''On New Democracy'' is a 1940 essay by

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) ...

in which he established the concept of

New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...

during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

History of text

Mao wrote ''On New Democracy'' in early 1940 while the Yan'an Soviet was developing and expanding during the

. During this period, Mao was concerned about bureaucratization and sought to develop a culture of mass politics. In his view, mass democracy was crucial, but could be guaranteed only to the revolutionary classes. Mao later expanded on the principles discussed in ''On New Democracy'' in his April 1945 report ''On the Coalition Government'', delivered during the Seventh Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. These principles were then reflected in the Party's political views from 1949 to 1952, pursuant to which it was assumed that the initial new democracy would take ten years or more to transition to a socialist society. Later, the Soviet model became increasingly adopted by the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

(CCP), and some of the ideas discussed in ''On New Democracy'' and ''On the Coalition Government'' were discarded.

Key points

''On New Democracy'' discusses the new society to be formed immediately after a successful

Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...

. It envisions a gradual transition to socialism under a coalition of classes led by the CCP joining the "patriotic classes" willing to resist Japan and develop the

productive forces Productive forces, productive powers, or forces of production (German: ''Produktivkräfte'') is a central idea in Marxism and historical materialism. In Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' own critique of political economy, it refers to the combinat ...

of China. In the text, Mao states, "We shall never establish capitalism under the dictatorship of the Chinese bourgeoise, but a new democratic society under the joint dictatorship of all revolutionary classes in China led by the Chinese proletariat." Mao describes the revolutionary classes as composed of all anti-imperialist and anti-feudal people. In describing the new democratic republic as a "joint dictatorship of all revolutionary classes," Mao contrasts this proposed New Democracy from both the "old democratic republics" of the west and from the Soviet-style socialist republic. With regard to economic matters, ''On New Democracy'' states that the "new democratic China" would "own the big banks and the big industrial and commercial enterprises." Furthermore: In this framework, the private sector could not "dominate the livelihoods of the people," but the private sector need not be abolished.

References

{{Reflist

External links

*
On New Democracy
' (full text in English) 1940 in China 1940 essays Works by Mao Zedong Democracy United front (China)

History of text

Key points

See also

References

External links