Mao Zedong's Democratic Thought

Democracy is an old, evergreen and realistic topic. Many kind and upright menthrough the ages and even the whole mankind are pursuing and fighting for it constantly.Mao Zedong was pursuing and practicing democracy constantly throughout his life,especially his democracy thought and practice in old age has exerted the tremendousinfluence on China that can't be ignored. At present, the academia's research to thisquestion isn't overall and systematic. So it's great theory and realistic meaning to researchsystematically on democracy thought of old age of Mao Zedong.In people's democracy, Mao Zedong gives people's democratic dictatorship a newmission:ensuring people's democracy and promoting socialist modernization construction;He puts forward the new request to the thing that the people participate in government andpolitical affairs, namely managing and supervising the government. In inner-partydemocracy, he emphasizes on developing inner-party democracy, strengthens thedemocratic centralism of the party. First, he deifies the democratic centralism of the party;Secondly, he criticizes the autocratic phenomenon seriously and proposes insisting on thecollective leadership of the party. He insists on united --critical --united policy to solvethe inner-party contradiction. The purpose of people's democracy and inner-party democracythought of Mao Zedong are making inner-party democracy and people's democracypromote each other, causing a lively political situation, consolidating the state power. Butin practice, Mao Zedong obscures two kinds of contradictions of different nature seriously ,causes the class struggle to magnify, people's democracy is changed into " deciding for thepeople "and destroys inner-party democracy seriously. In great democracy, Mao Zedongthinks it is the vigorous mass movement against enemy and bureaucrat under the party'sleading, it's mainly form is " four major ". In small democracy, Mao Zedong thinks it dealwith the people and inner-party problem in a gentle and mild way, it's mainly form isrectifying. The purposes of great democracy and small democracy are combatingbureaucrats, preventing the peaceful evolution and keeping the purity of people's regime.In practice, the evil consequence of great democracy is causing the confusion of the wholesociety, making one's own decisions without consulting with others and personality cultcertainly, making the masses of people's democratic rights wrecked seriously. In mass line,Mao Zedong objects to the bureaucrat divorced from the mass and advocates keepingclose ties with the people. First, the cadre should appear in the role of ordinary laborer torealize the real equality in cadre and mass; Secondly, the cadre should take part in thework to overcome the bureaucracy. The cadre should go deep among the masses to makeinvestigations and seek the truth. In the mass movement, Mao Zedong thinks in absoluteterms more and more, and equates the mass movement to the mass line. The purposes ofmass line and mass movement are forming correct understanding, making correct decision;building the socialist society, consolidating the socialist system. In practice the mistakenidea of the mass line and mass movement is tending to equalitarianism absolutely, lackinganalysis of the public opinion scientifically and equating the mass movement to the massline. The forming of the democracy thought of Mao Zedong in old age is influenced bymany factors. First, it is the democracy theory of Marxism that includes the democraticideal of Marxism proletariat and socialist democracy thought. They are the direct goalmodes and theoretical foundation of Mao Zedong's socialist democracy constructionthought. However, Mao Zedong copies the democratic ideal of Marxism proletariatmechanically , especially misunderstands some questions in Marx's democratic theory.Secondly, it is Chinese traditional democracy thought, mainly "democratic quintessence"and "the people one" thought. Thirdly, it is the habitual thinking of revolutionary period,mainly the habitual thinking of class struggle and the mass movement. Finally, it isindividual character factor, namely confidence with some conceit, romance like the poet,pursuit of novel rebellion. We gain a great deal of historic enlightenment from Mao Zedong's democracythought in old age. We should enhance and cultivate democratic consciousness. First, weshould continue developing and perfecting socialist market economy, create the basiccondition for enhancement and cultivation of democratic consciousness; Secondly, weshould improve the condition of people's science and culture, strengthen and cultivatepeople's democratic consciousness directly. Institutionalizing and legalizing democracy isto rule by law. Promotion democratic politics construction step by step is to move forwardin order under the leadership of the party. We should absorb mankind's politicalcivilization achievement widely. First, we must insist on basing on our nation's reality,never copy and imitate the western political mode; Secondly, study and use some goodforms and methods of western democracy for reference with the world eyes and scientificattitude.