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SOCIALISM IS A SCIENCE


KIM JONG IL

 

 

SOCIALISM IS A SCIENCE


Treatise published in Rodong Sinmun, organ of the
Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea
November 1, 1994


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Our socialism is based on the Juche-orientated view of and attitude towards the masses of the people.
The truth and advantages of socialism are demonstrated in the people’s support of and trust in it.  Now that our socialism is based on the Juche-orientated view of and attitude towards the masses of the people, it has become the most advantageous and powerful socialism and enjoys the people’s absolute support and trust.
The masses of the people are the motive force of history.  The masses of the people means a united social community which centres on working people, due to their common demand for independence and creative activity.
The phrase “the masses of the people” assumes a class character in class society.  An exploiter society is divided into the exploiter class and the exploited class, or the ruling class and the ruled class, depending on who owns the means of production and who controls state power.  The exploited class, the ruled class, forms the majority of the masses of the people.  The class structure of the masses of the people is not immutable.  It changes as social history develops.  In capitalist society, not only workers and peasants, but also working intellectuals and many other classes and strata which champion and struggle for independence, form the masses of the people.  In socialist society, all people are transformed into socialist working people, so everyone is a member of the masses of the people.  Of course, in socialist society, too, the manoeuvres of minor hostile elements continue and traitors may appear in the revolutionary ranks.  Therefore, it is also necessary in socialist society to clearly distinguish between the masses of the people and elements hostile to them.
The phrase “the masses of the people” reflects a social and class relationship, but it is not merely a class concept.  Naturally, the masses of the people consist of different classes and strata.  In order to distinguish whether one is a member of the masses of the people or not, his social and class status should be considered, but this must not be regarded as absolute.  Man’s ideas and behaviour are not subject solely to the influence of his social and class status.  If he undergoes revolutionary influence and acquires progressive ideas, he can serve the masses of the people regardless of his social and class status.  The basic criterion for deciding whether one is a member of the masses of the people or not is not one’s social and class origin, but one’s ideas. The ideological foundation on which to unite people from all walks of life into the masses of the people is not just the idea of socialism and communism.  Anyone who loves the country, the people and the nation can serve the people and accordingly, is qualified to be a member of the masses of the people.
From such a point of view, at every stage of the revolution, the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung united everyone who was ideologically ready to serve the fatherland, the people and the nation into one revolutionary force, and he successfully carried out the revolution and construction.  Our Party trusts people of different classes and strata who are interested in the revolution.  It considers them everlasting companions, not chance fellow travellers, on the road to revolution, and it is leading them along the road to socialism and communism.
The class nature of the imperialists and reactionaries makes them antagonistic to the masses of the people.  Accordingly, they are afraid of the word “people” itself. Frequently using the word “nation”, they try to cover the class confrontation and conflict of capitalist society.  The traitors to socialism also try to disguise their anti-popular manoeuvres with the word ”citizen”. They purport to be building a “society for citizens”. It is true that one can often hear reactionaries and traitors hypocritically using the word “people”. But those hostile to the people, the betrayers of the people, cannot hide their anti-popular nature, just because they use the word “people”.  “People” is a noble word that only those who are faithful to the people, can say proudly, the communists who fight and devote themselves wholly to the interests of the masses of the people.
The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung regarded the people as “Heaven”, since his youth.  He ensured that the country, the army, monuments and many noble and beautiful things in the country were named after the people.  Because our socialism regards the people as such valuable beings, it has become a socialism centred on the masses, the most advantageous socialism which fully embodies the demand of the people for independence.
The masses of the people are the masters of everything in society.  This is because everything in society is created by the masses of the people.
The popular masses possess the greatest creative power for transforming nature and society.  An individual’s strength and wisdom are limited, but those of the popular masses are unlimited.  If there is an omniscient and omnipotent being in this world, it is none other than the popular masses. By drawing on their unfathomable strength and wisdom, the masses create everything in society, they advance history and drive the revolution forward.
