In China, the antagonistic situation existing internally between the feudal forces and the broad masses of the people is also changing. The people will rely on revolutionary struggle to transform themselves into the leading and dominant force. There has already been illustration of this in the past; the Southern revolutionary forces changed from a secondary to the principal position, and the Northern warlords changed in the opposite direction; and there was a similar situation in the Soviet areas, in which the peasants changed from the ruled to the rulers, and the landlords changed in the opposite direction.
[p. 263] In the relationship in China between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, because the bourgeoisie has retained the means of production and sovereignty, to the present it still occupies the leading position. However, in terms of leadership of the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal revolution, the proletariat occupies the leading position because of its level of consciousness and revolutionary thoroughness as compared to the vacillation of the bourgeoisie. This point will influence the future of the revolution in China. Only if the proletariat allies itself with the peasantry and the petty bourgeoisie will it be able to occupy politically and materially the leading position. If it can do this, the proletariat will assume the decisive leading function of the revolution.
With regards the contradiction between the peasantry and the workers, the workers have changed from their former subordinate position to their present leading position, and the peasantry have changed in the opposite direction. In the contradictions between the industrial workers and the handicraft workers, skilled and unskilled workers, town and countryside, mental and manual labour, materialism and idealism, all have made the same sort of change.
At certain times in the revolutionary struggle, the difficulties outweigh the favourable conditions and so constitute the principal aspect of the contradiction and the favourable conditions constitute the secondary aspect. But through their efforts the revolutionaries, by utilizing their favourable conditions as a base, can overcome the difficulties step by step and open up a favourable new situation; the difficulties which made up the principal position will change so that favourable conditions become principal.[4-549] This is what happened after the failure of the revolution[4-550] in 1927 and during the Long March of the[4-551] Red Army. In the present Sino-Japanese War, China is again in a very difficult position, but we should and can exert ourselves to change that situation.[4-552] Conversely, favourable conditions can be transformed into difficulty if the revolutionaries make mistakes. Thus the victory of the revolution of 1925‒27[4-553] turned into defeat. The victory of the Central Soviet in smashing the first, second, third, and fourth encirclement campaigns changed into the defeat of the fifth encirclement campaign.[4-554]
When we engage in study, the same holds good for the contradiction in the passage from ignorance to knowledge. For those who have not studied Marxism, ignorance or scanty acquaintance is the principal aspect of the contradiction, while the depth and extensiveness of Marxism is the other aspect of the contradiction.[4-555] But by assiduous study, ignorance can be transformed into knowledge, and scanty knowledge into substantial knowledge.[4-556] Many of our comrades are moving in that direction. The opposite situation is the same; if one refuses to progress when only half the distance has been covered, [p. 264] or lets one’s thoughts become confused, or takes the wrong path, then one’s knowledge can change to ignorance and correctness change to error. Kautsky, Plekhanov, Chen Duxiu, and others have taken this road. Some conceited types within our ranks are also in a similar danger if they don’t change.