Socialist Revolution Aims at Liberating the Productive Forces

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of Socialist Revolution Aims at Liberating the Productive Forces has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following editions:

  • Quotation in the Quotations From Chairman Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1967.
  • Quotation in Patriotism or National Betrayal?, First English Edition, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1967.
  • Speech at the Supreme State Conference (Excerpt), in The Writings of Mao Zedong, 1949-76, First English Edition, Vol. 2, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk and London, 1992.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is a summary of a speech delivered by Comrade Mao Zedong at the Sixth Session of the Supreme State Council of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, China on the 25th of January, 1956. It was first published in the Renmin Ribao (26th of January, 1956).

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#SOCIALIST REVOLUTION AIMS AT LIBERATING THE PRODUCTIVE FORCES

#SUMMARY OF A SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE SIXTH SESSION OF THE SUPREME STATE COUNCIL OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

#Mao Zedong
#25th of January, 1956

#★

At present, our country is in the midst of a high tide of the great socialist revolution. The founding of the People's Republic of China on the 1st of October, 1949 marked the fundamental completion of the stage of new-democratic revolution and the beginning of the stage of socialist revolution; that is, it marked the beginning of the transitional period between capitalism and socialism. The work of the past six years was primarily that of the recovery of the national economy and of carrying out the various social reforms that had not been completed during the previous stage of the revolution, mainly the land reform. Since the summer of last year, socialist transformation — that is, the socialist revolution — has been launched on the broadest and deepest possible scale. In approximately another three years, it will be possible for the socialist revolution to be fundamentally completed throughout the country.

Socialist revolution aims at liberating the productive forces. The changeover from individual to socialist collective ownership in agriculture and handicrafts and from capitalist to socialist ownership in private industry and commerce is bound to bring about a tremendous liberation of the productive forces. Thus, the social conditions are being created for a tremendous expansion of industrial and agricultural production.

Our method of carrying out the socialist revolution is a peaceful method. In the past, many people, both inside and outside the Communist Party, expressed doubts about such a method. However, since the summer of last year, owing to the upsurge of the Movement for the Cooperative Transformation of Agriculture throughout the countryside, and the upsurge of socialist transformation in the urban areas in recent months, their doubts have gradually been allayed. Given the conditions prevailing in our country, it is possible, by using a peaceful method — that is, a method of persuasion and education — not only to make the transformation from the system of individual ownership to the system of socialist collective ownership, but also to make the transformation from the system of capitalist ownership to the system of socialist ownership. In the last few months, the speed of socialist transformation has greatly exceeded people's expectations. In the past, some people were afraid that the gate of socialism would be a difficult one to pass through; now it appears that even this gate is easy to pass through.

At present, the political situation in our country has undergone a fundamental change. Many difficult conditions that had existed in the sphere of agriculture before last summer have now fundamentally changed; many things that in the past had been considered infeasible are now feasible. It is possible for our country's First Five-Year Plan to be fulfilled ahead of schedule or overfulfilled. The tasks of the National Programme for Agricultural Development for 1956 to '67 are to point out, on the basis of this current upsurge in socialist transformation and socialist construction, the prospects for development in agricultural production and rural work, and to serve as the target in the struggle of the peasants and farmworkers throughout the country. The various spheres of work besides agriculture must also catch up rapidly, so as to be compatible with the new situation created by the upsurge in the socialist revolution.

The people of our country ought to have a far-reaching and comprehensive plan aimed at striving to change, within a few decades, our country's backward conditions in the economic, scientific, and cultural spheres, and to rapidly attain the most advanced level of development in the world. To realize this great aim, the all-decisive factor is that we must have cadres; we must have scientific and technical experts who are both sufficient in number and excellent in quality. At the same time, we must continue to consolidate and expand the people's democratic united front and to unite with all the forces that can be united. The people of our country must also unite with the peoples of all countries in the world and fight to safeguard world peace.