The popular masses transform nature, develop the productive forces and create material wealth. Of course, the capitalist class takes an interest in developing the productive forces in order to gain more  profit, but capitalists do not create material wealth with their own hands .The masses create ideological and cultural wealth directly, and also produce progressive thinkers, prominent scientists and talented men of art and literature. The exploiter class also put forward their own ideological and cultural mouthpieces, but the ideas and culture they produce obstruct a moral social life and development.  The masses transform society.  The reactionary exploiter class is only interested in maintaining and consolidating the outmoded exploitative system, not in social transformation. The farce of “reform” staged by the ruling bourgeoisie is essentially aimed at extricating themselves from the crisis of capitalism. Social transformation on progressive lines can only be carried out by the awakened and united popular masses.  Since everything in society is created by the masses, they must naturally be the masters of everything. Only in socialist society, where state power and the means of production belong to the people, can the masses be the real masters of everything in society.
Since they are the masters of everything in society, the popular masses must occupy the position of masters.  They must exercise their rights, fulfil their responsibility and role as masters and enjoy a worthy and happy life as masters.
As they are the masters of everything in society, the popular masses must hold the position of masters and exercise their rights as such.
The popular masses’ desire for independence is to occupy the position of masters and exercise their rights as such.  Independence is the lifeblood of the masses, and their independent status and right to independence are the basic conditions on which their destiny depends. As they are the masters of state and society, the popular masses must occupy the position of masters and exercise their rights as such in politics, the economy, culture and in all other fields of social life.
In order to thoroughly champion and implement the popular masses’ independence, it is necessary to formulate all lines and policies by making them reflect the masses’ desire for independence and carrying them out in reliance on the efforts of the masses.
The popular masses’ desire for independence is the criterion for judging the correctness of lines and policies.  The only way to avoid subjectivism and tortuous events in the revolution and construction is to mix with the masses and listen to what they want.  The masses are teachers of everything.  The masses’ desire for independence, when integrated into a system, will become ideas, lines and policies.  When formulating its lines and policies, the working-class party must always go among the masses and listen to their desires.  In doing their work, officials must also begin by listening to the masses’ desires. Even in complex and difficult circumstances, our Party has been able to establish the best socialist system and develop it continuously, because it has laid down its lines and policies by going among the masses.  It is also because it reflected the masses’ desire for independence in its policies and carried these out by relying on their efforts.  This is the secret of the triumphant advance of socialism in our country, an advance which has been made along an absolutely scientific path, without the slightest deviation or setback.
In order to champion and realize independence for the popular masses, we must totally safeguard the independence of the country and nation.
Our Party’s consistent revolutionary principle is to achieve independence in politics, self-sufficiency in the economy and self-reliance in national defence. Our Party and our people have treasured the independence of the country and nation.  They have thoroughly implemented the revolutionary principle of political independence, economic self-sufficiency and self-reliant national defence despite the pressure of the imperialists and dominationists.  They have thus firmly safeguarded national sovereignty and dignity and continue to advance.  They consistently adhere to their convictions and hold the socialist banner high.
The imperialists now violently interfere in other countries’ affairs and trample upon other nations’ sovereignty.  They try to justify these acts under the excuse of “defence of human rights”. Human rights can not be conceived separately from the independence of countries and nations. Human rights can never be ensured for people who are dominated by foreign forces. Human rights are rights to independence which must be exercised by the people in the political, economic, ideological, cultural and all other spheres of social life.  The “human rights” advertised by the imperialists are privileges of the rich, privileges to do anything on the strength of money.  The imperialists do not recognize the right of unemployed people to work, or the right of orphans or people without support to eat and survive, for instance, as human rights.  As they do not grant working people elementary rights to existence and as they pursue anti-popular policies and policies of racial and national discrimination and colonialism, the imperialists have no right to speak about human rights. The imperialists are the most heinous enemy of human rights.  They violate the people’s right to independence and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries on the pretext of “defending human rights”.  We will never tolerate any imperialist interference or arbitrariness aimed at infringing upon the sovereignty of our country and nation, which we will staunchly safeguard.
