Class Struggle and Contradictions Among the People

China’s Socialist Economy, Xue Muqiao

Chapter X Class Struggle and Contradictions Among the People¶

"The large-scale, turbulent class struggles of the masses characteristic of times of revolution have in the main come to an end, but class struggle is by no means entirely over.”'

"On the other hand, it should be realized that these hostile, antisocialist elements cannot form an open, full-fledged class. The present class struggle is a remnant form of the class struggle in history and is no longer the principal contradiction in China. We should not regard all the contradictions in real life as a matter of conflict with the bourgeoisie, much less treat each struggle as a contradiction between the people and their enemy. Exaggeration of class struggle does harm to stability and unity within the ranks of the people and is highly detrimental to socialist construction. It is a mistake to imagine that there is no longer any class struggle in a socialist society. It is an even bigger mistake to assume that class struggle keeps sharpening and intensifying in a socialist society— a view which conforms neither to the facts nor to the objective laws governing the development of class struggle."

"We should not be afraid of the new exploiters. Such people, engendered after the completion of socialist transformation, are incomparably inferior in number and strength as compared with the old bourgeoisie. Since we have remoulded a whole class of the old bourgeoisie by peaceful means, why should we be mortally afraid of a few new exploiters? The emergence of some new exploiters is unavoidable at the present stage, but there is no need to be overly alarmed. We have the strength to remould them and may refer them to our organs of dictatorship if they put up a desperate fight. In the past, we clamped down on a handful of grafters, embezzlers and speculators by launching large-scale mass movements, but there was a tendency to confound right and wrong and condemn as “capitalism” many of the things that were non-capitalist or even socialist. Stability and unity among the people was undermined, the enthusiasm of the masses dampened, production disrupted, and the socialist relations of production weakened. We must not forget this lesson."

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