On New Democracy

Mao Zedong's important theoretical work on the politics, economy, culture, it expounded on the vision and policies of China's New-Democratic Revolution.

Written in January 1940, it was originally titled as "New Democratic Politics and New Democratic Culture", and included in the inaugural issue of Chinese Culture published in Yan'an on February 15, 1940.

On February 20 of the same year, when it was published in the joint issue 98-99 of Liberation magazine published in Yan'an , the title was renamed as "On New Democracy". It pointed out that the Chinese revolution included the two-fold tasks , i.e., the bourgeois-democratic revolution (the New-Democratic Revolution) and the proletarian socialist revolution, the tasks for the present period, and tasks for the future stage, these are two parts of an organic whole. Included in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 2.

After Anti-Japanese War entered the stalemate stage, the die-hards of the KMT launched military attacks and simultaneously launched an offensive on the ideological front, intensified its anti-Communist publicity against the CPC, which advocated the "one doctrine theory", "one party" and "one leader", which was the howl for bourgeois despotism. They stressed that the KMT alone should take everything", establish "perpetual one-party regime" , “lead everything and the whole nation” at the same time and put forward the idea that “socialism and communism are incompatible with China's long historical path". The bourgeois die-hards came forward and said: "Well, you Communists have postponed the socialist system to a later stage and have declared, 'The Three People's Principles, being what China needs today” in this way in order to prove that the Three People's Principles apply to all kinds of revolutions and that communism therefore loses its raison d'être. In this way they attempt to cancel the revolutionary Three People's Principles of the bourgeois democratic revolution (New-Democratic Revolution) and its prospect of proletarian socialist revolution.

In order to refute the views of the die-hards faction of KMT, and to answer the major question of future destiny of China, and to enlighten the whole Party and the whole nation, explained the Party's views on the Chinese revolution and on the construction of the New China, Mao Zedong by concentrating the wisdom of the whole Party, made a scientific summary of the historical experience of the Chinese revolution. At the same time, by applying the Marxist-Leninist theory of democratic revolution in colonial and semi-colonial countries, he systematically put forward the political, economic and cultural program of the New-Democratic Revolution, pointing out that the Chinese revolution must go through two stages, firstly, the democratic revolution (New-Democratic Revolution), and secondly, the socialist revolution, respectively, the revolution at the present stage and the revolution in the future stage.

He pointed out: that the semi-colonial and semi-feudal nature of China's present society determined that the Chinese revolution must be divided into two steps: The first step is to change the colonial, semi-colonial and semi-feudal form of society into an independent, democratic society. The second is to carry the revolution forward and build a socialist society. i.e., the democratic and the socialist revolutions, which are two essentially different revolutionary processes, and the second process can be carried through only after the first has been completed. The democratic revolution is the necessary preparation for the socialist revolution, and the socialist revolution is the inevitable sequel to the democratic revolution; we can only proceed to the next stage of revolution after accomplishing the first revolution.

Secondly, Mao Zedong refuted the die-hards who ignored the connection between the two revolutionary processes, the die-hards were advocating the establishment of bourgeois dictatorship and embarking the capitalist path, Mao Zedong also refuted the “Left” phrase-mongering who were misled by the "theory of a single revolution" and the fanciful notion of "accomplishing both the political revolution and the social revolution at one stroke". Mao Zedong pointed out that the reason why the two stages of democratic revolution and socialist revolution is organically linked is that the New-Democratic Revolution is no longer a democratic revolution led by the bourgeoisie, but a democratic revolution led by the proletariat, without allowing any intervening stage of bourgeois dictatorship, between the two stages. The New-Democratic Revolution which is a part of the world proletarian socialist revolution already contains socialist elements.

Thirdly, Mao Zedong described the blueprint for the new democratic social system, including politics, economy, and culture. He pointed out that: the political program of new democracy is to establish a democratic republic under the joint dictatorship of several revolutionary classes led by the proletariat, that is, a new-democratic republic, a republic of the genuinely revolutionary new Three People's Principles with their Three Great Policies.

The economic program included confiscating and transforming the big banks and the big industrial and commercial enterprises, into a socialist state-owned economy under the leadership of the proletariat, making this socialist sector the leading force in the national economy, but the republic will neither confiscate capitalist private property in general nor forbid the development of such capitalist production, which does not “dominate the livelihood of the people”.

The republic will take measures confiscate the land of the landlords and distribute it to those peasants having little or no land, carry out Dr. Sun Yat-sen's slogan of "land to the tiller", eliminate feudal relations in the countryside, and turn the land over to the private ownership of the peasants. A rich peasant economy will be allowed in the rural areas. This would be the policy of “equalization of landownership”.

The cultural program of New Democracy and the content of China's new national culture at the present stage is neither the cultural despotism of the bourgeoisie nor the socialism of the proletariat, but the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal New Democracy of the masses, under the leadership of proletarian-socialist culture and ideology. It will be a national, scientific and mass culture—the new culture of the Chinese nation. So far as the orientation of our national culture is concerned, communist ideology will play the guiding role. In short, "the New Democratic Republic is a combination of the politics of new democracy, the economy of new democracy and the culture of new democracy".

Mao Zedong's theory on the New-Democratic Revolution refuted the views of the die-hards faction of the KMT, and ideologically armed the people, enabled them see the future development prospects of the country. This theory has creatively applied the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism to China's reality and for the first time, clearly divided the bourgeois democratic revolution into two different historical contexts as the old and the new one, revealed the objective development laws of the national democratic revolutionary movement led by the proletariat in the colony and semi-colony countries, and systematically expounded the basic theory, line and program of the New Democracy period and which was of great theoretical and practical significance for the victory and the development of the Chinese revolution.