The popular masses, as the masters of everything in society, should fulfil their role and responsibilities.
Only then can they defend their position and rights as befitting masters.  The revolution and construction are undertakings for the popular masses and are their own undertakings.  They must be responsible for and must solve all problems arising in the revolution and construction through their own efforts.
In order to make the popular masses fulfil their responsibility and role as masters of everything in society, their consciousness as masters should be enhanced.  To this end, priority should be given to ideological transformation and political work, over all other undertakings.  This is an intrinsic requirement of socialist society.   In socialist society, where the popular masses are the masters of state and society, the main driving force of social development is the high revolutionary enthusiasm and creative initiative of the masses, who are equipped with independent ideological consciousness and who are united rock-firm behind the Party and the leader.  It is only when all members of society are transformed in a communist way and their revolutionary zeal and creative initiative are boosted by giving priority to ideological transformation and political work, that they can press on with the revolution and construction and fully demonstrate the advantages of socialism.  In socialist construction, therefore, efforts must always be concentrated on educating the masses of the people and on boosting their revolutionary enthusiasm and creative activeness, by giving priority to ideological transformation and political work.  There is no other master-stroke for propelling socialist construction than that of giving priority to ideological transformation and political work, in order to enhance the role of the masses.  Trying to move a man by means of money contradicts the intrinsic nature of socialist society; the advantages of socialism cannot be demonstrated by that method.  Such a capitalist method cannot enhance the people’s revolutionary enthusiasm or creative initiative and, worse still, it may degenerate the socialist system itself and throw it into jeopardy.  By giving definite priority to ideological transformation and political work, our Party could dynamically advance the revolution and construction and display the advantages of socialism to the full, relying on the masses’ great revolutionary enthusiasm and creative initiative.  The high revolutionary zeal and creative initiative of the popular masses, who are united firmly behind the Party and the leader, is the source of the strength on which our socialism centred on the masses can demonstrate its advantages and invincibility as the most scientific socialism.
In order to make the masses of the people fulfil their responsibility and role as the masters of everything in society, their creative strength should be cultivated.  This is an important matter to which primary attention should always be given in the revolution and construction.  As the popular masses create everything in society, the success of the revolution and construction depends on how to train the people into powerful beings. Training them into powerful beings means developing their creative ability along with their independent consciousness.  In capitalist society, the popular masses’ demand to boundlessly develop as independent and creative beings cannot be realized properly.  The imperialists and capitalists need slaves who produce surplus value and follow them obediently, not independent and creative people who have been brought to their independent consciousness and who are developed in many ways.  That is why they resort to every possible means and method to degrade working people into slaves of capital, degenerating them ideologically and deforming their creative ability.  The popular masses’ demand to develop into independent and creative beings can be fully realized only in socialist society.  Our Party has established the most superior socialist education system and a system under which the entire population studies.  It is running these at the expense of the state and society, and is thus brilliantly carrying out the task of bringing up all members of society as full-fledged builders of socialism and communism.  As a result, our people are pressing on with socialist construction and they are solving every problem through their own efforts and wisdom under the banner of self-reliance even in an extremely difficult situation.
The masses of the people must enjoy a worthwhile and happy life as the masters of everything in society.
Material life occupies an important place in their worthwhile and happy life.  It forms the basis of social life.  As they are the masters of state and society in socialist society, the masses of the people should lead an affluent and civilized life. By stepping up economic construction, our Party has consolidated and developed the socialist economic system and built a powerful socialist and independent national economy.  It has thereby laid solid foundations for satisfying the people’s material life through our own efforts.  The potential of the independent national economy we have built up through self-reliance and fortitude is quite enormous; it is a valuable asset for providing a moral and stable material life for everyone.  We must continuously invest great effort into the construction of the socialist economy, in order to further strengthen the country’s economic power and steadily improve our people’s standard of material life according to socialist demands.
What is essential for the masses in their worthwhile, happy life is to lead a dignified life, while adding lustre to their socio-political integrity and enjoying the love and trust of the social community.
