On Marxism

A famous article written by Yang Pao’an. The article was originally published in Guangdong Zhonghua Newspaper on November 11, 13-15, 17-22, 26, 28-29, and December 3-4, 1919, a total of 19 days were published, with 4 days missing. This article is the earliest systematic introduction of Marxism in South China. The content the elaboration focuses on has the following aspects:

(1) Total understanding of Marx's materialist view of history. The article writes: “Since Max's creation, socialism has never lost its brilliance both in theory and in practice. His work Capital is regarded as a classic by workers”, “Marx takes the materialist view of history as the longitude, revolutionary ideas as the latitude, and with the observation of economic status in England and France, a world views with economic content as the mainstay has been formed, which is why it is called scientific socialism.” This article praised: “Since Marx established his materialist view of history, all social sciences have changed their face.”

(2) Basic essentials of the Materialist view of history. The article holds that "the so-called theory of the materialist view of history... Its historical origin lies not in the creation of heaven, but goes back to the production of earth. It takes technological as well as economic factors as the historical prime mover of all political and spiritual factors; the changes in production, that is, the origin of historical changes, the division of historical periods, the means of production (equipment and machinery) present the classes in the society, and the form of production and the struggles of such classes, that is the history of mankind.” The article also introduces this issue from the following aspects: "the law of a country depends entirely on its social economy and determines" “the economic foundation, legal and political edifice", "class struggles, and the results of economic phenomena".

(3) On the social science research method of historical Materialism. The article points out: "When Marx was born, the era of philosophical great thinkers already belonged to the past. For those who study social sciences and historians specialize in individual facts and pay attention to scattered and fragmentary examination. Such a research method can be carried out smoothly in natural sciences. As for social sciences, it cannot be applied. Because by what rules the social life develops and what relations it has with natural phenomena, these two major issues have not been thoroughly discussed yet. So, for those that are isolated and fragmentary, there is no principle to follow and no method to adhere to. From Max's historical materialism, its significance to social sciences lies in prompting the rules of social life. This is why it is an extremely useful historical method and an unprecedented social philosophy!”

(4) On Marx's teaching of class competition. The article emphasizes: “The origin of class competition as it was called by Marx is that after the common ownership of land was broken, the structure of the economy was built on class antagonism.” The so-called classes are classes with opposite economic interests. They are respectively those who possess the means of production such as land or capital; on the one hand, those who wantonly repress and plunder, and those who are repressed and plundered on the other.

In Marx's opinion, the reason why the society reveals class antagonism that the surplus labor and surplus value of others is plundered by the exclusive production method of one social group. As for why society presents the phenomenon of class antagonism, in Marx’s opinion, it is said that it is all because one social group’s surplus labor and surplus value is plundered by another according to their exclusion from the production method.

(5) On Marx's teaching of "surplus value" (i.e., surplus labor and surplus value)

The article elaborates that the surplus value "is still produced by the laborer himself, but it is the capitalists who grab it as its own and who sit idle and enjoy the fruits of others’ work."

The capitalists not only seize the surplus value, but also accumulate more and more capital, which is the natural result under the law of capitalist production; "Generally, the longer the working hours of workers are, the more surplus value capitalists grab. Therefore, capitalists always want to prolong the working hours of workers, while workers naturally demand to shorten, which is the conflict between the two sides.” Therefore, "getting rid of the fetters of the capitalists and restoring the economic freedom of each individual", "the only way to solve the contradictions of social economy", is that "the majority of the people in society" "rise together to gain the power of the state, and change all tools of production into state-owned". The article also emphasized: "The main thrust of Marx's teaching of economics is not only to denounce the greed of capitalists, but also lies in uncovering the injustice of capitalism. This article and the Part Two of Li Dazhao’s “My View of Marxism” published in New Youth came out almost at the same time, and they are also one of the masterpieces of the early dissemination of Marxism in China. Its publication made ideological preparation for the birth of the Communist Party organization in Guangdong and was also the important symbol of Yang's transformation from a revolutionary democrat to a Marxist.

Since 1986, this article has been included in the Collected Works of Yang Pao'an, Guangdong People's Press, 1986, edited by the editorial of the Collected Works of Yang Pao'an, in the Collected Works of Yang Pao'an edited by the Party History Research Office of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Central Party Literature Press, 1996, and in the Selected Important Documents Since the Founding of the Communist Party of China, Volume 1, Central Party Literature Press, 2011, edited by the Literature Research Office and Central Archives of the CPC Central Committee.