Page 24 - SELECTED WORKS OF MAO TSE-TUNG Volume I.indd

18 MAO TSE-TUNG

handicraftsmen, they are highly receptive to revolutionary propaganda.
The pedlars, whether they carry their wares around on a pole or set
up stalls along the street, have tiny funds and very small earnings,
and do not make enough to feed and clothe themselves. Their status
is roughly the same as that of the poor peasants, and like the poor
peasants they need a revolution to change the existing state of affairs.
The proletariat. The modern industrial proletariat numbers about
two million. It is not large because China is economically backward.
These two million industrial workers are mainly employed in five
industries — railways, mining, maritime transport, textiles and ship-
building — and a great number are enslaved in enterprises owned by
foreign capitalists. Though not very numerous, the industrial prole-
tariat represents China’s new productive forces, is the most progres-
sive class in modern China and has become the leading force in the
revolutionary movement. We can see the important position of the
industrial proletariat in the Chinese revolution from the strength it
has displayed in the strikes of the last four years, such as the seamen’s
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12
strikes, the railway strike, the strikes in the Kailan and Tsiaotso
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coal mines, the Shameen strike and the general strikes in Shanghai
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and Hongkong after the May 30th Incident. The first reason why
the industrial workers hold this position is their concentration. No
other section of the people is so concentrated. The second reason is
their low economic status. They have been deprived of all means of
production, have nothing left but their hands, have no hope of ever
becoming rich and, moreover, are subjected to the most ruthless treat-
ment by the imperialists, the warlords and the bourgeoisie. That is
why they are particularly good fighters. The coolies in the cities are
also a force meriting attention. They are mostly dockers and rick-
shawmen, and among them, too, are sewage carters and street cleaners.
Possessing nothing but their hands, they are similar in economic status
to the industrial workers but are less concentrated and play a less
important role in production. There is as yet little modern capitalist
farming in China. By rural proletariat we mean farm labourers hired
by the year, the month or the day. Having neither land, farm imple-
ments nor funds, they can live only by selling their labour power.
Of all the workers they work the longest hours, for the lowest wages,
under the worst conditions, and with the least security of employment.
They are the most hard-pressed people in the villages, and their
position in the peasant movement is as important as that of the poor
peasants.