Naturally, the people need to live such a life, but this is impossible in the exploiter society.  The exploitation and oppression of man by man is incompatible with love for and trust in the people; there cannot be genuine love and trust between the exploiter and the exploited.  In capitalist society, the personal value of man has been converted into an exchange value and is appraised by means of money and wealth.  Here, love for and trust in the masses is inconceivable.  The bourgeois reactionaries’ advocacy of love which transcends class is a crafty act to disguise the reactionary nature of the capitalist exploiting society and to pacify contradictions between classes. The preceding theory of the working class laid bare the reactionary nature of the hypocritical love which transcends class, advocated by the bourgeois reactionaries.  It made clear that, in class society, love also assumes a class character.  The fact that love assumes a class character does not mean that love and trust can be exchanged only between people of identical social and class status.  The relationship of love and trust between people can be established between those who, despite the difference in their social and class status, fight together to defend the independence of the popular masses and who carry out creative activities together.
When the socialist system is established, class contradictions are eliminated and relationships between people are transformed from those of contradictions and mistrust into those of love and trust.  In socialist society, love and trust flourish in the social community and between its members and among the individuals in society; they are demonstrated in the most sublime form between the leader and his men.  When all members of society proudly maintain their socio-political integrity with the result that the leader and his men, and the Party and the people are all tied by love and trust and the whole of society has been transformed into socio-political organism, their life is the most worthwhile and beautiful life.  The society that has realized this is a most solid and dynamic society.
Socialism centred on the masses fully embodies comradely unity and cooperation and the relationship of love and trust in all spheres of social life.  It transforms politics into politics of love and trust. Love and trust constitute the essence of politics in socialist society, where the masses of the people have been transformed from objects of politics to the masters of politics.  We call the politics of love and trust, benevolent politics.  Although the imperialists embellish bourgeois politics and sling mud at socialist politics, clamouring about things like the “multi-party system” and “parliamentary democracy”, black cannot be made white.  Bourgeois politics, as a plutocracy, are the harsh and crafty politics of oppression and plunder.
In order to realize genuinely benevolent politics in socialist society, a political leader who unfailingly loves the people must come forward.
A political leader of socialism should be a master in leadership but, first of all, he must be a man of virtue who loves the people boundlessly.  This is simply because socialist politics is, in essence, benevolent politics.  An incompetent political leader of socialism may bring about a delay in the development of socialist society, but one who has no virtue may betray the people and even lead socialism to ruin.
If the politics of love and trust are to be exercised in socialist society, the socialist party in power must be built into a motherly party.
The working-class party is the leading political organization of society; accordingly, the way the state organs and all other organizations in socialist society serve the people relates to how the party is built.  Building the party as a motherly party is a prerequisite for making state organs and all other organizations in socialist society into servants of the people.  Building the party as a motherly party means that the party should become a genuine guide and defender of the people, which takes meticulous care of the destiny of the popular masses under its charge, just as a mother deeply loves her children and looks after them warmly.  In the past, the party was regarded mainly as a weapon in the class struggle.  The working-class party should naturally wage class struggle; however, all Party activities must, to all intents and purposes, proceed from a boundless love for and trust in the people.  It must give priority to defending the people’s interests and it must fight against those who violate their interests.  Not a few parties lost the support and trust of the popular masses and came to an end in the long run.  This is because they were not built as motherly parties which take warm care of the destiny of the people under their charge.  They degenerated into bureaucratic parties which wielded power and abused their authority.
If the socialist ruling party is to be built as a motherly party, all cadres and party members should be educated in the spirit of boundless love and sincere service for the people.
In order to sincerely serve the people, one must first think of the people before oneself and regard the pleasure and pain of the people as one’s own. Loyal service to the people is a communist’s sacred duty.  Herein lies the true value of communist’s life.  A man who works for the revolution enters the working-class party not for his self-interest, fame or authority, but to serve the people more faithfully.  Those who undergo hardship before anybody else, and put it before pleasure, and who take charge of difficult tasks on their own, while giving credit for success to others – they are the true communists and members of the working-class party.  In order to bring up those party members, ideological education should be intensified among them so that they serve the people devotedly.
