Speech at Enlarged Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee

On July 29, 1953, Mao Zedong hosted a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC in the conference room of Xilou building in Zhongnanhai, Mao Zedong listened to and discussed Chen Boda's speech on state capitalism. It was included in Volume 6 of Collected works of Mao Zedong published by Central Bureau of Literature Research.

From October 1949 to the end of 1952, after more than three years of hard struggle, the Party led the people to make the national economy, which had been seriously damaged before the founding of New China, fully recovered and developed.

The socialist factors in our society have been in the leading position not only in politics but also in economy, and the non-socialist factors have been constantly restricted and reformed.

In 1953, China began a large-scale economic construction centered on the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan of the national economy. With the large-scale development of economic construction, the conditions for the transition from a new democratic society to a socialist society have gradually matured.

As an economic form of transition from private capitalism to socialist state-owned economy, how should state capitalism recognize its position, function, steps and principles of reform in this process? Mao Zedong gave a concentrated explanation in this speech.

(1) Some basic questions on state capitalism. In terms of basic understanding, Mao Zedong pointed out that state capitalism is the intermediate form of our transformation of private capitalist industry and commerce and the gradual transition to socialism. "The bourgeoisie does not accept state capitalism and has no other way to go. The general trend is that we must follow this path."

State capitalism is the result of the "attack" on the private capitalist economy under the five conditions of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, agrarian reform, suppressing the counter-revolutionaries, "Three-anti Campaign" and "Five-anti Campaign" and ideological transformation, together with the development of socialist industry and economy. In enterprises, the "Three Rights" of capitalists are restricted.

However, under the present circumstances, the property of the capitalists cannot be confiscated. The economic and social development also needs them. Not only can they not be confiscated, but also "we should give way now, especially in terms of dividends, to the capitalists so that they can have income. This is part of the retreat in the attack. If this step is not allowed, the capitalists will have no profit and without any profit, they will not be able to get state capitalism.”

(2) On the transformation of capitalist private ownership. Mao Zedong pointed out that the transformation we are talking about now is not the final transformation step to abolish the private ownership of capitalists and turn them into socialist enterprises, but the gradual transformation of capitalist enterprises into state-owned capitalist enterprises under the condition of admitting the limited and incomplete private ownership of capitalists, that is, under the management of the people's government, socialism with the state in various ways. The economy is connected and cooperates with the state capitalist enterprises supervised by workers.

This kind of capitalism is no longer capitalism in the ordinary sense, but a special and new type of capitalism, in which the public-private partnership has a socialist component and is semi socialist in nature. However, it is inappropriate to call all state capitalism semi-socialist in nature. It should be said that it has some socialist properties.

(3) State capitalism is only an intermediate form of transition. It is necessary to promote the transition from state capitalism to socialism. Mao Zedong put forward the conditions for this transition.

That is: firstly, there are thousands of large socialist factories; secondly, agricultural cooperation should be carried out in a planned, steady, active and voluntary way; thirdly, the internal conditions of state capitalist enterprises, including Party organizations and trade unions, together with our leadership, can ensure that the enterprises will be transferred to socialism, that the ownership of capitalists will be cancelled, and that they will be well arranged.

In this process, the first step is to transform capitalism into state capitalism, and the second step is to transform state capitalism into socialism.

(4) The policy of "different and non-discriminatory" is implemented for private enterprises. In terms of ownership, workers' wages and capitalists' dividends should be treated equally. The general principle of wages is "equal treatment". Generally, the high wages are not reduced, and the low ones are not necessarily mentioned. It depends on the specific conditions and technical level. Workers and capitalists should also be treated equally in terms of the right to vote and the right to be elected.

(5) The state should focus on heavy industry, but other aspects must also be taken into account. Local state-owned industry, state capitalism and handicraft industry cooperation should be taken into account. The state specializes in heavy industry and the private sector in light industry. This is not a good line. A large number of private light industrial factories should also follow the path of state capitalism. Prices are constrained by supply and demand. Criticism of the "three high" policy of high prices, high interest and high profits should not be excessive, but should be analyzed.

(6) We should make proper use of the laws of capitalist economy. Under the control of the socialist economic law, we should make proper use of the capitalist economic law. The socialist economic law is the main and basic economic law that plays a leading role in developing production and guaranteeing needs, but the capitalist economic law exists objectively. When things exist, the law of course exists and cannot be destroyed; when things are limited, the law is also limited.

If we do not carry out the principle of "double benefit" between employers and employees and turn it into "double benefit", we will not understand the principle. This document provides theoretical guidance for the scientific understanding of state capitalism, also provides the basic basis for the Party's socialist transformation of capitalist industry and commerce, and prepares the ideological conditions for brewing and formulating the general line for the transitional period.