by the Editorial Board
Sectarianism is a deviation from communist principles with particularly harmful results. In this short article we examine the social roots of the problem by way of a theoretical examination.
Sectarianism is simply defined as putting the interests of a small group over the interests of the organization and the masses which it is to serve. It manifests in a refusal to unite with all who can be united with. On this most basic definition we can see external sectarian approaches and their consequences on one hand resulting in a weaker movement, and internal sectarian approaches on the other manifesting in factionalism, a weak and vulnerable organizing basis.
The root of sectarianism is bourgeois ideology and bourgeois social practice among the Left and the nominally left. Proletarian analysis and methods give way to one-sided bourgeois analysis and methods, which is a subjectivist deviation. Subjectivism, which is to ignore or downplay objective reality, has its philosophical root in the failure of applying or comprehending dialectical materialism with the law of contradiction at its center, the only fundamental law. In some cases, this manifests in opportunist interests who will reject the understood principles of Marxism to accomplish this or that short-term goal. So, subjectivism can come from a lack of understanding of Marxism or an intentional rejection of Marxism. With the first source, one’s deficient understanding of Marxism comes into contradiction with Marxist political work. At this point it can either correct itself or persist. If it sticks to the deviation for a long time and justifies itself in the face of all reality that proves it false it starts the process of rationalization, of bending and distorting and ultimately revising Marxism to suit its narrow self-interest; it becomes the second type.
No great movement in history that has sought to throw off enemy oppression has ever been without the problems of sectarianism. Chairman Mao encountered these problems as social problems reflected in the work of the Communist Party of China, and he sought to correct the deviations in a series of important articles. At a speech in 1942, the Chairman explained that “there is still something wrong with our style of study, with our style in the Party’s internal and external relations and with our style of writing. By something wrong with the style of study we mean the malady of subjectivism. By something wrong with our style in Party relations we mean the malady of sectarianism.”
We get a deeper understanding here: subjectivism pertains to the study of a problem and sectarianism pertains to the practical organizational work stemming from this flawed study. He characterized these two problems, along with a third “stereotyped Party writing” as three ill winds harming the Party and the revolution. Of course, these problems are particularly significant when inside of a Party waging people’s war against the old state, but they are nonetheless still damaging to the process of arriving at this great stature.
The fight against subjectivism is necessary to correct the style of study, and the fight against sectarianism is necessary to correct relationships internal and external to an organization, promoting its internal unity, its ability to struggle for unity with others, and importantly the ability to unite with the masses.
Subjectivism, which is an improper style of study, is a question of whether or not one is willing to practice Maoism. It is a question of one’s attitude toward the ideology. That is insofar as the mistake has been pointed out, and how the struggle to improve study is carried forward. We understand that there has been progress on the theoretical front, but insist that the theoretical level of our movement has not been raised to a sufficient degree. This corresponds to the fact that theory still lags behind the low level of social practice, and that the dearth of theoretical understanding retards practical development in most respects.
Maoist theory must be mastered not as a dogma but with the sole purpose of applying it. We must study the social problems and class contradictions that manifest in controversy. We must look at the existence of opposites, and how they determine a process. This is to say really study Mao’s work “On Contradiction”, and not from a one-sided sectarian manner of finding tools to smite people for the sake of one’s own faction, but to apply it to the problem and study to find a solution. We further suggest study to understand that analysis and synthesis form a contradiction; every organization is a contradiction.
There is no other type of knowledge besides the history of society and nature, and philosophy is the general summation—this is what Mao says. Hence the law of contradiction existing in society and nature is the basic starting point of overcoming a subjectivist approach. A struggle against subjectivism, looking at the quantity of questions and the quality of the main question, can prevent subjectivism in study from transforming into sectarian practice.
Bourgeois metaphysics is the opposite of Marxist dialectics. It cannot center contradiction and instead sees all as one and unchanging; this is a complicated concept that often falls short of proper analysis and synthesis. It is the concept that one unchanging being exists beyond the physical world. Nothing exists beyond the physical world of contradiction and we must examine all that exists on the basis of the internal contradictions. The thing now is to apply it to social practice. “There is only one kind of true theory in this world, theory that is drawn from objective reality and then verified by objective reality; nothing else is worthy of the name of theory in our sense.” This is what Chairman Mao said.
