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The Mass Line is the political/organizational/leadership method developed by Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China (CPC) during the Chinese revolution. Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led The Communist Party of China ( CPC) ( also known as the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP) is the founding and ruling political party of the 'For the full story of the war that led to the Communist seizure of power on Mainland China, see Chinese Civil War. Although the phrase 'the mass line' was popularized in China by the CPC, the method has its roots in the political practice, and to a lesser extent the theoretical writings, of Marx and Lenin. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Mao developed it into a coherent organizing methodology that encompasses philosophy, strategy, tactics, leadership and organizational theory that has been applied by many Communists subsequent to the Chinese revolution. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language A Strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, most often "winning The word leadership can refer to Those entities that perform one or more acts of leading Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based

Mao criticized J.V. Stalin for having no faith in the peasantry and the masses of people, being mechanical in his understanding of the development of socialism, and not actively engaging the masses in the struggle for socialism. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party

"Politics in command" and the "mass line" are not stressed. There is no discussion of "walking on two legs," and individual material interest is onesidedly emphasized. Material incentives are proclaimed and individualism is far too prominent. A Critique of Soviet Economics Mao Zedong

The Mass Line is a method of leadership that seeks to learn from the masses and immerse the political leadership in the concerns and conditions of the masses. Mao's maxim was "From the masses, to the masses. " The process includes investigating the conditions of people, learning about and participating in their struggles, gathering ideas from them, and creating a plan of action based on these ideas and concerns of the people, and also based on an analysis of the objective conditions and in light of the revolutionary goal. Thus the mass line also seeks to raise the consciousness of the people beyond petty or narrow self interest to that of a politically communist consciousness, and to promote the revolutionary transformation of society step by step.

Maoists hold that the mass line method of leadership is the only way to truly connect up with the people and to serve them, and to do so in a fashion that is not only quite effective but deeply democratic. Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader Some critics of Maoism consider the mass line to be a form of populism, or even a way of "tailing after the masses" or bowing down to the "spontaneity" of the masses, a criticism that Lenin had leveled against the reformists in the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party in What Is To Be Done?. Populism is a discourse which supports "the people" versus "the Elites " Populism may involve either a political philosophy urging social and political The Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, or RSDLP ( Росси́йская Социа́л-Демократи́ческая Рабо́чая What Is to Be Done? (Что делать? was a political pamphlet written by Vladimir Lenin at the end of 1901 and early 1902 But the mass line, though based in the first part on the ideas and desires of the masses, is also based on a concrete analysis of the objective situation and a determination to transform society through social revolution. Mao compared this to a factory which processes raw materials into a finished product. In the same way, he said, a party or group using the mass line must process the raw ideas of the masses in light of Marxist theory and a careful investigation of the objective situation. This is why using the mass line is not at all the same as populism.

