Revisionism

Image of Nikita Khrushchev, a major revisionist figure.

Revisionism refers to the introduction of bourgeois and anti-Marxist ideas into the revolutionary movement and corruption of its principles in favor of capitalist, chauvinist, reformist, and other opportunist ideas, often with the aim of liquidating working class organizations, parties, and socialist states. Examples of past and present revisionist trends include Kautskyism, Browderism, left-communism, Khrushchevism, Maoism, and Dengism. Marxist–Leninist opposition to revisionism is known as anti-revisionism.

Revisionism takes on many manifestations based upon the condition of the revolutionary movement. Revisionists commonly seek to make core Marxist theory superfluous by erroneously claiming it is obsolete relative to modern conditions, or they may make deviations under the guise of applying theory to local circumstances (e.g. Socialism with Chinese Characteristics or Juche). Regardless of what form revisionism takes, it always serves the interests of the bourgeoisie and is a tool on their side against the proletariat in class struggle.

Characteristics

"Revisionism, which is capitalism in a new form, the enemy of the unity of peoples, the inciter of reactionary nationalism, of the drive towards and establishment of the most ferocious fascist dictatorship which does not permit even the slightest sign of formal bourgeois democracy. Revisionism is the idea and action which leads the turning of a country from socialism back to capitalism, the turning of a communist party into a fascist party, it is the inspirer of ideological chaos, confusion, corruption, repression, arbitrarily, instability and putting the homeland up for auction." – Enver Hoxha, The Khrushchevites

Rejection of class struggle

See also: Class collaboration

Revisionists have often undermined and rejected and nature of class struggle as an inherent aspect of the capitalist system and lower stage of socialism, or suggest that the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and proletariat can be ultimately resolved with a class truce, peace, and collaboration instead of expropriation of the capitalists. The revisionist have often employed nationalism to support these stances in favor of class collaboration. For instance, Chinese revisionist Mao Zedong stated:

“The contradiction between the national bourgeoisie and the working class is one between exploiter and exploited, and is by nature antagonistic. But in the concrete conditions of China, this antagonistic contradiction between the two classes, if properly handled, can be transformed into a non-antagonistic one and be resolved by peaceful methods. However, the contradiction between the working class and the national bourgeoisie will change into a contradiction between ourselves and the enemy if we do not handle it properly and do not follow the policy of uniting with, criticizing and educating the national bourgeoisie, or if the national bourgeoisie does not accept this policy of ours.” [Emphasis added]

Other instances of this include Nikita Khrushchev's concepts of "peaceful co-existence" and the "peaceful transition to socialism," which omitted the inherent antagonisms between socialist and imperialist states and propagated reformist, counter-revolutionary stances.

Denial of the role of the proletariat and vanguard party

Revisionists have denied the leading role of the proletariat in the struggle for socialism and the need for a working class vanguard party and dictatorship of the proletariat. They have sought to strip from the proletariat its political and organizational independence and to make it subservient to capitalist interests. An example of this would include Earl Browder's liquidation of the Communist Party of the United States and its replacement with the Communist Political Association in 1944. On a wider basis, this also includes Nikita Khrushchev's dissolution of the Soviet proletarian dictatorship and its replacement by the so-called "socialist state of the whole people" as well as Mao Zedong's concept of "new democracy," both of which denied the role of leadership to the proletariat and instead empowered the bourgeoisie.

Deviations from socialist construction

Many revisionists ideologues and states such as the revisionist Soviet Union and People's Republic of China have concocted various justifications for their restoration of capitalism and deviation from the construction of socialism. One of which is the "theory of the productive forces," which asserts that the primary factor for the transition to socialism from capitalism is the degree of the development of the productive forces, with little reference to class struggle or social revolution. In China, such train of thought was used to justify the so-called "reform and opening-up." Similar events took place in other revisionist countries, such as Đổi Mới reforms in Vietnam and the New Economic Mechanism in Laos.

Other varieties

Neo-revisionism

Neo-revisionism is, simply, anti-revisionism in words yet revisionism in deeds. Neo-revisionists seek to introduce their own variety of revisionism while erroneously claiming to be defending the principles of revolutionary communism. Neo-revisionism primarily appeared after the rise to power of Nikita Khrushchev in the Soviet Union during the 1950s when opportunist figures such as Mao Zedong took up nominal opposition to revisionism while formulating his own revisionist ideology of Mao Zedong Thought. This tendency of revisionism continues in the modern day with Maoists and the parties associated with the International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle).

See also

• Opportunism
• Adventurism
• Social-imperialism