done on the following lines:

(1) The leading bodies of the Party must give a correct line
of guidance and find solutions when problems arise, in order to
establish themselves as centres of leadership.
(2) The higher bodies must be familiar with the life of the
masses and with the situation in the lower bodies so as to have an
objective basis for correct guidance.
(3) No Party organization at any level should make casual
decisions in solving problems. Once a decision is reached, it must
be firmly carried out.
(4) All decisions of any importance made by the Party’s
higher bodies must be promptly transmitted to the lower bodies
and the Party rank and file. The method is to call meetings of
activists or general membership meetings of the Party branches or
2
even of the columns (when circumstances permit) and to assign
people to make reports at such meetings.
(5) The lower bodies of the Party and the Party rank and file
must discuss the higher bodies’ directives in detail in order to
understand their meaning thoroughly and decide on the methods
of carrying them out.

ON THE DISREGARD OF ORGANIZATIONAL
DISCIPLINE

Disregard of organizational discipline in the Party organization
in the Fourth Army manifests itself as follows:
A. Failure of the minority to submit to the majority. For
example, when a minority finds its motion voted down, it does not
sincerely carry out the Party decisions.
The methods of correction are as follows:
1. At meetings, all participants should be encouraged to voice
their opinions as fully as possible. The rights and wrongs in any con-
troversy should be clarified without compromise or glossing over.
In order to reach a clear-cut conclusion, what cannot be settled at
one meeting should be discussed at another, provided there is no
interference with the work.