Page 118 - SELECTED WORKS OF MAO TSE-TUNG Volume I.indd

112 MAO TSE-TUNG

unless they are related to political and organizational mistakes, there
is no need to be overcritical and to embarrass the comrades con-
cerned. Moreover, once such criticism develops, there is the great
danger that the Party members will concentrate entirely on minor
faults, and everyone will become timid and overcautious and forget
the Party’s political tasks.
The main method of correction is to educate Party members so
that a political and scientific spirit pervades their thinking and their
Party life. To this end we must: (1) teach Party members to apply
the Marxist-Leninist method in analysing a political situation and
appraising the class forces, instead of making a subjective analysis
and appraisal; (2) direct the attention of Party members to social
and economic investigation and study, so as to determine the tactics
of struggle and methods of work, and help comrades to understand
that without investigation of actual conditions they will fall into the
pit of fantasy and putschism; and (3) in inner-Party criticism, guard
against subjectivism, arbitrariness and the vulgarization of criticism;
statements should be based on facts and criticism should centre
on politics.

ON INDIVIDUALISM

The tendency towards individualism in the Red Army Party
organization manifests itself as follows:
1. Retaliation. Some comrades, after being criticized inside the
Party by a soldier comrade, look for opportunities to retaliate outside
the Party, and one way is to beat or abuse the comrade in question.
They also seek to retaliate within the Party. “You have criticized me
at this meeting, so I’ll find some way to pay you back at the next.”
Such retaliation arises from purely personal considerations, to the
neglect of the interests of the class and of the Party as a whole. Its
target is not the enemy class, but individuals in our own ranks. It is
a corrosive which weakens the organization and its fighting capacity.
2. “Small group” mentality. Some comrades consider only the
interests of their own small group and ignore the general interest.
Although on the surface this does not seem to be the pursuit of personal
interests, in reality it exemplifies the narrowest individualism and has
a strong corrosive and centrifugal effect. “Small group” mentality used
to be rife in the Red Army, and although there has been some