''Continuity and Rupture: Philosophy in the Maoist Terrain'' is a 2016 book written by J. Moufawad-Paul. The book provides a philosophical analysis of the theoretical foundation of the Marxist school of thought developed by Chinese revolutionary

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

Maoism Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

. Moufawad-Paul argues that the political ideology of Maoism, despite being formulated in the 1960s, only achieved full theoretical maturity in 1988 in Peru.

Synopsis

The book is introduced as an attempt by Moufawad-Paul to reclaim

, as a contemporary political ideology and contest the negative conceptualizations by

Trotskyists Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a re ...

and Anarchists in the political left. For Moufawad-Paul, Maoism must be understood as being both a ''continuation'' of

Leninist Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishm ...

political, philosophical and strategic positions, while simultaneously, acting as a ''rupture'' from the dogmatic orthodoxy and theoretical limits of standard Marxism-Leninism, thus Maoism is characterized as both continuity and rupture. Throughout the work, Moufawad-Paul offers a critique of contemporary and historical Maoist organizations, such as The Revolutionary Communist Party USA, The Shining Path, The Naxalite insurgency in India, and The New People's Army, as well as contemporary Marxist intellectuals,

Slavoj Zizek Slavoj may refer to: * Karel Slavoj Amerling (1807–1884), Czech teacher, writer, and philosopher * Slavoj Černý (born 1937), Czech former cyclist *Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultu ...

Alain Badiou Alain Badiou (; ; born 17 January 1937) is a French philosopher, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École normale supérieure (ENS) and founder of the faculty of Philosophy of the Université de Paris VIII with Gilles Deleuze, Michel Fouca ...

, and Tom Clark (author of ''State and Counter-Revolution'').

The Terrain of Maoism-qua-Maoism

Moufawad-Paul premises his work on five axioms, which are introduced in chapter one: # The distinction between "Mao Zedong Thought" and "

Marxism–Leninism–Maoism Marxism–Leninism–Maoism (MLM) is a political philosophy that synthesizes and builds upon Marxism–Leninism and Maoism. Its proponents refer to Marxism–Leninism–Maoism as Maoism and Maoism as Mao Zedong Thought (MZT) or Marxism–Lenin ...

" (what he calls "Maoism-qua-Maoism") # Maoism, as a political ideology began in 1988 with the formation of The Communist Party of Peru, the first self-labelled Maoist party that conceived Maoism as a "third stage" of revolutionary science # Historical Materialism is a science due to its ability to explain historical phenomenon # Maoism as a third stage of revolutionary science that is both a ''continuity'' and ''rupture'' from Marxism-Leninism # To understand Maoism, one must understand the theoretical limitations of Marxism-Leninism.

Science's Dogmatic Shadow

In the second chapter, Moufawad-Paul introduces his argument that Marxism, in contrast to contemporary intellectual consensus, is not simply a philosophy, but a science, specifically Marx's theory of

historical materialism Historical materialism is the term used to describe Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx locates historical change in the rise of class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. For Marx and his lifetime collaborat ...

The General Limits of Marxism-Leninism

In the third chapter, Moufawad-Paul discusses the inherent contradictions within the ideology of standard Marxism-Leninism. According to Moufawad-Paul, within a Marxist-Leninist

Vanguard Party Vanguardism in the context of Leninist revolutionary struggle, relates to a strategy whereby the most class-conscious and politically "advanced" sections of the proletariat or working class, described as the revolutionary vanguard, form organ ...

if understood through Lenin's

What is to be Done? ''What Is to Be Done? Burning Questions of Our Movement'' is a political pamphlet written by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (credited as N. Lenin) in 1901 and published in 1902. Lenin said that the article represented "a skeleton plan t ...

, is a party that represents the working class but is limited by the conception of "the general staff of the proletariat." Writing in response to Marxist writer Tom Clark's ''State and Counter Revolution'', Moufawad-Paul concludes that the dialectical conflict between the working-class character of socialism and the petite-bourgeoisie character of the Vanguard Party is resolved through the application of the Maoist strategy of the

mass line The mass line is the political, organizational and leadership method developed by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Chinese Communist Revolution. It refers to formulating policy based on theory, implementing it based pe ...

, wherein the Vanguard Party is further developed through the mass line.

A New Anti-Revisionism

In this chapter Moufawad-Paul defends the concept of

Anti-Revisionism Anti-revisionism is a position within Marxism–Leninism which emerged in the 1950s in opposition to the reforms of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Where Khrushchev pursued an interpretation that differed from his predecessor Joseph Stalin, ...

, which is an essential component of Maoist ideology, anti-revisionism is the Marxist position opposing alteration or "revision" of the established Marxist-Leninist ideology that had been developed in the Soviet Union following the death of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

(though Moufawad-Paul is also critical of Stalin's conception of Marxism-Leninism, treating it as a limit transgressed by Maoism). Moufawad-Paul defends this concept along using the logic of his conception of Maoism as a ''continuity'' of and ''rupture'' from Marxism-Leninism. Moufawad-Paul explains that any new conception of Anti-Revisionism must be understood within the dialectical interrelation between ''continuity'' and ''rupture'' within Maoism.

Maoism or Trotskyism

''Continuity and Rupture'' contains an additional essay titled "Maoism or Trotskyism" which evaluates

and

Trotskyism Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

as derivative forms of Leninism and their mutual claim to be the continuation of the Leninist political philosophy that led the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

Reception

J. Moufawad-Paul's work received a positive reception among Marxist critics. Historian

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (born September 10, 1938) is an American historian, writer, and activist, known for her 2014 book ''An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States''. Early life and education Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1938 to ...

and social activist

Gabriel Kuhn Gabriel Kuhn (born 1972) is a political writer and translator based in Sweden. Biography Kuhn became straight edge and active in radical circles as a teenager. Following post-secondary studies in Austria and the United States, Kuhn lived in th ...

both provide positive reviews of the book in the cover section. Hamayon Rastgar in ''Marx and Philosophy'' gave a positive review of the book, writing, "Moufawad-Paul makes an appealing case for a return to the revolutionary kernel of communism through understanding the most contemporary stage of the development of the ideology and science of revolution, namely Maoism." J. Moufawad-Paul's work received a negative reception among some circles of Maoist activists in the United States.

References

{{Reflist Works about Maoism Marxist theory Books about Marxism 2016 non-fiction books Shining Path Contemporary philosophical literature Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Communist books Books about revolutions Books critical of capitalism Philosophical literature Zero Books Maoist works