Page 103 - SELECTED WORKS OF LIU SHAOQI Volume Ⅱ

QUESTIONS CONCERNING CO-OPERATIVES 101

through the successful handling of the three items the co-operatives
will play a significant economic and political role in the country. If
they do not handle the three items or fail because of incorrect me-
thods used, they will not play such a role but will achieve undesirable
results. It must also be recognized that the Communist Party and
advanced elements are conscientiously establishing co-operatives pre-
cisely in order for them to play such an important economic and poli-
tical role. This serves the long-term, fundamental interests of the
masses and, therefore, is the basic political principle guiding the work
of the co-operatives. In other words, the Communist Party must
establish co-operatives and guide them in pursuit of this principle,
so as to enable them to play their significant role. From this we can
see the difference between the ordinary masses and the Communist
Party, the vanguard. The ordinary people, the backward ones in
particular, join and concern themselves with the co-operatives in order
to fill the first three of their requirements. They do not understand,
or do not sufficiently understand, the significant economic and poli-
tical role played by the co-operatives, namely, bringing goods and
materials under their control, selling industrial products, linking state-
operated economic departments with the peasants, serving as allies
of the state-operated economic departments, educating the peasants
in the spirit of collectivism and freeing them from being exploited
by middlemen. So, it is not because of this role that the peasants join
and work hard in the co-operatives. The vanguard — the Communist
Party members and other advanced elements — however, know or
ought to know the role and should try to achieve the economic and
political goals by fulfilling the three requirements of the masses. The
ordinary people have different aims, therefore, from the vanguard
in establishing co-operatives. Besides the aim of meeting the pre-
liminary, vital requirements of the masses, the vanguard cherishes a
higher aim that represents the long-term interests of the whole. The
vanguard is obliged to combine these two aims constantly and ap-
propriately — they should work both to meet the justified require-
ments of the masses and to achieve their advanced economic and po-
litical goal. In other words, they should pay attention to both private
and public interests. Lacking an adequate understanding of the dif-
ferences in outlook between the vanguard and the masses, many com-
rades pay no attention to the vital requirements of the masses and
their immediate aim in joining the co-operatives or to the higher aim
or obligation of the vanguard, thus going astray in their work and