Page 37 - SELECTED WORKS OF MAO TSE-TUNG Volume III.indd

RECTIFY THE PARTY’S STYLE OF WORK

February 1, 1942

The Party School opens today and I wish it every success.
I would like to say something about the problem of our Party’s
style of work.
Why must there be a revolutionary party? There must be a rev-
olutionary party because the world contains enemies who oppress the
people and the people want to throw off enemy oppression. In the
era of capitalism and imperialism, just such a revolutionary party as
the Communist Party is needed. Without such a party it is simply
impossible for the people to throw off enemy oppression. We are
Communists, we want to lead the people in overthrowing the enemy,
and so we must keep our ranks in good order, we must march in step,
our troops must be picked troops and our weapons good weapons.
Without these conditions the enemy cannot be overthrown.
What is the problem now facing our Party? The general line of
the Party is correct and presents no problem, and the Party’s work
has been fruitful. The Party has several hundred thousand members
who are leading the people in extremely hard and bitter struggles
against the enemy. This is plain to everybody and beyond all doubt.
Then is there or is there not any problem still facing our Party?
I say there is and, in a certain sense, the problem is quite serious.
What is the problem? It is the fact that there is something in the
minds of a number of our comrades which strikes one as not quite
right, not quite proper.
In other words, there is still something wrong with our style of
study, with our style in the Party’s internal and external relations
and with our style of writing. By something wrong with the style of
study we mean the malady of subjectivism. By something wrong with

This inner-Party directive was written by Comrade Mao Tse-tung for the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

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