Theory of Proletarian Revolution and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat

Theoretical system on the class struggle and social revolution of the proletariat and the establishment of political power of the proletariat and the transition to communism.

The proletarian revolution is the inevitable result of the development of the fundamental contradictions within capitalist society. When the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie reflecting the fundamental contradictions of capitalism reaches an extremely intense level, the proletarian revolution breaks out. Of course, this is a general conclusion. The outbreak of a revolution requires subjective and objective conditions. The theory of proletarian revolution includes: first, concerning the conditions of proletarian revolution. “Such a revolution is possible only in periods when both of these factors—the modern forces of production and the bourgeois forms of production—come into opposition with each other.” As soon as the capitalist relations of production can no longer accommodate the development of productive forces, the inner contradictions of capitalism cause a comprehensive social crisis, the proletariat is unwilling to continue to live as before, the bourgeoisie cannot continue to rule as before, the objective situation of the proletarian revolution has been formed, the revolution will come. Of course, the proletarian revolution also requires subjective conditions, including a high degree of consciousness and organization of the revolutionary class, especially the leadership of a strong proletarian party and the formulation of correct guidelines and policies, in order to seize the opportunity and win the victory of the revolution. Second, concerning the path and form of proletarian revolution. The proletarian revolution can take the form of violent revolution as well as that of peaceful development. Due to the different characteristics and conditions of each country, violent revolutions take different forms, ranging from the form of armed uprisings in the cities in the Russian October Revolution to the form of encircling cities in the countryside and finally conquering the political power in the Chinese Revolution, and there can be other forms as well. Upholding the general law of violent revolution does not exclude the possibility of peaceful development of revolution. For the proletariat to win the revolution, it must forge a solid alliance of workers and peasants and establish a broad revolutionary united front. Third, concerning the characteristics of the proletarian revolution. Proletarian revolution is a revolution by the vast majority of people, which seek the interests of the vast majority of people, the most radical rupture with traditional property relations and traditional ideas, the broadest, deepest and most radical revolution in human history. The conquest of political power is not the end of revolution, but the use of power to transform the old economic and cultural systems and build a new communist society.

The fundamental question of the proletarian revolution is to radically smash the old state machinery and replace the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie with the dictatorship of the proletariat. During the transition period from capitalism to communism, only the dictatorship of the proletariat can be exercised. The theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat was founded by Marx and Engels. In 1846, Marx and Engels had the germ of the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat. This idea was further elaborated in The Communist Manifesto issued in 1848. In The Class Struggle in France written in 1850, the concepts of “dictatorship of the working class” and “class dictatorship of the proletariat”, etc. were used for the first time. In 1852, Marx’s letter to Weydemeyer showed that class struggle inevitably leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat, which itself only constitutes the transition to the abolition of all classes and to a classless society. In 1875, in the Critique of the Gotha Programme, Marx made his classic exposition of the transition period and the dictatorship of the proletariat. Lenin enriched and developed the Marxist theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat according to the concrete revolutionary practice in Russia, created the form of state of the Soviet regime, and further explained the task of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The Communist Party of China has creatively applied the fundamental principles of Marxism and put forth the doctrine of people’s democratic dictatorship in the light of the concrete reality in China.

The dictatorship of the proletariat is a socialist state power led by the proletariat (through the Communist Party) and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. Its characteristics are as follows: First, it has a brand-new class content. The proletariat is the leading force of the dictatorship. It is based on the alliance of workers and peasants and forms a special alliance with non-proletarian workers, which shows that it is a democratic political power of the majority of a new type. Second, the dictatorship of the proletariat consists of two aspects: exercising democracy among the people and dictatorship over the enemies, its essence is the democratic political system of the proletariat. Unless there is a dictatorship over a handful of hostile elements, the people’s democracy cannot be safeguarded. For the first time, the dictatorship of the proletariat transformed the dictatorship of a minority over the majority into the dictatorship of the working masses over a handful hostile elements. Third, the task of the dictatorship of the proletariat is to transform the capitalist mode of production into socialism, establish and develop the socialist common ownership system, develop the productive forces as soon as possible, and satisfy the material and cultural needs of the people to the greatest extent. Moreover, it must defend the country with armed forces, resist subversion and aggression by hostile forces, and resolutely oppose imperialism, hegemonism and colonialism in international affairs, so as to contribute to the maintenance of world peace and the ultimate realization of human emancipation. Fourth, the ultimate goal of the dictatorship of the proletariat is to completely abolish classes and enter the classless communist society. The dictatorship of the proletariat is the most progressive and final dictatorship in human history; it will wither away with the abolition of classes.

The theory of the proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat is one of the core contents of Marxist theory of scientific socialism, an important watershed between Marxism and non-Marxism, and a guide to proletarian revolution and construction.