Collectivism

A principle of value of the proletariat and the Communists, the idea that the collective interests of the masses are the fundamental starting point for everything. It is the core of communist morality, the fundamental feature of communist morality different from all old morality, and the criterion for socialist society in dealing with the relationship between the individual and society, and between the individual and the collective.

In their works, Marx and Engels have explored the concept of collectivism, the reasons for its emergence, and how the proletariat should treat collectivism.

The emergence of proletarian collectivism is based on the emergence of common interests. Modern large-scale industrial production organizes and centralizes laborers for collective work, there is an organically unified whole among workers, processes and workshops, and the products are created by the joint work of all workers, objectively requiring workers to unite and co-operate. In social relations, people are connected with and dependent on each other, rather than living in isolation. Any individual who wants to achieve his own private interests must resort to the help of others. In mutual aid, the public interest can be generated, while at the same time embodying the interests of the individual. Engels put forth the concept of collectivism for the first time, and in his letter to Italian socialists, British Agricultural Union and the Collectivist Movement in the Countryside, he criticized the union movement of workers organized by citizen Arch for not touching the issue of the individual ownership of land, pointing out that “in the presence of the revolutionary idea of collectivism [Arch] felt himself to be a conservative.” He reserved all his hostility for the upper aristocracy, but “all this does not stop the collectivist movement from making headway.” He encouraged the working class to embark on a collectivist movement against the individual ownership of land.

Marxism holds that collectivism is a powerful force for the proletariat’s struggle for its rights and interests and a guarantee for the proletarian revolution to gain victory. Marx pointed out: “One element of success they possess—numbers; but numbers weigh in the balance only if united by combination and led by knowledge.” Lenin also pointed out that “as an isolated individual, the proletarian is nothing. His whole strength, his whole progress, all his hopes and expectations are derived from organization, from systematic action in conjunction with his fellows. He feels big and strong when he forms part of a big and strong organism.” The proletariat needs the collective strength of the class as a whole, so upholding collectivism is an inevitable choice, and at the same time, collectivism is collectivism that is free of exploitation and oppression, that allows for the free development of the individual, and that respects the interests of the individual. “Only in community [with others has each] individual the means of cultivating his gifts in all directions; only in the community, therefore, is personal freedom possible.” Individual interests and collective interests are organically connected. In the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat, the proletariat must have the spirit of collectivism.

In social reality, collectivism has become the basic principle for correctly dealing with the relationship between individual interests and collective interests. The moral norm of collectivism requires us: first, to take the greatest interests of the vast majority of the people as the starting point for all words and deeds; second, to take the collective interests as a prerequisite for realizing the combination of individual and collective interests; third, in the event of a conflict between collective and individual interests, to consciously subordinate individual interests to collective interests, even sacrificing individual interests if necessary; fourth, to unite comrades and strive together for the common cause of the proletariat and the masses, i.e., the ideal and cause of communism.

The contradiction between collectivism and individualism is an important watershed between socialism and capitalism at the level of value outlook. The Communist Party of China has established the value idea of collectivism and has always upheld it in its cause of building socialism, which has played an important part in guiding values and gathering strength during the revolution, construction and reform. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “One way in which socialism is superior to capitalism is that under socialism the people of the whole country can work as one and concrete their strength on key projects.” The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized to vigorously foster China’s national spirit and the spirit of the times, intensify education in patriotism, collectivism and socialism, and enrich people’s cultural life and enhance their moral strength. Collectivism is an important element of China’s national spirit and demonstrates the spirit of the times, which is an indissoluble core value outlook tightly coupled with patriotism and socialism.