Page 59 - SELECTED WORKS OF DENG XIAOPING Volume III

THE PARTY’S URGENT TASKS 57
took the “hundred flowers” policy to mean that there was absolute freedom
to air any views, or even that only wrong views could be expressed, leaving
no room for Marxist arguments. How can that be called letting a hundred
schools of thought contend? They were turning the proletarian Marxist
policy of the “hundred flowers” into a bourgeois policy of laissez-faire.
Comrade Mao Zedong’s Combat Liberalism is a good Marxist essay. I suggest
that leading comrades at all levels, especially those working in the field of
ideology, study it conscientiously and act accordingly.
While stressing the need for active ideological struggle, we should
continue to guard against “Left” mistakes. The ruthless methods used in the
past—the over-simplified, one-sided, crude, excessive criticism and merciless
attacks—must never be repeated. When speaking at meetings or writing
articles, people should reason things out and analyse them rationally and
scientifically. Those who are to take part in discussion or criticism should
have clear ideas on the subject beforehand. They must on no account make
sweeping criticisms, find something suspicious everywhere they look, use a
position of power to intimidate others or try to convince them through
sophistry. We should take a sympathetic attitude towards erring comrades,
give them plenty of time for consideration and allow them to make
reasonable reply, explaining the facts and clarifying their positions. We
should particularly encourage sincere self-criticism and receive it warmly. It
is good for a person to make such a self-criticism, and once he has done so,
that should be the end of it. When criticizing either others or oneself, one
should do it from a Marxist point of view, not from a “Left” point of view.
We should continue to criticize and correct “Left” views in the ideological
and theoretical sphere. But it should be clearly understood that the primary
problem on the ideological front is to overcome the Right tendency to
weakness and laxity.
In short, strengthening Party leadership in ideological matters and
overcoming weakness and laxity has become urgent tasks for the entire
membership. Not only theorists, writers and artists but also people working
in the fields of education, the press, publishing, radio and television and
those doing cultural, ideological and political work among the masses are
confronted with these tasks and others that call for immediate action. All our
ideological work has to be improved. We should put this question before the
entire Party membership and give it an important place on the agenda of the
Central Committee and of local Party committees at all levels. Now that we
have shifted our emphasis to economic development, all our members should
consider how to strengthen ideological work and adapt it to the new
conditions, so that it is not neglected in favour of economic work. Party