On the problem of sectarianism, Chairman Mao indicated that after 20 years of being steeled in struggle the Party was no longer dominated by sectarianism but even after so long it was still a serious problem. We must not be arrogant, ten years or two years of struggles—none of them so hard as those the comrades all over the world have faced—are not remotely enough to overcome the domination of sectarianism let alone rid ourselves of it. Mao said this: “Sectarian tendencies in internal relations lead to exclusiveness towards comrades inside the Party and hinder inner-Party unity and solidarity, while sectarian tendencies in external relations lead to exclusiveness towards people outside the Party and hinder the Party in its task of uniting the whole people.” This is a hard warning to those who would struggle to carry out the work of reconstitution and leading the masses in struggle. Sectarianism is dangerous and runs counter to our task as revolutionaries. Sectarianism disperses forces and erodes connection to the masses; this is what it does.
We will say this: every revolutionary comrade must take the interests of Party reconstitution into account. Every branch of work, every statement and every action must proceed from the interests of Party reconstitution which is expressed today in the struggle for unity under Maoism. The Chairman masterfully instructed the comrades: “Cadres, new and old, should respect each other, learn from each other and overcome their own shortcomings by learning from each other’s strong points, so as to unite as one in the common cause and guard against sectarian tendencies.”
It is as true today as it was in 1942 that we cannot defeat the enemy only by uniting ourselves—we have to unite with the broad masses of people, which is far greater in scope than uniting the dispersed forces who struggle for reconstitution. We note that the masses have greater complexity, greater experience, greater potential, greater hardships, greater struggles, and greater explosiveness than the small and dispersed revolutionary forces. All of these contradictions and overcoming their social divisions requires a good hand at the work. It is a fact that we must improve. “All sectarian ideas are subjectivist and are incompatible with the real needs of the revolution; hence the struggle against sectarianism and the struggle against subjectivism should go on simultaneously,” the Chairman said.
To combat subjectivism we must emphasize study of dialectical materialism, we must not tolerate subjectivist propaganda, and we must oppose seeing only the bad in comrades and not the good. When we see subjectivist ideas we must oppose them—it is poison not to. In the Chairman’s words: “We should boycott all the wares of subjectivism, sectarianism and stereotyped Party writing, make their sale difficult, and not allow their purveyors to ply their trade by exploiting the low theoretical level in the Party.”
Boycotting the above does not mean negligence toward the just and necessary protracted two-line struggle, but rather means a necessary picket so that the struggle can proceed and develop. So long as subjectivism and sectarianism cross our lines, the necessary struggles are blocked and sabotaged—these tendencies are like scabs making sure the machine of dispersion and liquidation has hands to operate it. It will come around to harm all those who do not inoculate themselves against it.
We must see subjectivism and sectarianism as real enemies and confront them as such, but when it comes to people making mistakes it is another matter—we must fight the mistake and not the maker. This is why the tendency to personalize the issue is so harmful. Chairman Mao wrapped up his speech with the following instruction, one which we would do very good to apply and very bad to reject:
“So long as a person who has made mistakes does not hide his sickness for fear of treatment or persist in his mistakes until he is beyond cure, so long as he honestly and sincerely wishes to be cured and to mend his ways, we should welcome him and cure his sickness so that he can become a good comrade. We can never succeed if we just let ourselves go, and lash out at him. In treating an ideological or a political malady, one must never be rough and rash but must adopt the approach of ‘curing the sickness to save the patient’, which is the only correct and effective method.”
Cure comrades of the mistake of subjectivism and sectarianism, seek to be cured if you suffer the malady of subjectivism and sectarianism (and to a degree we all have it), do not turn from a Marxist into a revisionist, and do not lash out at those who have made mistakes nor those who criticize the mistakes. Adopt the only correct and effective method.
The social root of sectarianism is the me-first mentality of the small proprietor, it is the individualistic and hyper-individualistic ideas of the bourgeoisie, the competition between factions of the bourgeoisie who must always cut at one another’s throats and the sour wretched retaliation of the loser. Unlike the contradictions internal to the bourgeoisie that are caused by them and cannot be resolved without their overthrow, the contradictions among the proletarians are imposed by the bourgeoisie, and can be overcome with class unity because they have common class interest in the realization of socialism and ultimately the communist society, instead of opposed individual interests as a class. The bourgeoisie is a dying class of miserables that cannot have stable unity; they are doomed to collusion and contention and bitter war between them, and this reality is reflected in their doomed ideology, which manifests among us as sectarianism. We must struggle against it.
UNITE UNDER MAOISM
