Combat Dogmatism

Dogmatism is a form of manifestation of subjectivism. This was an erroneous tendency that the CPC focused on opposing during the Yan'an rectification period. This dogmatism was characterized by the fact that it did not start from the actual situation of the Chinese revolution, but from individual words and phrases in Marxist books and from the specific instructions of the Communist International.

This in fact denied that practice is the basis of knowledge, that perceptual knowledge is the basis of rational knowledge, and thus fell into idealism. The “Left” adventurism represented by Wang Ming was a typical example of such dogmatism.

In the long struggle against dogmatism, the Chinese Communists represented by Mao Zedong, adhered to and advocated the style of seeking truth from facts, insisted on and advocated a realistic style of study. In mid-March 1956, the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee held several meetings to study the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its influence.

Mao Zedong pointed out that the facts showed that the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Stalin were not correct in everything, which dispelled superstition and helped to oppose dogmatism. This was conducive to opposing dogmatism. On the other hand, the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union made serious mistakes in both content and method, mainly the inappropriately total rejection of Stalin. This error should be remedied by a positive elaboration of the Stalin question.

The article "Rediscussing the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat", which was formed on the basis of the discussions at the meeting of the Central Political Bureau was published publicly on December 29, 1956 in the name of the editorial board of the People's Daily. The article points out that in order to strengthen the international unity of the proletariat and repel the rampant attacks of imperialism, it is necessary to resolutely oppose revisionism at the same time as resolutely opposing dogmatism.

In March 1958, at the Chengdu Conference, Mao Zedong emphasized the need to dispel superstition, to liberate the mind, to think independently, to oppose dogmatism and to explore China's own construction line. He reviewed the process of independent exploration since 1956, summarized the eight years of experience, and criticized the dogmatism in the past economic work (mainly heavy industry and planning) as a manifestation of the inability to think independently under the pressure of foreign experience.