Maoism

Not to be confused with Mao Zedong Thought

Maoist Red Guards propagating the "Six Heads of Communism" in the United States.

Maoism, also known as Marxism–Leninism–Maoism (MLM), is a dogmatic current of communist thought. First synthesized as separate from Mao Zedong Thought (MZT) by Abimael Guzmán (also known as Chairman Gonzalo) of the Shining Path. The ideology has also been adopted by other groups such as the New People's Army (NPA) of the Philippines and the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Gonzalo considered Maoism to be the next stage of Marxist theory beyond Marxism-Leninism. It is considered to be different from MZT as it considers that theories and practices such as the Cultural Revolution, Protracted People's War (PPW), New Democracy, and Mass Line are universally applicable and were sufficiently developed by Mao to represent a clear new theoretical practice. Both assertions are contested by non-Maoists (such as Marxist-Leninists, Hoxhaists and proponents of Mao Zedong Thought).

Like Trotskyists, Maoist groups oppose most Actually Existing Socialism and national liberation movements. They usually resolve their disagreements by splitting into smaller groups instead of applying democratic centralism. However, unlike Trotskyists, they support the pre-1976 People's Republic of China and People's Socialist Republic of Albania.

Development

Origin of the term

Maoism was first coined by bourgeois historians and politicians to describe the conditions of China under Mao Zedong.

Mao never preferred the term, not allowing his name along with Marx, Lenin or Stalin and even stated that "there is no Maoism", which is true, as the specific set of policies taken by Mao were merely Sinicized Marxism–Leninism.

The term Marxism–Leninism–Maoism represents the Maoist view of their ideology being a development and "higher stage" of Marxism–Leninism.

Synthesis of Maoism

Chairman Gonzalo is the first person to synthesize the term "Maoism" although the application of Maoism appears significantly earlier starting with the Communist Party of the Philippines in 1968.

Gonzalo states that Maoism is the third stage of Marxism, and that it had to be synthesized due to the following three reasons: Mao's contribution to the idea of "Bureaucrat Capitalism", Mao's establishment of the "Socialist Political Economy", and Mao's military theory.

Using the ideology "Maoism"

The Communist Party of the Philippines has adopted the term after the foundation of Gonzalo Thought, along with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) once it was formed. Other notable Marxist–Leninist–Maoist movements can be seen in Russia and China.

Characteristics

Mao Zedong Thought

Maoism follows the aspects of Mao Zedong Thought, which include the few new developments made by Mao such as New Democracy, the Mass Line, and Mao's Three Worlds Theory.

Anti-revisionism

Gonzalo emphasises the strength to be against revisionism, stating that

"Revisionism obviously is a cancer, a cancer that has to be ruthlessly eliminated."

Thus Maoism, like Hoxhaism, puts a further emphasis on anti-revisionism, stating it to be "substituting bourgeois philosophy into Marxism," but in practice, as with Hoxhaism, it only ends being a dogmatic and revisionist position which doesn't let one surpass the infantilism that this generates and provokes division in the communist movement.

Universality of Protracted People's War

Gonzalo puts an emphasis that a Protracted People's War is universal, stating that it is adaptable to the countryside and the city,

People's war is universally applicable, in accordance with the character of the revolution and adapted to the specific conditions of each country.

Emphasis of a joint dictatorship

Gonzalo stated, due to the material conditions of Peru, that a joint dictatorship had to form between the proletariat, peasantry and the progressives (petit bourgeoisie).

Emphasis on revolutionary violence

Gonzalo also stated that violence must be done, that reform is impossible to achieve.

With regard to violence we start from the principle established by Chairman Mao Tsetung: violence, that is the need for revolutionary violence, is a universal law with no exception. Revolutionary violence is what allows us to resolve fundamental contradictions by means of an army, through people's war.

Criticism

Universality of the Protracted People's War

Many Marxist–Leninists believe that protracted people's war is not universal, only adaptable to the material conditions present in particular Third World Nations, and impossible in the First World particularly due to a lack of peasantry and the logistics that the bourgeois state holds that are able to destroy the PPW in developed countries.

Anti-AES

Maoists often view present or past socialist states especially the post-Stalin Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Warsaw Pact as losing their socialist aspects and instead, according to Maoists, becoming revisionist or social-imperialist.

Soviet Union

Gonzalo views Stalin as a great person, and not revisionist.^{[citation needed]} When Khrushchev and Gorbachev were the leaders of the Soviet Union, Gonzalo denounces them as "revisionist", as Gonzalo stated Khrushchev's utopian ideas such as "Communism could be reached by 1980."

China

Poster of Chairman Gonzalo

Gonzalo views Mao as a great person, and the person that he believes to have created a new stage for Marxism. During the Deng Xiaoping era of reforms, Gonzalo called Deng a revisionist, stating that he "restored capitalism". Most Maoists think that the modern People's Republic of China is social imperialist and a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.

Vietnam

Gonzalo views Ho Chi Minh as a "centrist" aligning with the Marxists and Revisionists. Gonzalo claims that Ho Chi Minh was a revisionist because he didn't tackle revisionism and the Doi Moi reforms occurred after his death.

DPRK

Gonzalo never specifically states that the DPRK is a revisionist nation, however, most Maoists despise the DPRK and its Eternal Leader Kim Il-Sung. They regard Juche as an ultranationalist deviation from Marxism and argue that the planned economy of the DPRK is operated by a hidden class of bourgeoisie.

Cuba

Gonzalo never specifically states that Cuba is a revisionist nation, however, he claims that Castro let the Soviet Union commit "social-imperialism" onto the nation. Most Maoists also despise Cuba, especially during the private reforms that have taken place.

Fetishisation of revolutionary violence

Marxist-Leninists typically use revolutionary violence as an alternate means of establishing socialism in contrast to reformism, as evidence exists that reformism typically cannot work. However most Marxist–Leninists despise the revolutionary aims that Maoism attempts to achieve, particularly because it is acting in a similar way that Vladimir Lenin described as "Revolutionary Adventurism". A specific case of Maoist revolutionary violence would be the Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path, which the party itself uses methods such as assassinations, bombings, and cult-like behaviour.

Use of the peasantry

Gonzalo stated that the number of the proletariat is insufficient,

The peasantry, especially the poor peasants, are the main participants, as fighters and commanders at different levels in the People's Guerrilla Army. The workers participate in the same ways, although the percentage of workers at this time is insufficient.

This would mean that this is a proletarian-led revolution with the peasantry as the principal force.

See also

• Gonzalo Thought
• New Synthesis
• Hoxhaism