Dispel Blind Faith in the Western Countries

An Ideological Perspective in Mao Zedong's Talk with Brazilian Journalists Murilo Marroquin de Souza and Mme. [Maria da Graca] Dutra on September 2, 1958.

He said that nationalist countries stand neither on the imperialist side nor on the socialist side, and they adopt a neutral position, without participating in either bloc, which suits their present circumstances for a fairly long period. Their neutrality is a position of independence, sovereignty and freedom from control, and China welcomes the neutrality of these countries because it is favorable to the cause of peace. China firmly supports the struggle for independence of Asian, African and Latin American countries and is willing to do its utmost to help them developing their national economies.

Mao Zedong believed that the aim of Western countries was to rule all places that can be ruled, but they meet resistance everywhere. The colonialist countries band together and call themselves "Western countries." The sun of the Western world is the setting sun in the evening, while that of Asia, Africa and Latin America is the rising sun in the morning. Imperialism is always trying to intimidate people, and sometimes raise a hand to strike others, and we must not be intimidated or scared by them. Adoration of the West is a kind of blind worship, of superstition, which is shaped by history, but this blind worship is being gradually done away with.

Therefore, Mao Zedong concluded that it is a great event to break the superstition of the West, which should be carried out in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We must continue to wipe out this superstition in our country as well. What I mean is that strategically we should despise imperialism as a paper tiger, as something of little account, but tactically we must attach importance to it and deal with it seriously. Imperialism will change from a real tiger to a half-real and half-fake tiger, and finally to a completely fake tiger, or paper tiger. This is a process of transformation of a thing to its opposite, and our task is to accelerate this process.