Firmly grasp the essence of Mao Zedong's philosophical thought

Mao Zedong's philosophical thought is the product of the combination of Marxist philosophy with the practical experience of the Chinese revolution and the outstanding achievements of Chinese traditional philosophy. It is the theoretical crystallization of the positions, views and methods with the characteristics of the CPC, and is the magic weapon to guide the Chinese revolution, construction, reform and opening up to achieve great victory. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "studying philosophy and applying philosophy is a good tradition of our party. In the new era, it is important to adhere to educating and arming the entire party with Marxist philosophy, and to learn and apply Mao Zedong's philosophical thought well.

Mao Zedong's philosophical thought is profound and extensive, enriching and developing Marxist philosophy. Its main principles include:

It profoundly expounds the fundamental viewpoint of the unity of subjectivity and objectivity in Marxism. Marxism holds that human subjective thought is a reflection of objective things. Only the unity of subjective and objective concrete history, which makes subjective thinking consistent with objective things, can truly grasp and be good at applying objective laws. Comrade Mao Zedong transformed the fundamental philosophical question of the relationship between matter and spirit into a question of the subjective and objective relationship in practical work. He is good at summarizing the experience and lessons of revolution from the subjective and objective relationships. He believes that if the subjective guidance of war is in line with objective reality, victory can be achieved. If it is not in line with objective reality, defeat can be achieved. Subjectivism in ideology will inevitably lead to "left" or "right" mistakes in politics. He loudly proposed that all work should start from reality, and without investigation and research, there is no right to speak, forming the ideological line of seeking truth from facts to create new situations in practical struggle. Based on the bloody lessons caused by the erroneous line within the party, during the Yan'an Rectification Movement, he loudly called out: seeking truth from facts is a manifestation of party spirit, the Communist Party feeds on Marxist truth, and feeds on seeking truth from facts; Subjectivism is the enemy of the Communist Party, the enemy of the nation, and a manifestation of impure party spirit. Only by overthrowing subjectivism can Marxist truth rise, party spirit be consolidated, and the revolution be victorious. In 1953, he elevated the consistency between subjectivity and objectivity to the level of "the road to victory of the Chinese revolution" in a conversation. Therefore, when studying and applying philosophy, leading cadres must always firmly grasp the fundamental problem of balancing subjectivity and objectivity, and frequently ask whether our theories, policies, plans, methods, etc. are in line with reality, so as to avoid subjective errors and do a good job.

Systematically expounded and developed the active revolutionary reflection theory of dialectical materialism based on practice. Comrade Mao Zedong clarified that practice is the source of knowledge, the driving force of knowledge development, the purpose of knowledge, and the only criterion for testing truth, emphasizing that new knowledge can only come from social practice; Clarified the dialectical relationship between intuitive and rational understanding, theory and practice, and emphasized the need to fully promote conscious initiative based on and in line with objective reality; It is clarified that a correct understanding requires multiple repetitions from material to spiritual, and then from spiritual to material, from practice to understanding, and then from understanding to practice. The development laws of socialist society can only be gradually understood in the practice of socialism, and success and failure should be treated with evidence; Clarified the law that truth exists and develops through comparison and competition with falsehood; Clarified the need to consciously transform the subjective world while transforming the objective world; It elucidates the dialectical relationship between subjectivity and objectivity, theory and practice, knowledge and action, and reveals the fundamental laws of human cognitive movement. He attaches great importance to and is good at summarizing experience, believing that he "feeds on summarizing experience" and thus found the path to the success of the Chinese revolution. Being good at summarizing experience is the path to success for Comrade Mao Zedong, as well as the path and fine tradition of our party.

Systematically and profoundly expounded and exerted the core of dialectical materialism - the law of the unity of opposites, and concretized it into a methodology for understanding and transforming the world. Comrade Mao Zedong elucidated the principle of the universality of contradictions, believing that contradictions are the driving force behind the development of things. Contradictions still exist in socialist society, and it is better to expose them. He innovatively applied the theory of contradiction specificity, systematically and profoundly elucidating the extreme importance of studying contradiction specificity, as well as the Marxist Leninist principles of how to analyze contradiction specificity and solve different contradictions using different methods. He elucidated the contradictory opposites that are both unified and struggling, thereby promoting the development of things, emphasizing the use of conscious initiative to promote the transformation of things in a positive direction, and doing a good job in the transformation work. He deeply analyzed the universality and particularity, commonality and individuality, absolute and relative relationships of contradictions. He emphasized that analyzing specific situations concretely is the living soul of Marxism. When studying problems, we should avoid subjectivity, one sidedness, and superficiality, prevent simplification, formulation, and absolutization, and prevent one tendency from overshadowing another.

Mao Zedong's philosophical thought is not only concentrated in works such as "Opposing Marxism," "On Practice," "On Contradiction," "Preface and Postscript to Rural Investigation," "On the Ten Major Relationships," and "Where Does Human Correct Thought Come from?" but also in works such as "Serving the People," "In Memory of Norman Bethune," "Several Issues on Leadership Methods," and "Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains. Mao Zedong's philosophical thought emphasizes that everything is for the people, everything relies on the people, comes from the people, and goes to the people. The mass line is the fundamental line and lifeline of our party. The people are the creators of history and the source of our party's wisdom and strength. Wholeheartedly serving the people is the fundamental purpose of the Party. Communist Party members should prioritize revolutionary interests as their first life, and possess the spirit of selflessness, self-restraint, and hard work. Studying philosophy requires not only turning theory into methods and becoming a wise and intelligent person, but also turning theory into virtue, becoming a noble and ethical person, and a person who greatly benefits the people.

The essence and connotation of Mao Zedong's philosophical thought are rich, but it can be summarized as the four characters of "seeking truth from facts" that Comrade Mao Zedong wrote for the Central Party School during his time in Yan'an. Seeking truth from facts is the foundation of our party and country. Practice has repeatedly proven that adhering to seeking truth from facts can promote the development of the Party and the country; Violating the principle of seeking truth from facts will mislead the Party and the country. This is the essence that we must deeply understand and firmly grasp when studying and applying Mao Zedong's philosophical thought.

Information source: Party Building Magazine 

He Yang/Organizing