It is important while building the socialist ruling party as a motherly party to thoroughly transform the cadres in a revolutionary fashion and to actively struggle against the abuse of power, bureaucracy, irregularities and corruption among them, which are the main factors that obstruct the implementation of benevolent politics in socialist society.  Socialism is opposed to all privileges.  With the establishment of the socialist system, the privileged class disappears.  As long as the people possess state power and the means of production, the privileged class cannot come into being in socialist society.  But if a struggle is not waged against the abuse of power, bureaucracy, irregularities and corruption in socialist society, some ill-prepared cadres can deteriorate ideologically and become divorced from the masses, and thus grow into a privileged class.  However good the policies pursued by the party and state may be, they cannot be carried out properly if the cadres resort to abuse of power and to bureaucracy, because all policies of the party and state are implemented through the cadres.  If the cadres exercise privileged power, act bureaucratically and indulge in irregularities and corruption, the socialist party in power will lose the support and confidence of masses and, without their support, the party cannot maintain its existence.  The historical lesson shows that it is tantamount to digging its own grave for the socialist ruling party to tolerate the abuse of power bureaucracy, irregularities or corruption among the cadres.  
Our Party saw through the danger of the deviations that could manifest themselves in a ruling party early on, and it has tirelessly struggled against them.  Under the Party’s slogan, “We serve the people!”, our cadres are now faithfully serving the people as their servants. But we cannot in the least neglect struggle against the abuse of power, bureaucracy, irregularities and corruption, because they are rooted in the vestiges of outdated ideas, and because the imperialists continue their schemes of ideological and cultural infiltration in order to implant anachronistic ideas in our country.  We should continue to vigorously wage educational work and an ideological struggle among cadres to root out these deviations.
Our Party’s politics are characterized by love and trust and are benevolent politics.  They constitute the basic factor that defines our socialism’s advantages and invincibility. Thanks to the benevolent politics of the Party and the leader, our people enjoy a most worthwhile and dignified life. Their noble socio-political integrity is enhanced under our own style of socialist system, which is centred on the popular masses.  It is a true feature of our society that all its members form a large harmonious family. They trust, love and help each other, and enjoy a worthwhile and happy life together.
In our country, everyone regards and supports the leader as they would their own father.  They trust and follow the Party, regarding its embrace as that of their own mother.  The leader, the Party and the people form one socio-political organism, and share the same destiny.  The whole of society overflows with communist morality.  For  instance, one devotes one’s own life without hesitation to save one’s revolutionary comrade from danger, and young men and women become life companions of honourably disabled soldiers and take warm care of orphans and old people without support, as they would their own relations.  This is a proud result of the benevolent politics of our Party.
The vitality of the benevolent politics of our Party finds expression not only in our people’s noble spiritual and moral traits, but also in their upright and equitable material and cultural life, which improves as the days go by. All our people are free from worries about food, clothing and housing.  They continue to learn throughout their whole life and enjoy long lives in good health, thanks to free and compulsory education and free medical care.  In our country, the state provides stable jobs for all able-bodied working people.  It looks after the whole population under its responsibility and even takes warm care of those who have temporarily lost the ability to work, those without this ability and old people without support.  Aged revolutionaries and war veterans, honourably disabled soldiers and meritorious people enjoy their worthwhile life under the state’s care, held in the people’s high esteem and love.
The younger generation is basking in the great benefits of the Party’s benevolent politics.  They are successors to the revolution, and the future of our country and nation.  The future of the revolution and the destiny of the country and nation depend on how they are brought up. Therefore, their upbringing cannot be the sole responsibility of their parents.  In capitalist society, where the future of the younger generation depends on their parents’ purse, they cannot avoid falling victim to social inequality and social evils.  Due to the aggression and intervention of the imperialists and the plunder of the exploiter class, many of the young generation throughout the world lose their lives or are maimed by war, social conflict, disease and hunger or they wander about the streets, committing crimes and degenerating. By contrast, in our socialist society with its benevolent politics, the state brings up all the younger generation.  Our Party and state accord them the warmest love and solicitude.  In our country, they study to their hearts’ content under the best ll-year universal compulsory education system, and are supplied with school uniforms and school things by the state.  Thanks to the warmest love and care of the Party and the leader, the state and society, our younger generation is growing up happily without envying anyone.