Influence Outside of CPC

Paulo Freire's work on education, specifically his work Pedagogy of the Oppressed has been called by groups such as Freedom Road Socialist Organization and by other academics theoretically akin to the mass line. Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader Marxism-Leninism is a Communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency amongst the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted In the Marxist-Leninist movement an anti-revisionist is one who favors the line of theory and practice associated with Marx - Engels - Lenin The Three Worlds Theory is a Theory developed by former Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong that suggests that the Social-imperialism is a term applied by Mao to the Soviet Union, arguing that the Soviet Union had come to dominate and exploit the smaller countries in its sphere People's War ( Chinese language: 人民战争 also called protracted people's war, is a military-political strategy invented by Mao Zedong. For different uses of the term including Political parties with the name "New Democracy" see New Democracy (disambiguation. Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led Prachanda (प्रचण्ड pɾəʦəɳɖə born Pushpa Kumal Dahal on 11 December 1954 is the Post Officer of Nepal. Bob Avakian is Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, which he has led since its formation in 1975 Zhang Chunqiao ( (1917&ndash April 21, 2005) was a member of the Gang of Four. José María Sison (born February 8, 1939 in Cabugao Ilocos Sur, Philippines) is a Writer and activist who reorganized the Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso (born 3 December 1934 also known by the Nom de guerre Presidente Gonzalo ( English: President Gonzalo) Charu Majumdar ( Bangla: চারু মজুমদার (1918–1972 was an Indian Maoist Revolutionary born in 1918 in Siliguri Jiang Qing ( March 14, 1914 May 14, 1991) is the Pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong 's last wife İbrahim Kaypakkaya was a leader of the Turkish Communist movement Pierre Mulele ( August 11, 1929 - October 3 [[October 9] depending on the source] 1968 was a Congolese Revolutionary who was briefly The International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (ICMLPO is a grouping of parties and organizations adhering to Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought The Revolutionary Internationalist Movement is an international Communist organization which upholds Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. The Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany ( German: Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei Deutschlands, MLPD is an antirevisionist Political party in The Communist Party of India (Maoist is an underground Maoist Political party in India. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist (नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (माओवादी is a Maoist Political party The Communist Party of Peru (Spanish Partido Comunista del Perú) more commonly known as the Shining Path ( Sendero Luminoso) is a Maoist The Communist Party of the Philippines (in Filipino: Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is the leading Communist party in the Philippines. The Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers / Reorganizative Movement of the Party of the Proletariat ( Portuguese: Partido Comunista dos Trabalhadores Portugueses / Movimento The Communist Party of China ( CPC) ( also known as the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP) is the founding and ruling political party of the The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China was a struggle for power within the Communist Party of China that manifested into Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong ( better known in the West as The Little Red Book, was published by the Government of the Naxalite or Naxalism is an informal name given to Communist groups that were born out of the Sino-Soviet split in the Indian communist movement Paulo Freire ( Recife, Brazil September 19, 1921 – São Paulo, Brazil May 2, 1997) was a Brazilian Pedagogy of the Oppressed is the most widely known of educator Paulo Freire 's works As many of the Maoist -oriented groups formed in the United States New Communist Movement of the 1970s were shrinking or collapsing the Freedom Road Both emphasize the pedagogical task of raising the consciousness of people as well as having a more osciliating relationship between Teacher and Student. However, the primary thrust of the mass line method is in the revolutionary leadership of the masses in action, not simply in educational work.

The Black Panther Party which sold the Red Book (a collection of quotations from Mao's writings) and organized serve the people programs, another important aspect of Mao's method, first popularized something like the mass line in the United States. The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxist / Maoist African-American organization established Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong ( better known in the West as The Little Red Book, was published by the Government of the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In the early 1970s, organizations like the Young Lords, the Bay Area Revolutionary Union and a large section of the student and youth movements in the US formed specifically Maoist-identified communist organizations. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The Young Lords, later Young Lords Organization and in New York (notably Spanish Harlem) Young Lords Party, was a Puerto Rican nationalist Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based

Historically, the largest self-proclaimed Maoist party in the USA, Revolutionary Communist Party has taken criticisms from other Maoists or Mao influenced organizations. The Revolutionary Communist Party USA ( RCP USA) known originally as the Revolutionary Union, is a Maoist Communist party formed in These organizations includeFreedom Road Socialist Organization, Single Spark Collective, and some other New Communist Movement organizations which are now defunct for not actually exercising the mass line. As many of the Maoist -oriented groups formed in the United States New Communist Movement of the 1970s were shrinking or collapsing the Freedom Road The New Communist Movement (NCM was a Marxist-Leninist political movement of the 1970s and 1980s in the United States. Instead they say they have taken on "commandism" as a methodology of leadership and promoting a Cult of Personality around their chairman Bob Avakian. A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a country's leader uses Mass media to create a heroic public image through unquestioning flattery and praise Bob Avakian is Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, which he has led since its formation in 1975 The RCP has usually responded that such criticisms are ultimately based on a misconception of the mass line as reformism or workerist. The RCP had criticized its previous position on the Mass line as 'economist' and has criticized popular work within Trade Unions.

In some other countries, such as India, the term "the mass line" seems to now be used somewhat differently, to indicate a revolutionary strategy based on mobilizing the broad masses rather than on small-scale guerrilla warfare by armed party units. The explicit leadership method of "From the masses, to the masses" is not so strongly stressed. Thus in India the term "mass line" is now, somewhat ironically, more often associated with the middle group of CPI(M-L) forces than with the CPI(Maoist) due to their emphasis on mass organizations. The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist was formed by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries at a congress in Calcutta in 1969 The Communist Party of India (Maoist is an underground Maoist Political party in India.

External links

Documents Concerning Mass Line

Mao Zedong

Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Revolutionary Communist Party

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