1927--1934 Re - CPC Kulak Policy

During the1920s and1930s, on the one hand the conflicts in the traditional society continuedto accumulate and become acute, on the other hand the modernization represented by theindustrialization and urbanization produced a series of new conflicts and problems. To makethings worse, the unprecedented depression happened in the major capitalist countries of the world.That all the above things interwove with each other intensified the social crisis in the countries ofChina, where the surviving crisis and developing crisis co-existed in that period.The panic of agriculture, the collapse of countries and the bankrupt of farmers, all thesetrends led to the countries’ sinking as a whole. In order to save the countries, the Kuomintang, themiddle forces and the Communist Party put forward plans respectively. Different from thereformism of the Kuomintang and the middle forces, the Chinese Communist Party put forwardthe integral plan which emphasized the agrarian revolution to save the countries. And the integralplan was put into practice in the soviet areas. Starting from reforming the unreasonable relationsof production and also combined with the confiscation and redistribution of land to make the landpossession relatively equal, the farmers’ enthusiasm for production was meant to arouse, theproductivity was meant to improve and finally the countries were saved according to the plan.However, reforming the relations of production and promoting the development ofproductivity can’t form cause and effect relationship. One middle procedure-taking theproductivity growth seriously must be added. Throughout the whole process of the agrarianrevolution, the Chinese Communist Party didn’t pay constant attention to developing productivity.The reason why the CCP’s attention didn’t last lay in it had the task of winning the support of themasses to promote the revolution. Nevertheless, revolution and production didn’t keep inaccordance all the time and they often disordered with each other. The revolution was meant topromote the development but it consumed the manpower and materials which were needed in theproduction; the production was meant to guarantee the revolution but it limited and constrainedthe resources that were needed in revolution. The CCP had a great difficulty in deciding whetherrevolution was more important or production was more important.Throughout the soviet period, the relationship between revolution and production washighlighted in the attitude towards the kulak. Their unity was reflected in the same goal-fight forvictory; their contrariety was reflected in that production needed kulak while to gain the support ofthe masses needed to constrain and weaken kulak. What matters most as to this question is whichclass kulak belongs to. If kulak is classified as peasants, kulak is a part of the masses that shouldbe combined or be treated neutrally. In this case, revolution and production are in accordance. Ifkulak is classified as exploiter, kulak is opposite to the masses that should be attacked and weakened. In that case, revolution and production are in disagreement.Winning the support of the masses is a necessity for promoting the revolution, which isself-evident. While, developing production can provide economic support for the revolutionwhose effect is also fundamental. In the early period of the agrarian revolution, because thedevelopment of productivity had not been involved in and at that time most of the attacks directedto the warlords and landlords, kulaks who were also against the warlords and landlords in therevolution were treated as the united and neutral ones. As the agrarian revolution progressed intothe confiscating and distributing land stage, kulaks whose interests suffered losses began to showthe anti-revolution inclination. At the same time the instruction from the Communist International,which was based on the Soviet’s experience, made the CCP’s attitude towards the kulaks turn tothe “left”. In the war background,“the left, the better” became the shield of the left-leaningadventurism and became the spells of the practitioners like Mao Zedong. All these elements madethe kulaks come to the left side closer and closer. And finally they turned from the middle class tothe opposing class which was the same class as the landlords who should be beat down. After theagrarian revolution completed the mission of reforming the relations of production, it beat downthe kulaks who were the most productive group in the countries. The development in the sovietareas were repressed and had no enough efforts to support the war. The contrariety betweendeveloping production and winning the masses’ support became more and more overwhelmed bytheir unity. So the developing process in which the kulak policy became constantly left-leaningcan be explained reasonably.Reexamining the CCP’s kulak policy from the relations between developing production andwinning the masses’ support, we can deepen our understanding of the kulaks’ destiny. What’smore, the following questions which center on the kulak, such as the debate of the purpose ofrevolution and the tool of revolution, deconstructing the revolutionary elements and theapplicability of the ways to analyze the classes are worth pondering.