All the popular policies enforced in our country today prove the superiority of our own style of socialist system, which is centred on popular masses.  These policies emanate from the noble love of the Party and the leader for the people.  Benevolent politics is the traditional method.  Its historical root had already been created by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung in the days of the anti-Japanese revolution and was further deepened and developed by him as the revolution and construction advanced.
The respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was the benevolent father of our people, who cherished the warmest love for them.  Under the motto, “The people are my god”, which he adopted when he was young, Comrade Kim Il Sung mixed with people, shared weal and woe with them and devoted his all for them, throughout his life.  Because it held the respected Comrade Kim Il Sung, who was endowed with the noble virtue of boundless love for the people, as its leader, our country could record a brilliant history of genuine politics for the people, benevolent politics. Our Party continues to carry forward the brilliant traditions of benevolent politics established by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.  Our Party’s benevolent politics are politics of extensive love and trust; the Party loves and trusts people from all areas of society, without discrimination.  In this sense, we call our Party’s benevolent politics all-embracing politics. They are politics of invariable love and trust.  Our Party is responsible for everyone’s socio-political integrity and guides this.  Even when a man has committed an error, our Party does not put him in the cold but re-educates him, to lead him onto the right track.  It shows constant care for him, so that he will exalt his socio-political integrity to the last.
The noble love and trust shown by our leader and Party for the people have produced unfailing loyalty to the Party and the leader from the people.  Our people have been well-known since olden times as a diligent and courageous people with a strong sense of justice, a noble sense of obligation and a high sense of decorum.  Our people’s fine traits now flourish and develop in every respect, based on new spiritual and moral qualities.  Our people are deeply grateful to the Party and the leader for their benevolent politics and work heart and soul to repay the favour with loyalty.  Our people’s loyalty to the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung is shown on a nobler plane today, after they suddenly lost their fatherly leader.  It is our people’s unshakable will to loyally uphold the respected Comrade Kim Il Sung forever as the leader of our Party and revolution.  Under the leadership of the Party, our people are working with redoubled efforts to win fresh victories, true to the behests of their fatherly leader Comrade Kim Il Sung. No other people are equipped with such noble spiritual and moral qualities as ours.  They are unfailingly loyal to the Party and the leader, and work devotedly for their country, society and the collective.  We take great pride in having such excellent people.  For our Party to have trained ours into such an excellent people is its great achievement and a brilliant victory for its benevolent politics.
Our Party’s benevolent politics are the source of the single-hearted unity of the leader, the Party and the people.  The single-hearted unity of the leader, Party and people, based on love and loyalty, is the most solid unity, and our own style of socialism, rooted in this single-hearted unity, is ever-victorious.
People throughout the world express their great admiration for our socialism, saying that it is the most ideal socialism.  This is because our socialism is genuine socialism centred on the popular masses, which fully applies the principles of love for and trust in the people.
The reason why our own style of socialism, centred on the popular masses, is an invincible socialism which enjoys their full support and trust is that here, the popular masses maintain their position and exercise their rights as the masters of the state and society. They discharge their responsibilities, play their role as the masters and lead a worthwhile and happy life in such a capacity.
Our Party will invariably and fully pursue genuine politics for the people, benevolent politics which regards the popular masses, the masters of everything in society, as supreme beings and bestows everlasting love and trust on them.  Our Party and people are faced with the heavy yet honourable task of carrying forward and consummating through generations, the socialist cause of Juche which was initiated and led by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.  As it has always won victories in the past by believing in and relying on the people, so too in the future, our Party will accomplish the socialist cause of Juche by believing in and relying on them.
Man-centred socialism, socialism centred on the popular masse, is absolutely scientific, and the most advantageous and powerful socialism.  For its scientific accuracy and truth, socialism is sure to be victorious.